r/MadeMeSmile • u/mester006 • Aug 07 '21
Belgian marathoner reached 28th place At the Olympics, but she didn't believe that Personal Win
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u/talitm Aug 07 '21
Given that she only started running some three years ago makes this even more amazing
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u/squirrelmonkie Aug 07 '21
Thars insane. 28th in the world after 3 years of training. Most people are just scratching the surface of what they do after 3 years and she started way later in life than all of these people.
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u/c_c_c__combobreaker Aug 07 '21
At first I thought she was upset that she came in 28th but those are happy tears. Aw... 😭
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u/p0k3t0 Aug 07 '21
Running a marathon effed me up emotionally. When I finished, I couldn't find my family and I sat down and cried because I thought they had abandoned me.
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u/i_love_pencils Aug 07 '21
I’ll never run another. One and done.
Too many weird thoughts and emotions.
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u/lbranco93 Aug 07 '21 edited Aug 07 '21
I've never run a marathon, please explain why running open up such a Pandora's vase in your head
Edit: Pandora's vase is the Pandora's box of languages
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u/OtherwiseCheck1127 Aug 07 '21
I am just speculating but it might be a combination of exhaustion and coming down from a huge endorphin spike.
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u/newyearnewaccount21 Aug 07 '21
I've done a half iron man and for me a big part of it is just boredom. Halfway through the cycling portion I had already solved every major problem in the world and realized I still had to ride my bike 20 something more miles and then run 13 miles after that and I'd run out of things to think about.
That was also the point that I decided that after I finished I was done with triathlons because I realized I wasn't actually having fun anymore.
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u/metallophobic_cyborg Aug 07 '21
Each race is different too. Some I would cross the finish line and feel great. Some would be grueling and to even finish was because i’m a stubborn bastard. Most you’re just so exhausted. Your body is done and has given all it can. It’s been screaming at you to stop and your mind is like fuck you, I’m finishing. Once I had to be taken to the hospital because I could not stop vomiting, no matter what the on-site medics gave me. It’s a mind game to preserver to the finish and sometimes the mind snaps like the body.
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u/lbranco93 Aug 07 '21
From what I got from other comments too, you are asking your body to give every single bit of energy it has stored and just run fueled by pure will, so I guess that fucks up your mind somewhat. Especially when getting the dopamine (?) rush from reaching the finish line.
Also
I could not stop vomiting
Wtf
Alexa please sign off "marathon" from the list of sports I might eventually try.
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u/metallophobic_cyborg Aug 07 '21
Lol some people loose control of their bowels. Not often, but Id see someone that had an accident. It helps that well funded races are lined with porta-potties.
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u/i_love_pencils Aug 07 '21
Woo boy. It might be hard to explain, but I’ll take a shot.
I’d been running and racing for a few years, but to me, completing a marathon was what would make me “a real runner”. It was mythical. I trained hard for 3 months. I had a written plan I got from somewhere and followed it exactly. 6K speed workout in the sleet/rain? Done. 2 1/2 hour long run in the snow? I got up at 3:30 am and knocked it out. A couple times I was so tired, I tried to see how far I could run with my eyes closed so I could rest. Then the injuries started to pile on. ITB would start to kill me 15 min into each run, but hey, gotta get it done. I’m going to be a real runner.
By the time race day came, I was shattered. I woke up and it was snowing and cold. I hated the sight of my running gear by that point. I just wanted it done. After the start, my family was going to wait at various points along the course to cheer me on. The first couple of points were great and it really lifted my spirits, but after the halfway point, I didn’t see them for a while and I was literally alone on the course, with no one in sight ahead or behind. I started questioning why I was out there. No one cared about me or they would have been there for me. I was breaking down physically and emotionally and I felt very small out there dragging my broken body through the snow, alone. I started sobbing and talking to myself out loud, asking myself why I was doing this and what would it accomplish. I can feel the emotion rising up inside me again as I type this.
As I came into the last few K, I could hear footsteps dragging behind me and I tried to hold them off as we approached the finish line. I pushed and pushed until I broke. I turned my head to see who had caught me and it turned out the sound was my own feet dragging on the pavement.
I dragged myself across the finish line in just over 4 hrs, wrapped myself in a Mylar blanket, drank a cup of gravy at a fast food joint on the way home and haven’t looked back.
