272/365 Boston Marathon: Are You Next?

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

Today was the 115th Boston Marathon. The elite winner for the men Geoffrey Mutai finished in 2:03:02 and the elite winning woman, Caroline Kilel, finished in 2:22:36. How can us mere humans reach that level of athleticism? Hard work, dedication, and a lot of time.

Before you start training for any long distances, Runner's World recommends that you have run at least 3 miles 3 times a week for a year and that you currently average about 15-20 miles a week. This will make sure that your muscoskeletal system has the durability to take the 26.2 miles of the race day and the hundreds of miles in between to train for it. Not only does your body need to be ready, so does your mind. Is this something you really want? Do you have the time to dedicate to training? These and other questions on this quiz/article will help you decide if training for a marathon is right for you.

Since I am new to the whole endurance running scene, I recommend checking out Hal Higdon's site. He was a contributor to Runner's World and wrote Marathon: The Ultimate Training Guide. He has training programs for all levels of racers for every distance.

So here's to you and your running endeavors!

In health,

Lauren

PS: My dear friend Adam told me a few years ago that you only run 1/3 of what you're capable of. After that, I ran my first ever 3 miles with him. You can do it too!