Over five years ago, my lovely girlfriend and soon-to-be wife, Sarah, decided to sign up for the Chicago Marathon. The challenge and the training and the culminating event were going to be representative of life's roller coaster ride. It would be a test of her physical and mental will; a battle over the proverbial obstacles of stress and struggle at that time in her life.

However, after months of training, just two weeks before the marathon, she opted out. While fighting constant knee pain, she couldn't put her body through the mileage that was beating her down with overuse injury. It was a tough choice but the right one, proving intelligence and foresight for future joint health. Smart.

That's where I stepped in.

Why let the registration go unused? Or, at most, why sell the race number to someone else?

"I could run it," I thought.