Archive for the ‘Running’ Category

May 1st, 2012

Strike Out For ALS a race, a Baseball Game and a Great Cause.

July 10th and the Les Turner Strike Out for ALS is a race you want to add to your race calendar.

Also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease for the New York Yankees baseball icon, ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.

Named for Les Turner, a charismatic Chicago area business and family man, the Les Turner ALS Foundation is Chicagoland’s leader in ALS research and patient services and support. They are the only independent, publicly supported non-profit organization in Chicagoland dedicated solely to the treatment and elimination of ALS.

The Les Turner Strike Out for ALS is an opportunity to support this great charity, get in a good run and live out your Field of Dreams, baseball fantasy moment all at the same time.Starting at the iconic home plate of old Comiskey Park and finishing with a lap around the warning track of U.S. Cellular Field this is a one of a kind race. Following the race you can hang out and watch the 2012 All-Star Game on the Jumbo-Tron of U.S. Cellular Field and replenish with some great post race munchies from the concession stand.

Click here for more information and to register.

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April 10th, 2012

North Shore Half Marathon Making Major Changes to This Years Race

In 2011 The North Shore 1/2 Marathon went from being a local race to world class event, attracting elite runners with a $10,000 prize purse.  In it’s 33rd year the event brought over 30 elite athletes representing 13 nations to battle it out for the prize purse.

2012 RAM Racing has sweetened the pot even more, making the North Shore 1/2 a true runners race.  Above and beyond the $10,000 prize purse, this year North Shore 1/2 is offering $500 to the top male and female finishers from Illinois, giving them the opportunity to walk away with $3000 if they are the overall winner.

“It’s a step towards making the North Shore 1/2 an event that attracts elites from around the world. but also helping to support the local running community as well“  said Brandon Presern, RAM Racing, Race Director.

Travel reimbursement and gift certificates to Running Away Multisport for elite and age group runners are also a part of the new North Shore prize package.

” Every thing we do, we do with the thought of adding to the overall experience of the runners,” says Presern. “From the elites to the first time 5K runner, we are always working to make sure that at the end of the day, they cross the finish line safely, but also have a great experience.”

Every runner will get an North Shore 1/2 branded “track” jacket and 1/2 finishers will also get finishers medals.

Bringing a 1/2 Marathon to the Northern suburbs is something that Presern and his team look forward to every year. ” It’s a great course, and a different course 1/2 or 5K runners get to step away from the usual fair of the lake front path and run through an amazing part of our city.  It’s beautiful, challenging and historic.”

The post race party will have a live band, kid zone and plenty of food for participants of both distance races.

Registration is still available online at  http://www.northshorehalf.com/

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March 30th, 2012

Check Out Spring Fashions For Runners on WGN

If you weren’t watching WGN Midday News on Friday, then you missed our Running Away Team strutting their stuff on the air and showing off the coolest new looks for Spring.

The good news is we have everything in stock at both of our stores for you to look your best at the gym, in a group run or at Cinco de Miler.

You can get a sneak peek at what we have waiting for you below.

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March 23rd, 2012

Study Shows Barefoot Running Less Efficient Than Lightweight Shoes.


According to a study conducted by researchers at the University of Colorado in Boulder,  running shoes make running physiologically easier than going barefoot. The study, published online in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, began by recruiting 12 well-trained male runners with extensive barefoot running experience.

The New York Times indicated that a few previous studies have indicated that it’s easier to go barefoot in terms of physiological effort since more effort is required to handle  the extra weight of a shoe.

In the new study, Runners were asked to run multiple times on treadmills while either wearing shoes (the Nike Mayfly at 150  grams) or unshod. When unshod,  runners wore thin yoga socks to protect them from developing blisters and for hygiene purposes for the treadmills. Next, according to  the Times’ article, 150 grams’ worth of thin lead strips were taped to the top of runners’ stockinged feet. Adding an equal amount of weight to the bare foot promised to reveal whether barefoot running was physiologically more efficient than wearing shoes.

Researchers found that when barefoot runners and shod runners carried the same weight on their feet, barefoot running used almost 4 percent more energy during every step than running in shoes.

“What we found was that there seem to be adaptations that occur during the running stride that can make wearing shoes metabolically less costly,” Jason R. Franz, a doctoral candidate at the University of Colorado who led the study, told the Times. The researchers believe that when barefoot, forces generated  by the collision of  food  and ground shift to the leg muscles absent the cushioning provided by shoes.

Moreover, the study found  that even when unweighted barefoot running was compared foot-to-foot with running in the Mayflies, 8 of the 12 runners were slightly more efficient wearing shoes, even though they added more weight.

