Marathon You Can Do It

Different runners have different goals as to why they run a marathon. One popular reason is lose weight.

Fitness and dietary experts say marathons increasingly are the exercise equivalent of crash diets, with similarly disappointing results. There’s no evidence that running a marathon leads to lasting weight loss, marathon researchers say. And it’s unknown how often such runs initiate a lifetime of steady exercise. Indeed, in a long-term fitness sense, marathons are really sprints; the true marathon is the exercise program that lasts for decades, fitness experts say.

For you to lose weight from marathon running you have to make a life time commitment. Promise to keep running for the rest of your life because if you engage in marathon running you may see instant result but if you stop you shall region all the pounds you have lost.

Eric Zorn, a popular Chicago Tribune columnist, chronicled with passion and humor his training for the 1998 Chicago Marathon. Along the way he convinced scores of other novices to follow suit. But after three successful marathons, Mr. Zorn gave it up, and he eventually regained the 40 pounds he’d lost.

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: chicago marathon, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune Columnist, Crash Diets, Decades, Exercise Program, Fitness Experts, Life Time Commitment, Lifetime, Marathon Running, Marathons, Novices, Rest Of Your Life, Runners, Running A Marathon, Running Marathon, Running To Lose Weight, Steady Exercise, Term Fitness, Weight Loss

If you’ve never run a marathon or you’re trying to run your fastest time ever, you may consider registering and running in one of these flat marathon courses around USA. Most of this marathon allow you to qualify for Boston marathon.

Chicago Marathon.

Chicago is a flat and fast marathon. Many of over 30,000 runners run it for its speed. The only downside is that the weather can be unpredictable some years, too hot of too cold defeating the flat course advantage.

Philadelphia Marathon

This Pennsylvania marathon has a flat course, the fact that the marathon is ran in late November when the weather is cool gives it an ideal marathon environment for a fast race.

Carlifornia International Marathon

Held in Sacramento California, the marathon is touted as “The Fastest Course in the West.”

Cleveland Marathon

Held in cleveland Ohio in Mid May.

Flat marathons around New York

Mohawk-Hudson River Marathon

This Albany New York marathon, Running Times magazine calls it one of the fastest marathon routes in the country.

Wineglass Marathon

The marathon is held in Corning New York. The Wineglass Marathon yields one of the highest percentages of runners qualifying for the Boston Marathon.

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: Albany New York, Boston Marathon, chicago marathon, Cleveland Marathon, Corning New York, Fastest Time, Hudson River, International Marathon, Late November, Marathon Chicago, Marathon Running, Marathons, Mohawk Hudson, New york marathon, Philadelphia Marathon, Qualifying For The Boston Marathon, Running Times Magazine, Sacramento California, West Cleveland, Wineglass Marathon

It was an interesting 2009 Chicago marathon. Our good Spectators were their to record the memeory with this awesome photos from 2009 Chicago marathon. The photos were submited to chicago tribune website. All rights are to respective owners and courtesy of Chicago tribune.

The Champ on the way, At the end he nearly waved the $100,000 good bye!

Pain is temporary, pride is forever!

If the above quote was not inspiring, then being chased by this devil look alike was enough to make runners run for their lives!

On this special day even Elvis made an appearence from his grave!

What Courage? He could have chosen to use a Wheel chair but he chose his legs

For more exciting photos like these visit chicago tribune photo gallery.

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: Appearence, Champ, chicago marathon, Chicago Photos, Chicago Tribune, Courage, Devil, Elvis, Good Bye, Legs, Marathon Photos, marathon runners, Memeory, Photo Gallery, Pride, Spectators, Tribune Photo, Wheel, Wheel Chair

Marathon business is a competitive business. In the USA alone over 400 marathons are organised each year targeting something like 400,000 runners.

The big marathons such as New York Marathon, Boston marathon and the Chicago marathon have no problem attracting runners, they dont even need to spend alot on marketing because it is the runners that come to them. But for many marathon races how to attract runners is a big headache.

Any race director who is organising a marathon and is wondering how he can attract more runners needs to read the following case studies. I read them from raonoke dot com.

Case Studies of formers struggling marathons and how they solved the problem

The Country Music Marathon in Nashville, Tennessee

The race started 10 years ago with hilly course, and participation fell off from 7,500 the first year to 6,300 the second year, said Adam Zocks, the race’s general manager. Organizers flattened the course and added a half-marathon. Last year, the races had a combined 31,000 participants.

The Mount Rushmore Marathon.

The mount Rushmore marathon in the black hills of South dakota which had a mountainous course has seen steady growth in recent years, says Steve Kurtenbach, president of All Sports Central, which organizes the race. He attributed part of that to adding a second, easier marathon course that now draws more runners than the original.

