We Choose to Run a Marathon

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

My fellow organs, muscles, and weary neural pathways:

We convene today at a critical turning point.

For the past two years, we have confined ourselves to the desk, pouring our energy into economics coursework, data processing, and demanding research. While our minds have expanded, our physical vessel has paid a heavy toll. We have grown sedentary, letting our natural vigor slip away into the glowing screen of an academic grind.

But we must remember who we are. This is the body of Hugo Chu—a body that once thrived on the trails and roads as an avid runner, a resilient cyclist, and a heavy-load trekker. The time has come to awaken that dormant strength.

We choose to run a marathon. We choose to dedicate the next hundred days to this training plan, culminating in a 42.2km race on July 1st, 2026. We choose to run this marathon, and to tackle every interval and long run along the way, not because they are easy, but because they are hard. Because this goal will serve to organize and measure the very best of our energies and skills.

You might ask: why choose this? Why demand such immense physical suffering when our intellectual burdens are already so heavy?

But then I ask you: Why did Marc-André Leclerc choose to free-solo the most unforgiving, unroped alpine peaks? Why did Eliud Kipchoge stare down the impossible two-hour marathon barrier and decide to break it?

They did it because the ultimate test of the human spirit is not found in comfort. We are not just running to build endurance for a PhD or a career in academia. We are running to forge an unbreakable architecture for our entire existence. We are building a resilience that transcends the library and the laboratory. When we learn to breathe through the burning pain of a 32km long run, we learn to breathe through any crisis life throws our way. This cardiovascular engine will not just power our sharpest thoughts; it will cultivate a fierce, undeniable vitality that will carry us through the triumphs, the tragedies, and the sheer unpredictability of a life fully lived.

The roadmap is laid out. Heart and lungs, you will face rolling 300s and progressive mile repeats. Legs and core, you must withstand the rigors of dedicated strength days and the ultimate 32km race practice in Week 10. Brain, you must redirect the absolute discipline you use to sit through long study sessions into pushing our feet forward when every fiber of our being begs to stop.

We set sail on this new asphalt sea. It is time to leave the chair behind. Let us begin.

Detailed Plan

This is the 13-week training plan Ruuna designed for me on Day 1 (will be updated in real-time).

Click to download: My Marathon Training Plan Overview (PDF)

Online Preview:

Running on Hugo Chu

We Choose to Run a Marathon

Detailed Plan