Advanced Digital Art

Marathon Art

Role

Digital Media Student

Timeline

February - March 2022

Tools

Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, Laser Cutter

Skills

Graphic Design and Laser Cutting

Location

Claremont, California

Context

In 2023 I decided to run my second Boston Marathon and my 4th marathon. In my advanced digital art project we were tasked with documenting something we do everyday and see how it evolves. Since I was running everyday I decided to document my running. Any marathon is challenging, but my mental and physical limits were especially tested during the 127th running of the Boston Marathon. Organic laser-cut shapes layered are to show the complexity of my emotions while running the marathon. I also included personalized detail notes of important moments I remember during the marathon. My research for this project included looking at cartography, scientific articles on how we remember pain, maps and artists like Maya Lin.

Artifacts

Maps of the routes I went on over the course of training for 4 months.
Data Visualization of the type of physical activity.
Shoe prints of the 3 shoes I used to train.
A physical map that highlights the emotions I felt while running the marathon.

If you smile while running, you can reduce perceived effort by up to 2%, improving running economy (Brick et al., 2018)

"The marathon is not really about the marathon. It’s about the shared struggle. And in that struggle—finding something deeper about ourselves."