For most of us, even imagining ourselves running for a mile seems impossible. However, for the other 50,773 that finished the TCS New York City Marathon, running a 26.3 miles is, well, fun.

Being the largest and the most popular marathon in the world, the TCS Marathon spans through all five boroughs. This year, the TCS Marathon started on Sunday, November 5. Linda Mulé, a proud participant who finished Sunday, experienced the pains and gains of running the marathon — and for the first time as well. Although she ran a couple half marathons before, this was her first time running a full marathon, which she finished in 4 hours and 45 minutes.

The TCS marathon specifically had an impact on Mulé since she grew up in New York City. “I spent my childhood traveling throughout the five boroughs and I lived in the Bronx for four years when I went to Fordham,” she tells us. “To experience New York in this context? Just amazing.”

Running a marathon isn’t all rainbows and unicorns though. The side effects of preparing and finishing the marathon are not for the weak. “Running, in general, takes a toll on your body. During training, I would be extremely dehydrated. I was sore a lot of the time. My toenails all fell off. My feet [still] have blisters.” says Mulé. Recovering from the marathon takes a bit of time, even though Mulé says that she recovered pretty quickly. “[The day after the marathon] I did not leave my bed. Two days after was worse. My knee and calf really hurt and I was still very dehydrated. I did not get really hungry until 2 PM, two days after I ran [the marathon].” she claims. By Thursday of the following week, Mulé was completely recovered.

Training for the marathon was not easy either. “It takes a lot of mental and physical work,” recalls Mulé, “I had to push myself beyond my barriers, beyond myself saying ‘You can’t do this.’” The reason why she personally decided to push herself is because “You are the one pushing yourself to achieve goals that you never thought you could achieve. I ran because I knew I would cross that finish line and say to myself, ‘I did it.’”

Despite the hardships, Mulé recommends that you (yes you) should run the TCS marathon. “You learn a lot about yourself in 26.2 miles,” she explains, “There is nothing like crossing that finish line. I started to cry once I crossed. You spend so much time preparing and the feeling of success and accomplishment overwhelms you. You will feel like a superhero.”

Similar to any other marathon, the crowds proved to be a large part of the motivation to complete the marathon. Mulé further explains,”High-fiving everyone cheering, screaming in tunnels, dancing while the bands in Brooklyn play – the excitement will carry you to the finish line. There is something so special about strangers taking time from their weekend to cheer for you. This is New York. We lift each other.”