Meb Keflezighi: When Failure Leads to Good

Meb Keflezighi won the 2009 New York City Marathon after years of injuries and setbacks.

Failing is not always a fun thing, but sometimes we’ve got to find the good in it. Sometimes life gives you lemons and you’ve got to make lemonade.

Some of my best races have come from bad races. I’ve learned that it’s not how many times you fall, but how many times you get back up and keep rising to the occasion.

In 2007, I dropped out of the London Marathon. I just felt something in my Achilles and I said, I’ve got to save this, because the Olympic trials were in November of ’07 in New York.

Then, even though I gave it time, at the Olympic trials things didn't go as planned. During the race, I had what I eventually learned was a pelvic stress fracture. My good friend Ryan Shay passed away [during the race]. Mentally, physically, and emotionally it was bad.

The 2008 trials broke me—to have that disappointment, when I was the favorite to win, in New York.

But I made a new goal before I left New York, I said you know what? I can't go to the Olympics, but my Olympics will be the New York City Marathon.

I really thought it was going to be 2008, but the injury was severe. I could not even walk. In January of ’08 all the way to March, I still could not step up from the street to the sidewalk. We’re talking about five inches. I had to run to the end of a block to the ramp for bikes, to get up onto the sidewalk.

So, the buildup was for 2009. It took me about a year and a half to get there. All that time, nobody told me that I could win the 2009 New York City Marathon.

I was just doing the small things that could help me—physical therapy, cross-training, diet, sleep, nutrition. I wanted to race, like doing the London Marathon or other races. Everybody was getting ready for those races, but I had to be patient.

You’ve got to believe in yourself. You got to do what you can and manage what you can control. Yes, there's disappointments, but you have to refocus, refuel, and keep up good habits like a good diet. That's when you need most to be able to say, hey, I’ve got to be on the right path.

When everything is going well, we’re motivated to do things right. But when things are not going well, that's when you realize, okay, what can I do? It’s the small things that help you be the best version of yourself. Even when there's no guarantees, what you can control is yourself.

To wear that USA jersey coming into Central Park that day and winning the 2009 New York City Marathon, beating the silver medalist from 2008, beating the four-time Boston Marathon champion—my dream finally became reality.

Remember, even when the races and the preparation don't go your way, you have to somehow find a new goal. Dreams do become reality, they just sometimes take a little bit longer.

Be patient and realize that sometimes failing is okay. You’ve just got to build yourself back and great things will be waiting for you. Don't give up hope. Just do the right things, the small things, and the reward is that much sweeter.

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