Help me write an application statement for the Marathon Scholarship
This scholarship aims to promote the marathon spirit of “challenging oneself, surpassing one’s limits, showing perseverance, and never giving up” on university campuses and among student communities, and to encourage young elite groups to experience and spread a positive attitude toward life through the sport of marathon running.
Applicants are required to state, in their application, their personal understanding of the athletic spirit of the marathon.
I am a fairly amateur runner, and I have always held the marathon in a kind of awe.
I started running consistently in the summer of 2021, prompted by the relatively enclosed and regular life of staying on campus for an internship during the break. Inspired by an article I happened to come across, I realized that leaving the track and field, “not retracing the same route,” and seeing different scenery along different stretches could give a more immersive experience. Sure enough, that’s what happened when I tried it. Down from the dorm, around the biggest loop of Yanyuan, 4 kilometers a lap; passing through the Yannan dormitory area, Wusi Road, past the Gandang Stone and the eastern foot of the library, then “sneaking into” Langrun Garden via the little path behind the History Department… I suddenly found that adding more laps wasn’t hard at all. From 4 kilometers to 8, to 16, as my distance and pace records kept getting broken, at the turn of summer into autumn the idea of training for a marathon suddenly took root in me, and by late November I finally completed my first half marathon, looping Yanyuan several times.
But along with it came doubts about the limits of my own ability. Because my mileage climbed too fast, lactic acid buildup and muscle fatigue started troubling me, and when I sought treatment the doctor described me as “listless, showing none of a young person’s vitality.” Because of knee pain, I consulted the “professionals” at the running club, who told me that training for a marathon required a gradual process of one to two years. Then came Beijing’s winter and spring, with smog from time to time, and my internship and career development also hit a wall; after switching to a company with a longer commute, my every-other-day training plan became unsustainable. This state of affairs lasted until I graduated from my undergraduate program, and over that year my weight, swinging wildly along with my exercise volume and eating habits, showed me that when it comes to running, sticking with it is far harder and more precious than relying on weight loss and short-term breakthroughs through overcompensation.
Fortunately, summer came quickly, and with injuries and smoggy days temporarily behind me, I started training again. After the first semester of my master’s began, the packed course schedule still kept me from joining the running club’s daily evening sessions, so I could only squeeze in runs whenever I had a clear, free moment. By the time the city reopened in November, I’d run over 100 km a month for three months straight. Unfortunately, the COVID recovery period interrupted my training rhythm again, and setbacks in my first-year job search filled me with a broad sense of confusion about the future — sticking with training no longer seemed necessary, and I spent that whole spring’s free time in an endless, “no-growth” cycle of written tests and interviews. Even so, because I “happened to win the lottery” for the Qingdao Half Marathon, a short two-day trip gave me some breathing room; finishing with one of my better personal times, and the sea of lights in Qingdao’s biting sea wind, gave me an enormous boost in spirit. Running was able to continue, becoming “another life” of mine that could stand against a work life growing ever emptier of meaning.
During the summer of 2023, I moved between internships in several cities, and the daily reminder on my phone for the “90-Day Full Marathon Breakthrough Plan” was the top priority every day. When another autumn arrived, I finally kept my two-year appointment with a full marathon, as I’d hoped. This may be one of the few things I’ve been sure I could accomplish purely through personal willpower and persistence — even after repeatedly missing the lottery for races in various cities, even after enduring more than four hours of moderate rain in Xuzhou.
The marathon is actually a very ordinary, mass-participation sport. As a friend of mine summed it up, no matter how well you perform early on, no matter how much energy you save, by the second half there will always be people passing you, and there will always be someone slower ahead of you too. Before running my first full marathon, because of the shadow of old injuries, I didn’t believe that distances beyond a half marathon were healthy for the human body — not until I actually saw, on the course itself, how many ordinary men and women, young and old, could keep going on that course, rain or shine. In the year before that, two elder figures I’d looked up to as devoted marathon runners had, one after another, “shattered” that image for me, and because of that I criticized and questioned whether this time-consuming and solitary sport was too elitist; besides, the rising threshold for runner’s high also made me start to worry that endorphins, like dopamine, could become addictive and disrupt metabolism. These worries piled up for a long time, until the moment I decided to stop dodging training because of weather or written tests and interviews, until at the very last moment I committed to buying a ticket to race and finished it in heavy rain. When I saw a whole crowd of people, equally convinced that every step counts, still driving their bodies forward all around me with real force, I realized that the simple, repetitive motion of swinging arms and striding forward is the best weapon against fear and doubt.
Looking back over these past years, there have been countless moments when, within seconds, I decided to put down whatever I was doing, change clothes, and go downstairs to run. I think the spirit of the marathon may lie precisely in action. Once the mind starts moving the body, no matter how long the distance, it becomes simply the inevitable result of time and persistence, and all beings are equal in it (including the person I saw with my own eyes pushing a wheelchair along the course in the pouring rain). Wherever I end up after this, whatever circumstances I go through, whenever I remember that I can at least keep running in some corner of the world, I can always find some real, solid comfort in that.
Dear Members of the Review Committee:
I am writing to express my deep understanding of the athletic spirit of the marathon, and to apply for your university’s Marathon Scholarship Program. In my view, the marathon is not merely a sport — it is a symbol of a life attitude that challenges the self, surpasses its limits, perseveres, and never gives up. I believe this attitude can not only shape my own personal growth, but can also spread positive energy across the university campus and society as a whole.
First, the marathon is a challenge to the limits of both body and mind. In this sport, runners must overcome physical exhaustion and psychological pressure, persevering all the way to the finish line. This sustained effort not only builds physical endurance, but also tempers inner willpower. I know full well that I will face all kinds of difficulties and challenges in university life, and the marathon’s spirit of “perseverance” will become a powerful driving force for me to overcome them.
Second, the marathon teaches people the belief of never giving up. In the final stretch of a race, many runners may feel exhausted, yet they choose to keep going rather than give up lightly. This quality of persistence is exactly what I hope to cultivate and demonstrate at university. Whether facing academic pressure or life’s troubles, I am willing to persevere to the end, the way one does in a marathon, and meet every challenge head-on.
Finally, the marathon is a sport of teamwork. Although every runner is pursuing their own personal best, the success of the whole race depends on the collective effort of the community. This reminds me that on a university campus, we as classmates should work together, support one another, and grow together. Through the marathon, I hope to cultivate a spirit of teamwork, and move toward higher goals together with my classmates.
In sum, I deeply understand the spirit embodied by the marathon — “challenging oneself, surpassing one’s limits, showing perseverance, and never giving up” — and I am willing to promote this positive energy on campus through this sport. I believe that receiving your university’s Marathon Scholarship will be an important opportunity for me to achieve personal growth and contribute to society. In my future university life, I will bring an even more positive attitude to my studies and social life, and strive hard to surpass myself.
Thank you to the review committee for your attention and this opportunity.
Sincerely, [Your Name]