A Passion for Running

Welcome to the home of Mark aka The Running Blogfather – a 40 year-old dad, husband and marathon runner who's beaten injury and is on the comeback trail!

heroes & other sources of inspiration

passion for running category: heroes,inspiration,running on Friday, March 9 2007

one last link (I think!) for my sidebar menu. This post is very much in draft form right now. I will complete it shortly.
————-
Running Heroes

  1. Ed Whitlock: Ed Whitlock is over 75 years old and running 3 hour marathons. This just astounds me. He is #1 on my list of running heroes because he is the perfect example of what sustained fitness can do for us into our later years. The other reason I am inspired by Ed is because he runs 2 to 3 hours a day. No, that was not a typo. The guy is the perfect example of what running lots of miles can do for you. Ed: If you ever read this, please know that I am in complete awe of you. You rock! Oh! Did I mention Ed is Canadian?
  2. Emil Zatopek: I’m not sure exactly why but I’ve always been drawn to Emil Zatopek. Maybe it’s because he defines what hard work and determination is. Maybe it’s because he listened to his inner voice. Maybe it’s because he won the 5000 meter, 10,000 meter and Marathon all in the same Olympics. Wow.
  3. Steve Prefontaine:So much has been written about “Pre”. He is a compelling historical figure because he flat out refused to put forward anything other than his best. I think, more so than most people we see in athletics.
  4. Hicham El Guerrouj: They call him the King of the Mile – because he is. He’s the mile world record holder (3:43:13) and every time I see him running on video, I’m mesmerized. Poetry in motion. More than anyone, watching him makes me want to run fast.

Inspiration

  1. My Family: In my hierarchy of needs, fitness is very important. Why is it important? Well, as much as I want for myself to be fit into my old age like Ed Whitlock, I also want to be fit so I can be a good role model, inspire and do stuff with my kids. Every parent has moments that they remember forever – moments that define the relationship we have with our kids. One moment for me was running around a track with my then four year old daughter just prior to the start of a marathon I was to run on my 35th birthday. That moment was special. I hope Cassandra and Christopher pick up running because it would be so great to run with them in their teen and adult years.
  2. The Running Blog Family: (Coming!)



7 Comments

51802

Comment by La Lynx

Friday March 09, 2007 @

These are all great, Mark! It’s so helpful to know how other runners are training and racing. I didn’t used to refuel during runs, but someone convinced me to try a gel during my first 20 mile training run and it really made a difference. I’m going to experiment with refueling in half marathons, as well. I don’t really hydrate well, but during races, I drink a half cup at each water station. It’s enough to keep me going and I’ve never had to use the bathroom during a race, including the marathon, which took me 4:42:30 to finish.

51816

Comment by jeanne

Friday March 09, 2007 @

you’re a good guy mark.

52052

Comment by Jim

Saturday March 10, 2007 @

(I don’t offer this to be contrary; it just brought a smile to my face when I read it, so I thought I’d share.) A quote from the Emil page -almost- seems incongruous with the Lydiard method as we’ve read via your posts about your applying it in your training. Here it is, “Why should I practice running slow? I already know how to run slow. I want to learn to run fast.” Mark, it sounds like you, too will soon ‘know’ how to run slowly, and will then be able to begin to learn to run fast! I’m looking forward to continuing to read about your journey. Keep up the good work! :-)

52060

Comment by Mark

Saturday March 10, 2007 @

Hi Jim,

This is one of the things people misunderstand about Lydiard – he never advocating running slow. In fact, the “Long Slow Distance Run” which has been attributed to him is one of the most misunderstood things about Lydiard. Lydiard advocated one very long run each week but he did not say to run it slow. And he certainly did not say what what people like Jeff Galloway say – that “you cannot run the weekly long run too slow”.

Lydiard believed in getting the maximal possible aerobic effort into each run. But he also understood that you cannot run at maximum pace/effort every time out. That is why he trained runners with the “hard/easy” method. He knew that if you can run every day and achieve balance between running at varying efforts, you can build endurance in a way that the body can handle.

I hope this helps.

52062

Comment by Mark

Saturday March 10, 2007 @

Jim, now I’m re-reading your comment and it looks like you “get” Lydiard and were just having some fun. If I misunderstood you, I apologize. :)

52288

Comment by Jim

Sunday March 11, 2007 @

Mark, Thanks for the clarification. I think I get it, but that’s only from reading your posts, and occasionally visiting the links you provide.

I need to read-up some more on this program, because it’s piqued my interest. (And because I ran my first race in about 20 years this morning. A small 5K trail run. Took first male master the day after my 40th ;) )

Thanks for taking the time to journal your program for us. Very cool.

52290

Comment by Mark

Sunday March 11, 2007 @

Thanks Jim. I think what I may do shortly is do a post which outlines some of Lydiard’s basic concepts with some links to some articles that will help us all understand him better. :)

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI
A blue box by your comment means you do not have an avatar from www.gravatar.com!

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.