The study only looked only at the metabolic efficiency of wearing shoes, versus not. The scientists didn’t evaluate whether barefoot running lowers injury risk.

The Times article concluded, that “serious racers might want to mull over the trade-off between having less mass on their feet when barefoot versus having greater potential strain on their leg muscles.”

But for the average runner, Dr. Franz recommends that a more lightweight model might be better for many given that some cushioning spare leg muscles from extra train yet avoids the metabolic cost to wearing heavy running shoes.

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January 17th, 2012

Dathan Ritzenhein Talks About the Future.

Olympian Dathan Ritzenhein caught up with our Running Away Multisport camera crew after the Olympic marathon trials in Houston to talk about his plans for the future, recovering from his injury and nutrition tips.  Check it out.

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January 11th, 2012

The First Step is The Hardest- Cubicle Dad Shares His Story to Weight Loss and 26.2

After losing over 100 pounds in a year, raising thousands of money for charity and training for the Chicago Marathon, Dan Malinski was chosen to be one of the 10-10-10 Chicago Marathon inspiration stories.  Dan did what many of us “dream about” he changed his entire life, one step at a time.  Dan will be with coach Jennifer Harrison, February 1, 2012 at our Clybourn store to share his story, talk about setting goals, marathon training and show off his fat pants!  Grab a tissue and get ready for a night you don’t want to miss.

You’ve heard of the  “Freshman 15″, for me it was more like Freshman 40! As long as I can remember I was overweight. When I went away to college I ballooned up. Cheap hot wings, pizza eating contests, dorm food, beer and McDonald’s gave me excuses to stuff my face.

In 2008 I was at the point where I’d go to McDonald’s twice a day. For breakfast? Two bacon egg and cheese biscuits, 4 hash browns and an XL coffee with cream and sugar. For lunch? I’d order two double cheese burgers and two large fries, or “the Dan” as my coworkers came to call it. If McDonald’s by the office was Cheers, I was Norm.

At different times I tried to diet and exercise. My wife, bless her heart, tried for years to get me to eat right and go for walks. I would try, and see how hard it was and feel like a failure. So I’d eat to cope. When I would struggle I sabotaged both of us. I felt stuck.

Early in 2009, I tried to give up fast food for a year straight. I got cocky in June and said I’d run the 2009 Chicago Marathon. On race day, in October 2009, my youngest daughter was baptized. A couple friends asked how I had done in the marathon that morning. It bugged me. I lied to people saying “I don’t know how heavy I am”. I hovered around 340 most of the year, getting as high as 350lbs. I stopped weighing in. Ignorance is bliss, right?

On October 14th, a few days after my friends busted my chops, I read this post “What Did I Get Myself Into- My Marathon Story”. Without thinking I typed up an email that would change my life and sent it a compete stranger, the author of the article on Chicagonow. By the time I left work I had a running  mentor, a coach (Jen Harrison), a charity and a sponsor.

I set a goal to run the 2010 Chicago Marathon, raise $5,000 for the American Heart Association and to lose 100lbs by race day. When I started I weighed in at 330lbs and I couldn’t run 5 minutes.

I chose to run for the American Heart Association in honor of my dad who had a heart attack and triple bypass in 2001. He got his act together and got fit! I also run with heart for my oldest daughter, Kaelyn, who was born with a heart defect and had heart surgery 2 days after she was born. She turns 7 on February 9th!

I ran my first 5K on October 24th, 2009 and my second in December of that same year. On New Year’s Day, 2010 I ran 5 miles for the first time. The weight started to come off. I averaged a 2.5 lb loss a week. I started to believe I could do it. At times I doubted, or wanted to quit, sure.

I told everyone I knew what I was attempting to do. While I was met with some skepticism form family and friends, telling everyone, blogging about it and sharing my journey helped hold me accountable.

A couple months after taking this challenge on I started to hear from family and friends, how I was inspiring them to get active or to lose weight. That was so motivating! It seemed that when I hit a rough spot, or felt like things looked bleak, I would hear from someone. It would reaffirm I was on the right path, and I would keep going. I didn’t want to let people down. I didn’t want to let myself down. I started to see I wasn’t worthless, that I could do anything I put my mind to.

Heat, cold, rain and sleep deprivation were all a part of my new life.  With a goal in mind and the new attitude of “anything is possible,” nothing was going to keep me from reaching my goal.

I finished the 2010 Chicago Marathon in 6:11:04. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done and the best, at the same time. As soon as I finished, I was hooked. I had fallen in love with running. In 2011 I set PRs for a 5K, 8K, half marathon and ran a 15K with my wife (her first). She and I have lost a total of 215 lbs since October 2009.

