Marathon You Can Do It

“I want to beat Oprah!” That is the goal of many runners. Oprah Winfrey finished 1994 Marine Corps marathon in a time of 4 hrs,  29 mins, 15 Secs.

If Frank Shorter inspired the first (1970s) running boom across US, Oprah Winfrey inspired the second, by running the Marine Corps Marathon. If Oprah could run a marathon, shame on anyone who couldn’t.

How Oprah ruined the Marathon.

While race directors across US were happy to welcome the new generation of runners or is it marathon walkers, the hard core runners were not happy. Edward Mccleland writing for salon.com thinks :-

America’s competitive spirit has been wrecked by feel-good amateurs like Oprah whose only goal is to stagger across the finish line.

I totally agree with him! The marathon is a race, the goal should be to finish it and to finish as fast as you can.

Read the fantastic salon article here

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: 1970s, Amateurs, Boom, Finish Line, Frank Shorter, Hard Core, Marathon Time, Marathon Walkers, Marine Corps Marathon, Marine Marathon, New Generation, Oprah Winfrey, Race Directors, Runners, Running Marathon, Salon Article, Secs, Shame, Spirit, Time Marine

Marine Corps Marathon is a must sought marathon by runners. Marine Corps is popularly known as “the peoples marathon”. The traditional Marine Corps Marathon course is 26.2 miles and a 10K race also allows runners of all ages to join in a shorter 6.2 mile event.

Training & Running Tips for Marine Corps marathon

1. Train hard but remember to take a rest.

2. If a day or two of training is missed due to injury or illness or other reason, don’t try to cram two days of training into one. Lost days are simply days.

3. Train at your projected marathon pace.

4. Try to train at the time of the day the race starts and in the predicted weather condition as much as possible.

5. Do the long runs.

6. Remember to stretch

7. Do speed works round a track, it just makes your legs feel better.

8. Listen to your body, If you feel tired take a rest, if you feel pain go easy, if the pain is too much stop running.

9. Remember to stay hydrated.

10. Remember to have fun.

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: 10k Race, Amp, Legs, Lost Days, Marathon Course, Marathon Pace, marathon runners, Marathon Running, Marathon Training, Marine Corps Marathon, Marine Marathon, Running Marathon, Running Tips, Running Training, Time Of The Day, Train, Training Running, Weather Condition

Calculating the cost of marathon training and running is pretty simple, just add the cost of shoes, shorts, T-shirts plus ofcourse the race entry fees and you have your simple answer.

I have always thought like that but after listening to economist Justin Wolfers, who teaches at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and is a frequent contributor to the Freakonomics blog, the mathematics it got complicated.

How much does it cost to train & run a marathon

According to the economist, who is training for Marine Corps marathon, the real cost of training for a marathon is more expensive, Each hour you spend running is an hour you don’t spend working harder to get a promotion, studying for a degree, or shopping around for the cheapest groceries.

This is what the economist writes

The foundation of all economics is something called opportunity cost. It says that the true cost of something is the alternative you have to give up.

So each hour that I spend running is an hour that I don’t spend hanging out, working or sleeping. How do I choose? Following economic theory, I keep doing an activity only as long as it yields greater benefits than the alternative….

The same logic applies to you. Each hour you spend on your hobby is an hour you don’t spend working harder to get a promotion, studying for a degree, or shopping around for the cheapest groceries.

That is smart analysis from him, personaly I consider time spent running time well spent. The joy and pride I get from running is priceless!!

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: Amp, Economic Theory, Economist, Freakonomics Blog, Frequent Contributor, Groceries, Justin Wolfers, Logic, Marathon Running, Marathon Training, Marine Corps Marathon, Marine Marathon, Mathematics, Opportunity Cost, Running Marathon, Running Time, Simple Answer, Training For A Marathon, University Of Pennsylvania, Wharton School

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