Griff Duncan

For the past year, I’ve been chasing one goal: run a marathon in under 3 hours (6:52/mile or faster).

But why? Why does this goal matter so much to me? Why have I made such a big deal out of it? I want to prove that you’re capable of what you allow yourself to believe. That you can go from couch to marathon in 16 weeks, and then couch to sub-3 marathon in 16 months. All you have to do is believe in yourself, show up every day, and put in the work.

This journey has had its share of ups and downs. It was originally supposed to be an 8-month project, but I had to drop out of @runcim262 after a knee injury. Getting past that took a lot of growth and patience. I kept showing up, cross-training like nothing happened, doing everything I could to be ready when I finally got back to 100%.

Fast forward to late January — I was running again, fully focused on breaking 3 at the @eugenemarathon. Training had been smooth, and I was ahead of schedule the past few weeks.

Then, out of nowhere, my ankle flared up. It hurt just to put pressure on it. After a few days off, it calmed down a bit, but flared back up again once I tried running. Now, the only real option is to rest it, hit the elliptical for the next two weeks, and hope it settles down enough for a sub-3 attempt at Eugene.

This past year has tested me in every way — a lot of “why me?” moments, a lot of anger and frustration. But that’s running. That’s the marathon. That’

a year ago