By the way, I was a runner all along. My family always supported me and loved me. I didn’t need to suffer through a marathon to prove it.
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u/Unfair_Ad347 Aug 07 '21 edited Aug 08 '21
I can't explain it physiologically, but after my first marathon was the closest to "truly tired" that I've been, I had planned to go out afterwards to celebrate but oddly, I wasn't even happy. I felt like I wanted to sleep for a century. I ended up going back to the hotel and napping for a couple hours.
Also diarrhea (common in runners) and three toenails feel off. But subsequent marathons were easier.
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u/p0k3t0 Aug 07 '21
Yeah, it was a trip. When I hear about people doing crazy stuff because of a chemical imbalance, I understand it a lot better.
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u/i_love_pencils Aug 07 '21
2 things I’ll never forget after going into mine extremely overtrained…
1) Running along a stretch of road with no one in sight ahead or behind me, starting to feel like I was the last man on earth and having to fight back tears.
2) In the final 2K, after hearing shuffling footsteps coming up behind me for a half a kilometre or so, I turned to see who was catching me, and it was the sound of my own feet dragging along.
Bonus moment: It had snowed at the start and switched to a cold drizzle for the rest of the race. After I finished, we went to a fast food joint. I ordered the biggest burger they had, and fries and gravy. I was too tired to chew, so I drank the cup of gravy. It remains the greatest thing I’ve ever eaten in my life.
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u/Dipmeinyamondaymilk Aug 07 '21
have you ever read the long walk
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u/PrufrocksPeaches Aug 07 '21
+1 for The Long Walk - it’s one of those books you can’t put down
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u/Buddha_Lady Aug 07 '21
I just read it last month. I still find myself fucked up about the ending.
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u/Mad_Madman_is_Mad Aug 07 '21
One of my all time favorite books. I have tried a few other long books but they didn't grab me. Any suggestions (other two I tried were IT and 11.22.63)
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u/SlimmG8r Aug 07 '21
I had the exact same thought. It's the story I use to introduce people to King.
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u/i_love_pencils Aug 07 '21
No, but I just googled it. My run wasn’t quite that bad. ;)
I’ll add it to my reading list. It looks interesting.
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u/Drizos Aug 07 '21
That bonus moment was one of the funniest things I've ever read. Thank you for sharing.
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u/Mystic_L Aug 07 '21
Don’t forget the arsehole in a banana costume who runs past you at the 27k mark like you’re standing still
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u/p0k3t0 Aug 07 '21
I passed a one-legged man around the 1 mile mark. That dude caught me in the last 100 yards. I had enough in the tank to beat him, but there was no honor in sprinting past a one-legged man in the last 100 yards of a marathon.
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u/HarmlessSnack Aug 07 '21
Good on you.
Or conversely, shame on you for treating him any differently.
I dunno, pick your side of the fence, grow some grass there.
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u/Living-Winter380 Aug 08 '21
Holy fuck man my sides. This is like straight out of a key n peele skit
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u/FatMormon7 Aug 07 '21
Haha. My first meal after my first was Chinese food and ice cold sprite. It was the best meal I have ever had in my life.
I ran a couple, despite never really having a runners body. I had dreams for years that I started another one and was so damn mad because now I had to finish it.
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u/metallophobic_cyborg Aug 07 '21
As a hobby I did one or two marathons a year for about 10 years. My favorite post run meal, DNF or not, was Cold Stone or something akin. Biggest ice cream I could find and loaded with snickers and peanut butter cups.
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u/mmmhmmhim Aug 07 '21
Lol the taste of food after a good run / ride is the only reason I keep doing it
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u/[deleted] Aug 07 '21
My buddy decided to run one and was not very prepared for it. He had never run for exercise before this and for training he'd jog a few km a day. I went to cheer him on because he was a determined mother fucker and I remember at one point towards the end he came by where I was standing and slowed to walk for a bit so I walked with him. He was pretty out of it and he said "I keep hearing voices and footsteps" and, confused, I said, "well yeah you're in a race with other people" and he said "oh no" in the most pathetic way and started to cry. I ran out of room to walk with him so I stopped and laughed my ass off as he jogged off, sniffling and it's still the funniest image I have in my mind.
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u/Etonet Aug 07 '21
He had never run for exercise before this
How were his legs afterwards?
