Fourteen miles of fun, six miles of sweat and six miles of hell.

That's the way many runners describe the Boston Marathon, according to Christine L. Sheppard-Sawyer '97.

Perhaps it's no surprise, then, that a number of Harvard students--already accustomed to the fun, sweat and occasional hell of College life--would choose to run in this year's Marathon.

But the race itself is not the only hard part. Runners have to be ready to deal with the physical training, the mental hurdles and, of course, the prolonged pain.

Why, then, do so many people undertake such a task? And in the end, is it really worth it?

Pleasure and Pain

Of course, the runners say it's worth it. After all, they've just finished the marathon.

"It was a fun and valuable experience," says Sarah L. Thomas '98, describing the excitement of the event.

Thomas and other runners describe the exhiliration they felt as thousands of people cheered them on as they crossed the finish line.

Yet the feelings of excitement and triumph do not come without feelings of exhaustion and torment.

"It's not physically rewarding to your body," Caitlin M. Hurley '97 says. In particular, she describes lightly jogging the next day "to get the lactic acid out" and having a "90-year old woman" gain on her.

"Stairs are an issue for me," Thomas notes.

Jessica J. Glass '97 had an even larger obstacle. She ran the race only two days after pulling the T.I. band in her left knee. Glass says that she felt great during the race (during which she popped about 10 ibuprofen) but adds that she had to be carried down the stairs to the T afterwards.

Getting a Head Start

Running a marathon is not supposed to be easy--it is rumored that repeatedly running them can take years off your life.