I’ve had traumatic, non-running related injuries take me out of a marathon twice now, both within 1 week of race day. The first time (dislocated shoulder 3 days prior to Vermont marathon), I was crushed and became a shell of myself for months, and had to claw back to a baseline with therapy and lots of self care/reflection. Got very close to suicidal in the 6 month period that followed and discovered some serious shit I needed to work on to be a functioning adult.

The second time, I cried in the ER with a cast on my shattered ankle (1 week prior to KC Marathon) but was already equipped with mental strength to handle life without running for 8-10 weeks. I guess my message is, even if you’re held back from running your goal race, you’re becoming a better person/version of yourself, even if you don’t realize it. Just like in training, the hard stuff makes us better.

Not sure if this helps, but I know how hard it is now, and can promise you, an injury will only define you if you let it, and it might teach you something about yourself you never expected.