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u/[deleted] Aug 08 '21
Oh man they were done. I helped his jelly legged self get into his house and he said he couldn’t walk for a few days, intense cramping and took a month to feel normal again.
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u/tobaknowsss Aug 07 '21
I never knew running could make me so angry for such irrational reasons until I ran one. I was getting made at the stupidest stuff and I couldn't understand why.
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u/AmidstAnOceanOfNames Aug 07 '21
I ran for 30 min a week ago in the Arizona heat and I was the most irritable person on Earth, can't imagine what marathoning is like
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u/PopcornInMyTeeth Aug 08 '21
Give me someone to guard in basketball, and I'll run for hours.
Give me a finish line 1 mile away with nothing to chase but "myself", and I'll hate it the whole damn time haha
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u/Barfignugen Aug 07 '21 edited Aug 07 '21
I think the weirdest emotional breakdown-type moment I’ve ever had was getting home after a marathon, taking a shower, ordering a pizza, and then having a meltdown when the pizza was wrong. Like I wasn’t freaking out or anything, but I definitely cried an unreasonable amount. I’ve always thought that was weird. Now apparently I’m learning it’s a common reaction, so that makes me feel better!
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u/excel958 Aug 07 '21
Is this a thing? Genuinely curious.
Edit: Found this? https://metro.co.uk/2018/06/15/get-post-marathon-blues-7633314/
There seems to be a lot of discussion about post marathon depression. Wow.
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u/lb-trice Aug 07 '21
Weird!!! It’s funny because I get the same feelings when I spend the whole day sitting on the couch.
I keep telling myself I should go outside and get some excersize and I’d probably feel better, but I guess this just means I’ll be on my couch tomorrow too!
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u/ApertureNext Aug 07 '21
Just don't run a marathon.
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u/Starslip Aug 07 '21 edited Aug 07 '21
I've never run one and am still depressed, what do? I can't couch any harder
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u/PutridValue3394 Aug 07 '21
I have never run a marathon, but after a insanely intense week we did a 24 mile ruck over shitty terrain.
Towards the end of it I got teary eyed thinking about the ending to men in black 3 that I had watched a couple months before. I wish I was kidding.
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u/Onyx239 Aug 07 '21
I am on the autism spectrum and what you described is routine for me. I spend almost everyday ignoring every sound, texture, light stimulus while figuring out appropriate facial expression, word choice/tone and body language ( instead of showing how I feel) ...at the end of the day, I look like everyone else walking to their cars but inside, my body is aching, I can hear my heart in my ears, my lungs are on fire as I try to catch my breath and my legs are struggling to support my weight and I just keep telling myself "just make it to the car, just make it to the car" just make it to the finish line then you can cry and scream.......didn't know sensory overload and running a marathon was the comparison I needed lol.
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u/BboyEdgyBrah Aug 07 '21
She's a 38 year old math teacher that only recently started running to 'get in shape'. This was her third marathon ever. Unironically one of the more impressive things i've heard this year
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u/creditnewb123 Aug 07 '21
What the actual fuck. That’s ridiculous. I got really confused when she said ‘I was just happy to finish the race’. Like, I wouldn’t expect someone who is an elite runner to be happy just to finish. But if she had only done it twice before I guess it makes sense.
How the hell did she even qualify if she only ran two marathons before though? I would have assumed there’s a long schedule of races you need to win.
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u/l2ighty Aug 07 '21
From what I understand, each nation chooses three runners to send for the marathon.
USA usually holds trials and then just sends the top three I believe.
I would imagine she ran the equivalent of that for Belgium and qualified and was sent by them
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u/faithfuljohn Aug 07 '21
I got really confused when she said ‘I was just happy to finish the race’. Like, I wouldn’t expect someone who is an elite runner to be happy just to finish.
I thought the same, but I also knew that the conditions were so ridiculously they had to start an hour earlier to not kill their athletes. So I thought maybe it was that... but her time (2h34min) in those condition is nothing to sneeze at.
At her age, that is some serious talent and dedication.
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u/liesjeM Aug 07 '21
She teaches physics I thought.
Anyway for someone with such a low experience in running marathons and racing. In my opinion one of the strongest sports achievement at the Olympic games.
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u/osowiec82 Aug 07 '21
Yeah I thought at first she was in some sort of denial that she hadn’t finished higher but the more I watched the more I realized she was excited she finished.
