photo credit: Tim Durbin http://www.24901experiences.com
For this impressive event, competitors race seven marathons on seven continents in seven days. Durbin finished the seventh race in Sydney, Australia, to take seventh place in the event with an average time of 5:22:45 for each marathon. He was the only competitor from the United States in this year’s event.
I got Durbin on the phone recently to ask him about this grueling race and get his advice on marathon training. Continue Reading →
That unicorn for amateur runners, the four-hour marathon, eluded me by 70
seconds in my first road race. That was spring 2009, the Martian Marathon in Dearborn, Mich..
Two and a half years later, I attempted to break four hours again in the
2011 Detroit Free Press Marathon. Missed
it by almost three minutes.
Lots of factors contributed to these near misses: rookie marathon training
mistakes, going out too fast, not fueling properly, cramps. But I want to
focus on, and celebrate, one factor that is so simple but took me several
marathons to do anything about.
Shoelaces. Continue Reading →
Marathoner, professional writer and guest blogger Jeremy Verdusco explores what you can do to minimize the risk of dying at a marathon
I know. It sounds snarky, but this post comes from an earnest place. People in marathon training and long-runners in general, need to approach this sport with open eyes to the risks and dangers of pushing bodies to their limits. Just as important, runners need to assure friends and family that they’ve managed and minimized those risks.
This has jumped to the top of my mind for a couple reasons. Unfortunately, the first is a tragedy. Recently, Cameron Gallagher, a 16-year-old from Richmond, Va., died after crossing the finish line of the Virginia Beach Anthem Half-Marathon.
The second reason comes from the British Medical Journal. According to their research, the most likely person to die during a marathon is a “middle aged adult man” around the age of 41.
That’s me. Continue Reading →
Becky Wade at California International Marathon
Becky Wade shows a light of promise for Americans in a marathon sport dominated by Kenyans. (Nothing against Kenyans; who doesn’t love to cheer on speedy runners, regardless of nationality?)
She put in a strong showing in her 26.2 debut, winning December’s California International Marathon and in the process logging one of the fastest U.S. women’s times for 2013.
She’s busy running upwards of 100 miles a week and working out sponsorship with Asics, but found time to talk with Marathon Training Academy. She shared her thoughts on marathon training, running role models and post-long run fueling. Continue Reading →
I got caught up.
A lot of runners did.
Minimal running makes sense to me. It feels right to me and mostly resonates with the way I run. Mostly.
After trying three different brands of shoes and one stress fracture here’s what I learned about minimalism and marathon training: Continue Reading →
North Country Trail Run
Plenty of books and websites offer marathon training advice. How do I run a sub-4 hour marathon? How do I properly fuel for a marathon? What’s the best marathon pacing strategy?
I read a lot of that advice. I tried to follow it. I’ve finished four marathons and plan to sign up soon for a fifth. I’ve benefited from many of those running tips, and disregarded others that didn’t help me.
So what advice can I, a mid-pack runner, share?
I want to share the lessons I learned nearly failing at a marathon. Read on and I’ll tell you what you can do to avoid coming as close to a DNF as possible without dropping out. You’ll want to read this because finishing a marathon in four hours is hard, but finishing one in nearly seven hours means true suffering.
Learn from my mistakes. Continue Reading →