I ran the Chicago Marathon again, solo this time. I struggled, though that’s putting it lightly. I fell twice in the first 6 miles and nearly fainted in Boystown…it wasn’t Lady Gaga overload. I had started with a friend and grabbed him before I went down. I ended up in the Med Tent at mile 9, and after a half hour there I was back on the course.

While I inspired my friends and family these last 2 years, this time they helped keep me moving on race day. The thought of finishing didn’t occur to me until mile 16, when a running buddy jumped in with me and said, “you’re going to finish.”

He was right. Despite everything that happened, I finished in 6:38:41. I had mixed emotions about the race. Sure I finished, but I had set a goal of running it in 5 hours. Crossing the line helped. Though missing the “official” cut off time left a bad taste in my mouth. I’m using that to help drive me in 2012. Coach Jen and I have agreed, 2012 is about redemption. I’m training for my third marathon, and on February 19th I will run the Austin Marathon.

When someone asks me how I lost the weight I’m blunt. I tell them there’s no magic pill, no short cut. It takes a lot of hard work, determination and sweat. I don’t know what was different this time, why it took. I guess I wasn’t ready for change before. Something clicked and I went all in.

I met some amazing people, made life long friends and inspired others to get healthy: all by deciding I needed to make a change and get healthy. I learned I can do anything I set my mind to. Hell, anyone can. I’m proof of that.

To keep up with Dan and his amazing progress, click here.

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October 13th, 2011

CONGRATULATIONS, MARATHONERS! – AND TIPS ON RECOVERY

The 2011 Bank of America Chicago Marathon is in the books.  Expressions of joy, exhilaration, relief and satisfaction filled Grant Park, indeed, the entire City of Chicago, after the race.

Congratulations, Marathoners!

The weather conditions were less than ideal, slowing progress on the race course.  But your preparation and dedication to training over the last 19 plus weeks carried the day.

This week brings time to reflect on the journey, and allow the body to recover from the marathon.

In the words of Emil Zatopek (1952 Olympic Gold Medal winner at the 5K, 10K and Marathon distances):  “If you want to run, run a mile. If you want to experience a different life, run a marathon.”

We have experienced transformation in ourselves over the last 19 weeks, culminating with the highs and the lows of Marathon Day.  And like our training regimen, in life we need to balance times of increased stress and cutbacks for recovery.

The next few weeks are a time for recovery.  Be kind to your body and your spirit this week.  For quicker recovery – continue to exercise, but gentle exercise this week.  Walking is a great way for tired muscles to repair themselves.  In a few days, consider a (gentle) massage to smooth the recovery.  (A ‘deep’ massage can delay muscle repair and, hence, recovery.)

Increase nutrition and hydration, especially Monday through Wednesday.  Following the race, our bodies need to replenish lost nutrients.  While it is not necessary to consume high calories (as we did before the marathon), it is important to restore glycogen to our muscles and protein to repair our muscles and provide energy.  Increase fluid intake as well.  We need to restore electrolytes depleted on race day and the two to three days after the race are the most opportune time to do so.  Our bodies will absorb electrolytes, carbohydrates and protein much more efficiently in these early days.

I have been asked by many when is it safe, or recommended, to return to running.  The urge to run again soon (or the dread of running too soon) needs to be balanced with the need for recovery.  Inactivity will prolong muscle soreness and repair.  Walking is a great alternative Monday and Tuesday.  A walk of 30 – 60 minutes will help relieve muscle soreness.  Follow a ‘reverse taper’ as to running.  Look back over your training schedule for the last two weeks leading up to the marathon.  Reverse the days and mileage of your training program to ease back into running.  Run at a very slow, easy pace until you ‘feel your legs’ again.  This may take several days or a few weeks.

Be cognizant of a condition called “DOMS”, which is an acronym for Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness, a condition whereby deep muscle and tissue damage (like marathoners experience on race day) exhibit themselves in more pronounced soreness 24 – 48 hours after exercise.  Your muscles may feel more fatigued Tuesday than they felt Sunday or Monday.  This is common for athletes, especially for marathoners.

Sitting in a tub of cool water (not necessarily ice water) will help relieve muscle inflammation and dissipate soreness.

This week is a great opportunity to reflect on your accomplishment of completing the 2011 Bank of America Chicago Marathon and recognizing the person you have become over the last 19 weeks of training.

This is also a good time to think about future goals.  Maintain the fitness you have achieved in preparation for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon.  Consider a race in the near future – perhaps the Hot Chocolate 15K presented by RAM Racing.  That is a great ‘next event’ to capitalize on summer training and not have excess mileage as you recover from the marathon season.