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u/LeonardSmallsJr Aug 07 '21
Translator gave up halfway.
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u/Asateo Aug 07 '21
Most important quote "What 28th? I was already happy I finished."
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u/Growlitherapy Aug 07 '21
I'll continue it:
I: "How often did you think about your mantra 'left-right, left-right'?"
R: "I thought about it often thanks to my kinesiologist, he always tries to drill it into me, 'foot-by-foot, foot-by-foot' and then my mantra and also my husband (husband is man in Dutch, so it's a little pun) laughs. He'll be relieved too I think, that I'm not running in seven states (in seven/ all states means being panicked or frustrated)"
I: "Catch up let it out."
R: "I'm relieved"
I: "Yeah (or yes said empathically)."
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u/NEDudcat603 Aug 07 '21
This is the single most fabulous moment I have seen come out of the 2021 Olympics.
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u/nedzanders Aug 07 '21
Definitely up there with those high-jumpers who shared the gold
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u/PrinceTrollestia Aug 07 '21
Can we have two gold?
Let’s make history, my friend.
Olympic champions.
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u/Krasker Aug 07 '21
I love how the guy cut him off mid-sentence.
"Can we have two medals?"
"Well if you want -"
Yep they want, the rest of what you were about to say doesn't matter, they want to split it.
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u/AlexanderBeetle77 Aug 07 '21
I absolutely LOVE that video. Cry every time.
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u/January1171 Aug 07 '21
Especially knowing the story between them. Sobbing every time
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u/elizasbreath Aug 07 '21
And the Australian swim coach having a dance party after Titmus beat Ledecky
The olympics are really chock full of amazing moments this year
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u/shiguywhy Aug 07 '21
The people pissed off on Twitter about that were ridiculous. "This isn't in the spirit of the Olympics!!!" Actually, respecting your fellow athletes and acknowledging what the medals represent is exactly the spirit of the Olympics. If the Qatari jumper had agreed to a jump off, he'd either have to have thrown the jump or risk beating someone to whom a gold medal meant so much. Sharing glory and showing generosity are huge tenants of sportsmanship, which should be a huge part in athletic competition.
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u/AlexanderBeetle77 Aug 07 '21 edited Aug 08 '21
Check out the Kenyan giving his bracelet to the Norwegian in the 1500 metres and you can have three top moments :) (i'm assuming the high jumpers is the best for you, as it is for me)
edit for accuracy - thanks Striggie
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u/90dayheyhey Aug 07 '21
The Tunisian teenage swimmer winning gold against all odds was my favorite moment
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u/Bruno101_ Aug 07 '21
Phillipines getting its first gold was my personal favorite, but I am filipino so I have a clear bias lol
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u/shiroyagisan Aug 07 '21
It is indeed very cool, but did you also see Tom Daley knitting? That was pretty wholesome too.
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u/BeautifulNacho Aug 07 '21 edited Aug 07 '21
I saw an interview with her a day before and honestly she was just so happy to be there in Tokyo and being an Olympic athlete. Very wholesome.
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u/pacheckyourself Aug 07 '21
Seriously. Just being there means you are one of the best athlete’s in the world. It’s no small feet.
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u/khaalidq Aug 07 '21
Yea would be really tough finishing the race with small feet
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u/thunderswift1 Aug 07 '21 edited Aug 07 '21
And that’s what I think it all comes down to, just being there. For me, the fact that they made it there and are called an Olympic Athlete is enough for me to applaud them
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u/Electrical-Ad-1483 Aug 07 '21
She is going to work hard , suprise results motivate
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u/F00FlGHTER Aug 08 '21
The first time I went golfing I started out with two pars and a birdie. I finished something like 30 over par. I'm still chasing the rush of those first three holes.
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u/boxjellyfishing Aug 07 '21
For the US Audience, this is exactly what NBC is missing in their coverage. There are some many incredible athletes internationally and to completely ignore them in their coverage is such a shame for the US audience to miss out on.
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u/sleepzaking Aug 07 '21
NBC went from an average of 29 million viewers for Rio in 2016 to 16.8 million viewers for Tokyo.
The US audience is tired of their overly simplistic and nationalistic coverage of the Olympics.
