Battling the beast

Glenn Chenell has run every day for the last 2,342 days.

He is a marathon runner, but does not consider himself fast enough to be a marathon racer.

"My best days are long gone. It's all about finishing for me," he says.

But that is something he excels at.

Sunday he was one of 73 marathon runners to complete the Johnny Miles Marathon. While his time was far from near the top, he said he had a tough opponent to beat. It's the same adversary he faces every morning when he crawls out of bed and every time he decides whether to lace up his sneakers or not - the beast in his head.

"You have to beat yourself mentally to do this because the little guy in here says stay in the house, watch TV," he says, pointing to his head. "And that is the person you have to beat in the marathon, the same guy, and he's nasty. He can be nasty after 23 miles."

It's the same beast he battles whether he runs 10 miles or 100 miles.

"The beast in your head can beat you, but you've got to use the one in your heart to counteract it," he says. "If you don't beat it you quit."

The beast in his head came with the cramps and sore muscles around the 15th mile for him Sunday. It came with the heat of the sun and the cold of the rain that came with some parts of this year's race. Chenell knew going into the race he had under trained, but he didn't stop, just like he hasn't stopped since he first competed at the Johnny Miles event in 1983.

Slowly he made his way to the finish line to claim the prize he wanted - one more finish. Chenell has now completed 86 full marathons including 15 ultra marathons. His goal is to make it to 100.

Along the way he hopes that maybe he can inspire some others.

"People will come out to cheer the runners on and some will question the whole deal when a runner hobbles by in obvious pain, body wracked with cramps, under trained on the final loop hours after the winner has accepted his trophy - but that runner is beating the toughest foe he will ever face - himself."