Nine years ago, Abraham Lincoln watched me run in circles. This weekend, I went back to see him.

In 2017, I was working at Coca-Cola and visiting Washington, D.C., for a sales expo. I was staying at a Hilton, and my training plan called for eight miles. I headed out early and found myself running laps around the reflecting pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial. Lincoln sat in his chair while I went past again and again, looking unimpressed. I wrote a newsletter about it, which some of you might remember reading.

A lot has changed in nine years. But this weekend, I returned to Washington to run the Marine Corps Marathon with a good friend. We had an amazing time. I hit my goal and qualified for Boston again, in another decade of my life.

One of my favorite memories came before we started running.

At the starting line, the Commandant of the Marine Corps addressed the runners. He reminded us that, except for a handful of people at the front, none of us were going to win the race. But winning wasn't the point.

He talked about how many people say they want to do something difficult. I want to become a Marine, but... I want to run a marathon, but... There's always a but for not doing it.

But there was no but for us. We'd trained, traveled to Washington, and shown up at the starting line. We were going to run a marathon.

Then he said something else that stuck with me. Our goal was to have fun, but fun can also be hard.

Nine years ago, I ran circles around the Lincoln Memorial before heading back to my hotel. This weekend, I ran a marathon through Washington and came home with another Boston qualifier.

Lincoln was still sitting there, looking unimpressed.

Happy running!