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u/CandyHeartWaste Aug 08 '21
Especially since so many of us are from other places, it would make sense to have more internationally focused stories as well. Conversely, it’s always the same sports that get the lion’s share of coverage but meanwhile I had to do some searching to find tennis games. Swimming is great and all but just because America’s not great at tennis, doesn’t mean there are viewers who wouldn’t want to watch Zverev winning gold.
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u/trevbot Aug 08 '21
NBC absolutely sucks.
The commentary is horrible, and it just Never. Ends.
Just STFU and let me watch what's happening for 2 seconds.
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u/Newguyiswinning_ Aug 07 '21
Yeah we know. Why many of us are boycotting NBC and their figures are tanking this year luckily
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u/Ernie_Birdie Aug 07 '21
Maybe I missed it, but 28th out of how many?
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u/LunaBalloonaCat Aug 07 '21
I looked it up, 88 started the race and 74 finished.
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u/flackula Aug 07 '21
I can’t even running that far at all, being in the top half at the olympics after only running three years is amazing.
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u/zealouspinach Aug 07 '21
Heck, i sometimes can't be bothered to get off the couch to go get water though i'm dying from thirst lol. So yeah, this lady is super impressive!
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u/Appeased_Seal Aug 07 '21
It’s crazy that many people didn’t finish even at the Olympic level.
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u/B1rdi Aug 07 '21
Yeah I guess when you try your absolute hardest in a high level competition like this, it's gonna increase the chances of failing
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u/fourthords Aug 07 '21
I ran from my apartment to the elevator today and almost died.
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u/miss_micropipette Aug 07 '21
Goes to show, winning gold is a mindset, not a physical badge.
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u/GhostNumber74631579 Aug 07 '21
Ironically, the free award was silver, but take it! Love this comment
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u/317LaVieLover Aug 07 '21
Considering she started running just 3 yrs ago, & this was just her 3rd marathon, (if I heard that correctly) this is simply amazing. Good for her!
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u/zyzzogeton Aug 07 '21 edited Aug 08 '21
I ran a marathon. I finished just under 6h. But I managed to be almost 2 years sober at that point, I lost >50lbs, and I had pulled my life out of an absolute power dive where before I had been augering in to an active volcano caldera with the dead-eyed indifference only the addicted can understand... to level off and begin to slowly climb away, on one engine... barely.
The emotions I felt when I finished were big and complex. All the happiness and sadness and happiness at the sadness because it meant I could feel.
The emotions 5 minutes later as I handed my 2 beer tickets to a random guy who looked at me briefly and indifferently said "Uh hey, thanks" brought me to my knees and I cried like it was my fucking job and I was the goddamn employee of the month. He got out of there quick... who wouldn't? And since I was in the left-most tail of the bell curve of finishers... everyone was wrapping up and getting out of there so I was kind of "post peak" crowd enthusiasm and support by about 3h. By that point I was just some random crying guy. It wasn't even the marathon finish, though that was great. I was absolutely wrecked because I didn't even think about giving away the beer tickets till after I had handed them over The alcohol didn't win.
You feel so many things when you do a big thing. Mine was small compared to what this wonderful, beautiful, amazing Belgian olympian did. I am so happy for her.
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u/KleinSteijn Aug 07 '21
Best part is: she only started training seriously 3 years ago. Now she’s here. Look at that dedication
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u/holden147 Aug 07 '21
She ran a 6 minute mile, 26 times in a row, without stopping. The speed and endurance of world class marathon runners is unbelievable.
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u/Insert___Username_ Aug 08 '21
Thanks for just fucking giving up on subtitling half way through...
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u/CaramelThor_ Aug 08 '21
Fuck, I can't remember the last time I've wanted to hug someone so much through my screen.
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u/Monkleman Aug 07 '21
First post here in a good while that has quite genuinely made me smile
Thank you
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u/BitterMethod7228 Aug 07 '21
Is it me or have these Olympic had much more relatable athletes than than ever before? More humanity and relatable emotionally.
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u/[deleted] Aug 07 '21
For all the people calling her a loser: how many marathons have you completed and what were your times?
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u/Bobby_Rotkop Aug 07 '21
She's only been running for a short time, she's a math teacher and her hobby is knitting. She started running to get in shape and for fun. It's utterly ridiculous what she's done, she would've been unbeatable if she had started at an early age.