Suffering is Optional

From "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running" by Hakuri Murakami

Once, I was lying in a hotel room in Paris reading the International Herald Tribune when I came across a special article on the marathon. There were interviews with several famous marathon runners, and they were asked what special mantra goes through their head to keep them pumped up during a race. One runner told of a mantra his older brother, also a runner, had taught him.

Here it is: Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.

Say you're running and you start to think, "Man, this hurts, I can't take it anymore." The hurt part is an unavoidable reality, but whether or not you can stand it anymore is up to you. This pretty much sums up the most important aspect of marathon running.