I Walked a Marathon During Quarantine

During quarantine, I tried every trend. I tie-dyed my sweatshirts vibrant colors, baked the infamous banana bread and even temporarily dyed my own hair purple. 

But, toward the end of April and the beginning of May, walking a marathon for fun made its way among my TikTok “For You Page.” Prompted by my TikTok-obsessed best friend, on May 23 at 8 a.m. with zero preparation, we embarked on a 26.2 mile long journey. 

I documented our walk through five different categories: hours passed, miles walked, active calories burned, vibe levels and necessary anecdotes (i.e., anything I felt needed to be shared along the way).

For hour zero, Lauren and I were feeling ready and excited. Despite the misgivings from both our parents that we should “lower our expectations” and “aim for a half-marathon”, we were determined.

Lauren and I live next to each other, so we began our trek by walking around our cul-de-sac-filled neighborhood.

At about 30 minutes and two miles in, it began to rain slightly, but our vibes were still going strong at 98%. We were wandering the streets of our town and bumping into a few neighbors here and there along the way. Not to mention, we were totally flexing the fact that we were walking a marathon.

It was around two hours into our approximately nine-hour walk. I started telling Lauren about my life at Elon. Friendships, relationships, classes and life in general were among the topics discussed. I dragged out every description of a boy down to his eye color and every night out down to the color of the socks I was wearing.

Two-and-a-half hours in, our vibe levels dipped below 90%, but I was feeling surprisingly good! We made the decision to meander to the local soccer fields and walking trails. 

After some necessary recon, I decided to prop my camera up against the stump of a tree to make a TikTok. It was actually the first one I had ever made! There were many bloopers—including one that lasted for 60 seconds, where I didn’t know whether or not the camera was recording. 

Four-and-a-half-hours later, we had walked a half marathon! After these 13.1 miles, we made a pit-stop at Lauren’s house to celebrate. Her two brothers graciously picked us up food from our favorite sandwich shop (It tasted incredible after walking for over four hours). Also, we burned so many calories!

Eventually, we licked off the last few crumbs from our fingers and hit the open road once more but this time with a few new faces.

Lauren and I set off with her two brothers, Peter and Matthew. They were set to finish out the marathon with us, bringing the energy we needed. No longer were we listening to my Elon stories, rather we were bumping to Peter’s “Frat Songs Only” playlist with a pep in our step. 

At around the six-hour mark, Lauren and I had a sudden surge of energy. We had almost broken the 20-mile mark! We lost Peter along the way when he went off to work. We bid farewell and decided to walk in the direction of our hometown hotspot: Mack’s Apples, the ice-cream shop a few miles down the road.

About 21.53 miles and one Neapolitan ice cream in, I felt good. I was so eager to finish out the last 3.5 miles, though I could tell Lauren was feeling the burn. On the walk to Mack’s, I picked back up on my Elon story, and I could tell she wasn’t really having it.

We strategically planned our marathon so that we would finish right where we started. So with a little less than two miles left, we began heading back. I was starting to really feel it. We were so close, and you’d think after walking 23 miles that the last three would be a piece of cake. The last bit of the hike back up the roads to Lauren’s house was walked in agonizing silence as we checked her Apple Watch every tenth of a mile waiting for it to hit 26.2.

Finally, WE DID IT! 26.2 miles done, and our vibe levels were astronomical. Although Lauren was clearly upset that her Apple Watch kicked the bucket, we still blasted “We are the Champions” as we crossed into Lauren’s driveway. I don’t know why, but I expected some sort of ribbon or cheering crowd at the end. To be honest, it was pretty anticlimactic. 

My overall thoughts? I’d definitely do it again. We made great time with the marathon, burned over 2,200 calories and left the experience with a memory of a lifetime. 

Surprisingly enough, the only part of my body that hurt was my calves, and they hurt badly. I definitely didn’t move for hours after we got back. 

I would rate this 10/10. My only advice to anyone willing to take on this same feat is to document the experience. The Snapchats I posted and the responses from friends were hilarious. I know I speak for Lauren, Peter, Matthew and myself when I say we’re looking forward to our next one.