Comments on: A Different Kind of Runner

By: 21stCenturyMom

21stCenturyMom — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 01:10:11 +0000

Kristin – TNT will take great care of you and you will finish your race! I trained with them for my first marathon and to date it has been my best both in time and as an experience. Enjoy!

By: Kristin

Kristin — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 22:02:50 +0000

Excellent advice Blaine. As someone who *just* signed up to run a marathon at the end of June for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society this article made my heart sink into my stomach when I first saw it! But all the kind comments and good advice here helped me recover from a few minutes of dread ;p I definitely plan on following my training to a T and respecting every inch of those 26.2 miles!

By: Blaine Moore (Run to Win)

Blaine Moore (Run to Win) — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 14:12:40 +0000

Actually, four or five months is more than enough time to go from nothing to marathon provided that:
You are not grossly out of shape before you start (5’4″ and 280 pounds, for example) – your doctor should be able to sign off on a moderate exercise program right off the bat.You are willing to follow a training program to the letter and not skip runs or do extra workouts – and it is a training program geared at the nothing to marathon in your time frame.You are willing to pay attention to your nutrition, whether you eat well already or need to improve your habits.You are willing to get a full night’s sleep (almost) every night.You are willing to avoid (or at least ignore but avoiding is better) the haters and discouragers who will do their best (intentionally or not) to demotivate you.

Given those conditions, a new runner can go from their first mile to their first marathon in 4 months without getting injured or burned out. A good program should have them running their first 5k races in the build up to the marathon, and they probably will not have a record setting pace, but it is certainly a goal that can be reached.

If somebody has the support of a spouse or friend, especially one that is willing to train with them, then it is that much easier.

The important question is not whether they can or should run their marathon, but why they want to run the marathon so early in their running career. Not that the answer is very important, but it is interesting to hear different people’s motivations.

By: A Passion for Running » You Can Learn a Lot Running for Two and a Half Hours

Wed, 31 Jan 2007 03:45:56 +0000

[...] My second thought was mingled with my reaction to this article Anne wrote on CRN. Basically, my thought was that runners get injured a lot and that marathon training is an especially risky business that can really benefit from the experience of getting injured. To be specific, whenever you feel you’re on top of your game, it doesn’t hurt to remember the injuries you and your running friends have suffered. These things are a reminder to be careful, not be cocky and to enjoy being in the moment. [...]

By: 21stCenturyMom

21stCenturyMom — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 20:53:58 +0000

Lots and lots of people are entering training programs to run for cause (leukemia, AIDS, whatever) and training up for a marathon in 4 months. The marathons have 10s of thousands of people, higher revenue and probably better sponsorship and prizes for the pros. Saying that people who run slow marathons “diminishes the achievement of the folks who pioneered the race” is a little like saying that gay marriage threatens the very institution. Not true! It just makes for more people getting what they want out of life and that’s a good thing.

That having been said, we can all injure ourselves training. Competent runners do it training too hard and beginning runners do it training too much for their fitness level. It happens.

By: Mark Iocchelli

Mark Iocchelli — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 15:03:16 +0000

Well said, Funky Dung! It’s all about the LOVE!

By: Funky Dung

Funky Dung — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 15:00:19 +0000

“if people want to run, let them run. don’t hate. congratulate.

As Billy Joel said, “You told me not to drive [my body too hard], but I made it home alive [i.e., I finished the marathon OK]. So you said that only proves that I’m insane.”

I can’t speak for the other people you encountered, but the folks around here aren’t about hate. They’re just worried about what harm newbie runners might do to their bodies by training for a marathon too soon. To many, “I trained for and ran a marathon in four months after no prior training and was no worse for wear” sounds like “I drove home drunk and didn’t have an accident”. Simply because someone can safely run a marathon in four months doesn’t mean that they should do so or encourage others to do likewise.

Long-time runners don’t hate newbie marathoners any more than your parents hated you when they said walking across that railroad bridge, ala Stand By Me, wasn’t a good idea.

By: Adeel

Adeel — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 08:23:58 +0000

I’m not at all impressed by a poorly-run marathon, but I think all runners should have the prerogative to run whatever race they want with as little training as they want. I wouldn’t discourage this woman from running a marathon at all.

On the other hand, I’d tighten cut-offs in marathons.

By: Tammy

Tammy — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 02:49:07 +0000

I ran a marathon 5 months after I decided to try running. While it wasn’t a ‘fast’ marathon, it was a great experience, and one I do not regret. I don’t see a problem w/the scenario you mentioned… mental blocks hold us back more than physical ones. I know I’ve inspired a lot of people to give it a go, and the lady in your story may as well… anything that gets people moving!

By: Anne

Anne — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 00:03:03 +0000

Jack:

You slipped in while I must have been writing my earlier response. Thank you for reminding us that there’s more to running than marathons. It takes a lot to run a 5k or a 10k race, too. I hope you get to experience that feeling someday.