From this two case studies is clear that if the marathon course is hilly and tough a marathon race will find it difficult attracting willing runners, if a race directors manages to convince some novice local runners to participate, they will have a hard time such that they will not participate again.

But what about a race that with an easy flat course but struggles to attract runners.

Few marathon race can survive on local participation. The race director and the organisers must target runners from out of town. To get out of town runners to come the organisers must give them a good reason, rather than the marathon alone, as to why they should visit the town.

Like the organisers of country music marathon added “part of the Country Music Marathon’s success was people realizing that Nashville was a great destination apart from the race.”

Another well market marathon is the Suntrust Richmond marathon, the marathon targets first time marathon runners with the tagline “America’s most friendliest marathon”

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: Black Hills, Black Hills Of South Dakota, Boston Marathon, chicago marathon, Country Music Marathon, half marathon, Hilly Course, Marathon Boston, Marathon Course, Marathon Race, Marathon Races, marathon runners, Marathons, Mount Rushmore, Nashville Tennessee, New york marathon, Race Director, Race Directors, Sports Central, Zocks

Haile Gebreselassie Vs Samuel Wanjiru. I had hoped this two will race together this year so that we can know who is the king of the full marathon.

Samuel Wanjiru had hoped to take on Haile at 2009 Berlin Marathon but he failed to get invitation to the Berlin Marathon from the organisers. I feel the organisers bowed to the demands of Haile who has previously been quoted saying he prefers to race against the clock rather than go head to head and worry about the athlete behind his neck.

After failing to challenge Haile in Berlin, Wanjiru has entered 2009 Chicago marathon. What is interesting is that Chicago is a flat course just like Berlin. If the weather cooperates, expect Wanjiru to attack Haile record time. Berlin Marathon is on September 20th While Chicago marathon will be on October 11th. After the Berlin marathon Wanjiru will have ample time to reflect and prepare to better Haile’s effort.

A local paper here in Kenya caught up with Samuel Wanjiru on a 35K run along Nyahururu – Gilgil road last monday and the 22 year old athlete played down the Berlin politics and insisted he is 100% focused on 2009 Chicago Marathon.

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: Ample Time, Athlete, berlin marathon, chicago marathon, Clock, Haile Gebreselassie, Haile Gebrselassie, Invitation, Last Monday, Organisers, Record Time, Samuel Wanjiru, Weather

With hundreds of marathons held around major cities in the US not all marathons are the same. Some marathons are harder than others and some are easy to run.A good example is Boston marathon, even without its requirement for proof of running a previous marathon, the hilly boston route would be handful for a marathon newbie.

Most beginners choose to run nearer home but if you are an adventure seek you can choose a marathon from a different city. In choosing a marathon to run a beginner should ask is the course flat or hilly.

If your goal is an easy marathon, I think you may benefit from US Airways article that listed some easy marathon across US.

Writer Larry Olmsted had a few simple criteria for choosing his first marathon: good weather, a flat course, a fun atmosphere and a high volume of registrants to lower his chances of coming in last!!!!!!

Easy beginners marathon

These were some of the marathon listed.

1. Honolulu Marathon – It was the writers no one pick because of a flat course

2. Chicago Marathon -Flat course but beware, the marathon has a history of horrible weather on Dday.

3. Marine Corps Marathon

4. Twin Cities marathon – Down side of this marathon is Leave your iphone home, ear phones are banned from twin cities.

5. Las Vegas marathon – It is the only marathon in the world where you can run and get married. For those married they can renew their wedding vows.

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: Beginner Runner, Boston Marathon, chicago marathon, Dday, Different City, Ear Phones, First Marathon, First Timer, Good Weather, Honolulu Marathon, Horrible Weather, Iphone, Larry Olmsted, Las Vegas Marathon, Marathon Races, Marathons, Marine Corps Marathon, Running Marathon, Twin Cities Marathon, Us Airways

Many runners who want to run the Chicago marathon may think it’s too late, but the good news is they can still sign up and help a great cause at the same time.

The American Cancer Society Charity Runner program has coveted spots available for the sold-out 2009 Chicago Marathon and is seeking dedicated athletes to race for the fight against cancer.

Visit: www.charityrunner.org to register for the 2009 Chicago Marathon and learn more about the Charity Runner team.

Additionally, to get daily health and running tips you may consider connecting with the fellow runners on: -
?    Twitter.com/ACS_ChiRunner
?    Facebook.com
?    YouTube.com

One running tip from runners world.