Coach Brendan

“Good form will carry you through.”

Coach Brendan Cournane is an endurance running coach and speaker based in Chicago (recently he spoke at the 2011 Bank of America Chicago Marathon Expo).  He has completed over 80 marathons, including a marathon in each of the 50 States and has also raced in Europe, South America, Antarctica, China and Africa (where he also climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro).  He has run the Boston Marathon six times and has a personal best marathon time of 3:16.  He can be reached at Coach@CoachBrendan.com or through his website: www.CoachBrendan.com.

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October 5th, 2011

The Hay is in the Barn

Marathon Week is finally here!  Upon reflection, it is hard to believe that the 2011 Bank of America Chicago Marathon is less than one week away.  18 weeks ago we embarked on a journey which culminates this Sunday morning at 7:30 in Grant Park.

Through dedication, perseverance and effort, marathon goals which seemed Impossible on Memorial Day morphed into the Improbable by Labor Day and now, reaching the goal is Inevitable!

Less than 1% of the general population has completed a marathon.  Be proud of your accomplishments.  This week show your Marathon PRIDE:

P lan  -  have  a plan for the race, and be sure to follow it.

R est  –  get plenty of rest every night this week.

I – I  know my running type  - generally runners fall into three types (even split runners, negative split runners or positive split runners) — know which type best suits your performance and plan your race strategy accordingly.

D rink   –   stay hydrated throughout the week, do not overdrink on Friday and Saturday. Your urine should be the color of pale lemonade.

E at  -    eat the right amount of protein and carbs.

Nutrition breakdown:

60 – 65% (up to 70% towards the end of this week) Carbohydrates (fruits, vegetables, whole grain bread, pasta and cereals);

10 – 15% protein (lean red meats, poultry and legumes);

25 – 30% fats (staying away from transfatty oils and fried foods).

Structure your time at the Expo – allowing enough time to tour, but not too much time on your feet.

Friday or Saturday – set out all the clothes you will wear on race day.  Start with the clothes you will wear in the race.  These should be clothes you have already worn on a long run.  Go through a checklist.  Start at the bottom and move up:  shoes, socks, shorts, shirt, running bra (women) or band-aids; sunscreen; sunglasses and headwear (hat or visor).  Dress as if the temperature will be 15 – 20 degrees warmer than the air temperature.  While you may be cold in the starting corral, you will warm up quickly in the first mile or two.  If the weather is predicted to be chilly, consider long pants or long sleeve shirt, gloves and a headband.  Bring a large empty garbage bag to wear over your head and torso while in the starting corral, or throwaway clothes (don’t expect to see them again) to wear until the race starts.  Pin your bib number to the front of your shirt.

On Marathon Day – allow extra time to arrive at the starting area.  It is better to be early than to panic over being late.  Line up in the appropriate corral, based on your predicted finish time.

Nothing New On Race Day!

If you are running with a pace group, know the pacer’s philosophy on pace and fluid stops.  If the pacer’s way of running does not suit your plan or style, consider how to adjust so you meet the pace group after mile 20.

Don’t panic if you are off pace at the first few mile markers.  The most common mistake of marathoners is running too fast in the early miles.  It is better to be in control and a little behind pace during the first 5 miles than to run too fast.  Even if you are 2:00 slower than your pace at mile 1, you have 25 MILES to make up 120 seconds (about 5 seconds per mile).  Remember the race is timed by a chip, meaning your race time starts when YOU cross the starting line.  And the time limit for the Marathon begins when the last person crosses the starting line.

Know when you will consume water, Gatorade and nutrition.  If consuming gel packs or food, consume with water (not a sports drink) at planned intervals according to how you trained.  Recommended consumption is 4 – 6 ounces of fluid every 15 – 20 minutes of the race, more if the weather is hot and humid or if you are a heavy ‘sweater’.

If running with a group or with a few friends, discuss where you will take fluids and where you will regroup after fluid stations.  (There are multiple tables at each fluid station.  Don’t stop at the first table.  It is less crowded towards the back of the tables.  Regroup about 100 yards after the last table at a fluid station – and know whether you will regroup on the right side or the left side of the road.)

Run tangents whenever possible.  Remember your high school geometry – the shortest distance between two points is a straight line.

Run the race backwards.  Think of how you want to finish the race – a big smile on your face as you crest “Mt. Roosevelt” and turn onto Columbus with the finish line in sight!  Now plan the race backwards from the time you cross the finish line to the time you read this tip.  Prepare for certain landmarks on the course, visualize how you will feel at mile 25, mile 20, mile 15, mile 10, mile 5 and at the start of the race.

