Have you ever run a marathon? Even a 10k one? (as opposed to the gruelling 42k one which I haven’t attempted yet) It’s an interesting thing.
You show up at the start.
You run.
You pass the finish line.
Simple, isn’t it?
It’s fun too. Getting to the start position, excitement in the air of a beginning of a journey, people all huddled together with friends, laughing and smiling. The gun goes off and the adrenaline pumps to the beat of the music in your MP3 player, and you settle into a smooth rhythm running against the cool wind and the early morning sun brightly shining but not hot. Even if your friends are with you, you race ahead or are left behind and then it’s every man embarking on his individual journey against the endless horizon…
But usually the fun doesn’t last - stress from your muscles start to creep in, the pain from pounding your feet against the gravel of the road starts to affect your knees and your energy, you start to lose your energy and start getting tired, you get thirsty… and you start wondering - “why the hell am I running when I could be in the audience, looking on and enjoying thesmelves, or better yet sleeping comfortably at home!”
But you’ve started the marathon. You’ve signed up for it. You went online, thought to yourself while in that cushy seat behind the laptop “going for a marathon will be great for me! A worthy achievement to make sure I stay committed to my health n fitness”. You’ve only finished a quarter of the distance and you feel like you can’t go any further.
The gallop turns into a stride, and that into a walk. Eventually even a full stop, where you catch your breath and suddenly whoosh! - you see the crowd that was behind you suddenly charging forward like a stampede. And you see people who are older, younger,fitter, more out of shape than you leaving you behind - and you say “this can’t be right -I can do better” and off you go again.
After a few kilometers, the energy runs out. Your muscles are screaming “STOPPPPP” and you oblige. You would have kicked yourself but even if your foot could reach your rear, you’re too tired. And you start slowly walking along, lost in your tiredness and thoughts. Suddenly someone pats you on the back and tells you to keep moving! You’re motivated again! You CAN do it, and you try and keep pace with that person and just that keeping pace helps you through so much more distance.
By now the thick crowd of thousands has been hammered into a evenly distributed thread of people stretching from the fastest runners to the slackers kilometers behind - everyone is running at their own pace and has their own pace. And then you sight the finish line - at first it angers you again that there are people who at that very moment have no idea of the amount of pain and tiredness you’re dealing with. But then you look at the actual finish line - and suddenly you find energy you didn’t think you have, and you spend every bit of it running past people. You’re carrying yourself, and you’re pushing past the pain, but now the object of your goal is just minutes away.
And finally you pass through the finish line. In a way it was no great feeling. It’s just walking under another door. But in another way, you’ve just finished a marathon and you’re proud of it. It’s over! First of all, no more pain! Second of all, no more pain! 
And the medal they hand you means nothing - the thought of finishing it is enough. You tell people you ran the marathon, and they’re amazed and filled with respect and awe. They salute you for having the fortitude and discipline of doing something they weren’t able to do. Honestly, they can’t even see the logic of waking up early and pushing themselves through something like that. You know that even though it feels good - you didn’t run the marathon to impress people. You did it for yourself. And that does feel great in the end. It stays with you for years on after too, a reminder that you are a person who at that point of time for sure, was one of discipline. And you remember the journey of the marathon with fondness - the journey itself made you a better person in a way.
Life has many marathons. They’re totally optional - you can decide if you want to run or sleep at home and both choices would be valid. You can choose the length of your marathon depending on how far you can run, or how fast. Even while running, it’s upto you how fast you want to run, and whether you’re going to let the strain stop you from running. You choose also if you want to take a break, or quit entirely. It’s also a mind game, where you’re comparing people who’re running with you - trying not to wish you were one of the people who wasn’t running.
But you run anyways. You run because you chose to run - and that is not from a point of blame - it is perspective on character. You run because of who you are. And the running itself, and the satisfaction of reaching the finish line more than medals or prizes help make it worth it.
Ask any marathon runner whether crossing the finish line was worth the effort it took. You’ll probably always get a yes.