“As you build your mileage base in the first month, make sure you’re getting a balanced diet of fruits, vegetables, protein, and whole grains; eliminate most of the junk.” – Runner’s World

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: Acs, American Cancer Society, Balanced Diet, Charity, chicago marathon, Facebook, Fellow Runners, Fruits Vegetables, Health, marathon runners, Mileage, Protein, Runners World, Running Tips, Whole Grains, Youtube

If you are training for the Chicago marathon you should keep in mind the following marathon training principles:

When to start training for Chicago marathon

The early you start your marathon training the better. 4 months prior to the marathon is a good idea. Training early has advantages, you get enough time to train and most importantly you have time to recover from inevitable running injuries.

The Chicago marathon course

The course is the flattest around. No need to do hill running as part of your training but if you do hill running during your training, on the d-day the flat course will feel like a piece of cake.

The 10% rule of marathon training.

Never increase your weekly mileage, by more than 10 percent a week. If you do you will drastically increase the risk of running injury.

The long runs for Chicago marathon

The long runs can be upto 20-23 miles (for the experienced runner) for the inexperienced runner this can be 5 – 15 miles depending on your level of experience. The long run should be done at least once a week.

Easy weeks

We love going full speed on our training but it is a good Idea to slow things down between your training weeks. This will allow you to stay fresh as you build on your overall workload.

Rest.

Taking a complete break from running is as important as running itself. Two to three days of complete rest will allow you body to recover from the stress of marathon running. Don’t take a long rest as you will lose all the gains from your training.

Hydration for Chicago marathon

Keep drinking enough water. Water helps in preventing running injuries

Weather conditions for Chicago marathon

The last two chicago marathon have seen hot temperatures on the day of the marathon. In 2007 it was so hot to the extent one vulnerable runner died. The best way to prepare is to train in hot weather conditions.

Nutrition for Chicago marathon

Eating the right foods is important! You need to eat plenty of carbohydrates to give you energy. Eating foods rich in protein will help your body repair small tears that happen during training.

Taper for Chicago marathon

Avoid overtraining by reducing your weekly mileage during the final two weeks before Chicago marathon. This will ensure you arrive at the starting line feeling fresh and energized.

Good luck with your training!!

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: chicago marathon, Marathon Running, Marathon Training, Training Plan

So you want to register and run Chicago marathon, then you better be ready to pay a hefty $125.

Inflation has affected marathons, just like everything else in life.

For an answer on how the $125 is spent, Mark Remy of Runners world magazine had a funny fictional interview with Kenneth D. Lewis, Bank of America’s chairman, president and CEO, the sponsors of Chicago Marathon.

This part of the interview made me shed tears of laughter

“

Where does that $125 entry fee go, exactly?
Ah. Well… We offer beverages along the route, you know. Water and… uh… sporty concoctions and such. Scotch and soda as well, I believe. That adds up.

OK, aid stations. What else?
Those gaily colored placards. The ones pinned to one’s running uniform.

Bib numbers?
Precisely. Those don’t come cheap, either. And let’s not forget the safety pins. If you think each participant takes just four, you are badly mistaken.

So far this isn’t adding up to 125 bucks.
Of course it isn’t. Because we haven’t yet talked about the race shirts. They’re made by Armani. And by “made by Armani,” I mean that Mr. Giorgio Armani himself makes them. By hand. The man is 74 years old, so this takes time. And time is money.”

Have a funny day

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: Boston Marathon, chicago marathon, runners world magazine, Running, Running Humour

If you are an amateur runner and you happen to “miraculously” win a major road race you won’t share in the Jackpot.

It happened at last week’s 2008 Chicago marathon.  The IAAF website reported the fourth place finisher Wesley Korir of Kenya was disqualified and he was not eligible to get the $15,000 on offer for the fourth place finisher in the elite race because he was not a competitor in the elite race.

The reason was that Wesly Korir  started the race among the ordinary runners like us and not among the elite runners.

The elite runners started the race five minutes before the rest of the field of 33,000 runners.

“Gun time” Vs Chip time

The elite runners are timed immediately the starting gun is short, while for the ordinary runners you are timed when your running chip crosses the mat at the starting line.

The rules of the IAAF and USATF, the US governing body that oversees both road and track races in the US, state that only the gun time can be used to determine order of finish for awards, such as prize money, as is given out to the top finishers in many road races.

The rules, race referee Jim Estes of USATF determined, are clear.  The elites and Korir ran separate races.  Korir may have been the fourth fastest man on the day, but he was not eligible to get the $15,000 on offer for the fourth place finisher in the elite race because he was not a competitor in the elite race.

story courtesy of IAAF Website

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: chicago marathon, kenya Runners, Marathon, Running