AWS certification vs Marathon Race — the analogy
Tags: aws, awscertifications, analogy, awscertificationjourney
Published: 2023-03-24 09:40:00

Often there is an analogy used by many industry experts about the AWS Certfications Marathon, which made me to think up writing this blog.
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Photo by Steward Masweneng on Unsplash
What is a Marathon ? A marathon is a running event with a distance of 42.195 km which takes place in the form of a road race in several countries.

In order to prepare for a Marathon, a lot of endurance, patience, encouragement and support is required for several months before the event date. Once you register for an event, generally a training plan of approximate 12/18 weeks is followed by an individual for this long and tedious but extremely rewarding journey.


A marathon finisher, credits Berlin Marathon Instagram account
And you will see the smiles and joys once you have crossed the finishing line knowing that your hard work has paid off, with a finisher medal, ofcourse! 😊


What is AWS Certifications ? AWS Certifications are available for any level of learner, whether in a technical role or not, to build cloud skills for a particular role or domain.

Similarly like a marathon race, preparing for an AWS Certifications is no different. Getting an AWS certification is a long and challenging journey that requires dedication, persistence, and hard work. It requires a lot of time and effort to train, learn and prepare for both the race and the certification exam.

When you make up your mind for one of the certification exam, you start with the plan just like you do for a marathon. You don’t start running a marathon on first day itself, instead start slowly with a progressive approach. In a similar manner for the certification you follow the same approach with little steps at a time.

**Start with a plan**
Just like you need to create a training plan for a marathon, you should also create a study plan for your AWS certification exam. You need to identify the resources you need, set your goals, and determine the time and effort you need to put in.

The first thing to start with is by enrolling into online course, which provides a detailed information about the AWS services. The online courses can be AWS Skill Builder program, Udemy courses from well known authors, etc.

Schedule your plan to spend atleast one hour per day to study the course. And if possible over the weekend, try to invest more time to study. Just like in marathon training plan Sunday’s are usually long run day :)

**Consistency is key**
To achieve success in both a marathon and an AWS certification exam, you need to be consistent in your efforts. Consistent practice and study sessions will help you build your stamina and knowledge.

If you have enrolled in one of the above training courses, it most probably contains the practical hands-on lab. The idea is to perform the hands-on for each lab to understand how the services work. By doing it, you gain more insights and also helps to remember the behaviour of the AWS services. After all it’s the practical experience which matters at the end.

PS: Do not plan to skip the hands-on lab, if you are new to the cloud technology domain.

**Overcome challenges**
Just like a marathon, preparing for an AWS certification exam will come with its challenges. You need to be prepared to face these challenges and develop the skills and knowledge required to overcome them.

When you prepare for the certifications, the courses are generally very long, and till the time you reach at the end, you often forget what you studied at the beginning of the course. This is normal, and you don’t have to panic about it 🤭.

The idea is to revise the courses atleast twice or until you gain confidence to appear for the exam.

**Check for the preparedness / Don’t give up**
Both a marathon and an AWS certification exam will require mental and physical toughness. You need to be determined to finish what you started, even when it gets tough.

This is the crucial phase where we get insights of our preparation till now. To check for the readiness, take the practise exams available in udemy or skill builder program. The idea is to continue taking the practise exams until you score consistently above 80%. Do go through using the review mode for all the questions which were incorrect, and understand the reasoning behind it.

Revisit the sections which need more attention and gain the knowledge which was lacking. Repeat the practise exams again and again till you score consistently and improve on the failures.

**Celebrate your achievement**
Finally, both a marathon runner and someone who earns an AWS certification can feel a tremendous sense of accomplishment and pride in what they’ve achieved. In both cases, the journey is as important as the destination, and the process of learning, growing, and pushing oneself to new heights is what makes the experience so rewarding.

Crossing the finish line of a marathon or passing an AWS certification exam is a great achievement. You should celebrate your hard work and dedication to achieve your goal.


Overall, both preparing for an AWS certification exam and running a marathon require commitment, persistence, and dedication. With the right mindset and approach, you can achieve success in both 😊

Good luck and keep going!

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