I was the guy who only ran in school because the PE teacher made us do it—not exactly a big fan. But I’ve always admired certain people around me for their athletic achievements. I thought those were not possible for me to achieve.

After avoiding any form of exercise for the past 2-3 years. Before, I used to basketball, do ballroom dancing, or go to the gym. The first two required others and facilities. With the gym, I just hate the fact that here in Europe it’s so rare to live in an apartment building that would have a gym. Otherwise, I just find it annoying and time-consuming to commute to the gym. Seeing a lot of my connections on socials running, I always wanted to see what and if I could achieve in this sport. Another advantage? The only thing I’d need were shoes. It doesn’t matter if I am currently traveling or whether there’s a facility nearby. I could just get out there and explore.

So, in July, I started experimenting with running, setting a goal I thought was ambitious: to run 5km (3.1 mi) non-stop by Christmas. I had six months to make it happen.

I started slow, with breaks during my workouts. My friends on Strava joked that I was just out for a walk since my pace was so slow. But step by step, I built up my speed and distance. After a few workouts, I surprised myself by reaching my “magic” distance of 5km (3.1 mi).

Encouraged, I pushed further, eventually running 11km (6.8 mi). I’m not sure how I managed; I was slow but determined, running laps in a park and pushing for “just one more.” For the first time, I considered that 11km (6.8 mi) is one-fourth of a marathon. Could I take on a marathon someday? But then, knee pain kicked in. If there’s any advice I can share and other people told me — increase the distances you run gradually. I realized I was pushing too fast and dialed back. I looked up local races, and it just so happened there was a half marathon coming up in my city.

After signing up and starting training, a new goal crept in: could I run this half-marathon in under two hours? At first, it felt impossible, just wishful thinking. Most (if not all) of my runs were way slower. One thing I heard about is that in order to run a longer distance, you don’t actually need to run that distance before. Meaning - for instance for my half-marathon, the longest distance I ran before was only 17km (10.5 mi). I did that twice. I also discovered that running slower improves endurance—a concept called “Zone 2 Training,” which focuses on heart rate and is shown to have significant benefits. By October 6, I started believing I might finish in under two hours, though my confidence waned after some difficult runs. Just days before the race, intense hip pain had me doubting I’d finish, but I pushed through.

I even adjusted my daily routine in the final week. The race would start at 9 a.m., so I began waking up before 7 a.m., having breakfast two hours ahead, and doing a practice run at 9 to get my body in sync. To wake up early, I also shifted my evening routine to get more rest.

Finally, on October 27, I stood at the starting line, ready to turn “wishful thinking” into reality. I finished in 1 hour and 52 minutes. I have no idea how—despite making all the classic mistakes. They say that most people burn out because they go way too fast at the beginning of the race. I sprinted off and when I checked my watch later, I couldn’t believe how fast I was. I knew I had to slow down and I did. What helped me mentally was clinging to someone in front of me who had a good pace. Heck, I even wrote down on the back of my hand what time I have to run 3K, 5K, 8K, 11K, 15K… to achieve my goal of 2 hours. It did help me tremendously to save some time on each kilometer knowing that even if things get unbearable towards the end, I will have a cushion. The view I had towards the end was both scary and exciting. More people cheering, and the sun came out, but also a couple of people who were already in medical care. Laying on the ground, the staff would be lifting their legs to get the blood back to their heads. I was hoping this wouldn’t be me. My left calf started to ache and I knew that I couldn’t push much more otherwise I might start getting cramps. Even my laces got loose towards the end, forcing me to stop and tie them to avoid a face-first fall before the finish line.

Crossing that finish line was magical. Looking back, I wish I’d done two things differently: taken a moment to savor those final meters and turned around after finishing to soak in the achievement and the journey. Reflect back on how much it meant to me, and how much training I put into it. Speaking of training, I counted that I ran around 40 times since I started my journey four months ago. That’s about how many I can recommend if you’d like to finish a race like this. It’s an amazing feeling that no one can take away from you.

I’m sharing this because I’m genuinely surprised at how quickly my goals and mindset shifted—from hoping to run 5km by Christmas to knowing I’d run 21.1km by the end of October, with a time goal in mind. Hopefully, this inspires you too, if running is something you are thinking about, but never got the courage to go for it and give it a try.

The biggest lesson is that sometimes, we just have to give things a shot. Who knows—it might turn out easier than we thought. Onward and upward.