Build a positive bubble around yourself.

Repeat to yourself – “I am prepared!  I will have a great experience!  Good form will carry me through!”  Let the words and the thoughts sink in, listen to the words, believe the words, feel the words.

Success is when opportunity meets preparation.  The preparation has been building over the last 18 weeks, the opportunity is Sunday morning – Success is the outcome!

Run (or Run/Walk) well.

And when all else fails, repeat:  “Good form will carry me through.”

Coach Brendan

“Good form will carry you through.”

Coach Brendan Cournane will speak at the Main Stage of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon Friday at 1:00 and Saturday at 4:00.  The topic will be ‘Tips for First Time Marathoners’.

Coach Brendan Cournane is a marathon running coach and speaker based in Chicago.  He has completed over 80 marathons, including a marathon in each of the 50 States and has also raced in Europe, South America, Antarctica, China and Africa (where he also climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro).  He has run the Boston Marathon six times and has a personal best marathon time of 3:16.  He can be reached at Coach@CoachBrendan.com or through his website: www.CoachBrendan.com.

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October 3rd, 2011

Planning Your Marathon Day for Optimum Results. (Also, a note about the Yom Kippur fast)

As we enter our second week of taper, we’ll likely find ourselves having more time on our hands– and (consequently) anxiety may increase apace.  Many runners begin to doubt their training (“Have I done enough???”); and shorter runs seem counterintuitive for race day preparation (“I should be running more, not less, as race day approaches!!!”).

This is a good time to review what has gone by over the last 4 – 5 months. And to plan ahead for the next two weeks, from now until we cross the Finish Line!  Visualize what awaits us.  Prepare yourself for a successful race day experience, knowing that we are getting stronger physically and mentally in preparation for Marathon Day.

Review your training log.  Look how far you’ve come!  If you have kept notes in your training log, look back to see the improvement in performance, increases in the distance covered in long runs and your changed perception of your abilities as a result of your training efforts.  If you have not kept a training log, review the training schedule and realize how much training you have done to reach this point.  Think back to the early part of training when a 6 or 7 mile long run seemed like a ‘long run’ and this past weekend, most said ‘It’s ONLY 10 or ONLY 12 miles’.  Note the paradigm shift.

Our perspectives HAVE changed.  In June, at the start of training, 26.2 miles seemed like a long way to go, maybe it even seemed impossible to run that far at all, or, for experienced marathoners, impossible to run faster than before.  But now, as we have crossed the 20-mile threshold, the marathon distance seems less daunting and more within our reach.  With our recent runs, the Impossible has become the Improbable.  Whether running our first marathon or our 20th, training has prepared us for the distance and we can prepare mentally as well as physically these last two weeks.  During the taper phase, we take the next step, realizing that with all of our training, all the dedication, all the preparation: what seemed Impossible has become Improbable and what seemed Improbable will become the Inevitable! Success is ahead.

Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance – Use the extra time in the taper phase to create a script of how these next two weeks unfold.  Prepare a script of all that could possibly go RIGHT for you in accordance with your desires.  After writing the script, put it away for a few days.  Retrieve it and review it – item by item.  Ask yourself what you will do if the script does not evolve as written.  This is a positive exercise, for we will not panic or have our positive energy disrupted if we have a ‘back-up’ plan on how to adjust to each circumstance.  Transportation, weather, crowds – all of these circumstances can be overcome when we think of the options in advance of race day.  Planning ahead and being flexible brings about good performance on Marathon Day.

Special Note to those of you observing Yom Kippur:

With Yom Kippur on the day before the 2011 Bank of America Chicago Marathon, special needs arise for those of the Jewish faith who are planning to run the Chicago Marathon and observing the fast on Yom Kippur—from sundown on Friday, October 7 to sundown on Saturday, October 8.

The major concern is the affect on the body due to the fast.  I have spoken with several nutritionists and all agree that fasting will (obviously) have less of an effect if you have been properly fueling throughout the training season, eating a well-balanced diet.  Even so, a modified carbohydrate loaded diet (additional carbohydrates) in the week leading up to Yom Kippur will help—but the truth remains that the result of the fast will reduce carbohydrate (hence, glycogen) stores in the muscles and liver.

Even with a modification, the energy stores may be depleted to a range of 60 – 70% of the normal range by the end of the fast—so (realistically) don’t set your expectations to set a PR; and be certain to carry extra gels, blocks or sport beans with you on Marathon Day.

Hydration is a more serious concern, as runners need to stay well-hydrated leading up to the race.  The critical factor will be consuming water, carbohydrates and electrolytes throughout the 5-7 days before you begin your fast; and as soon as possible once your fast is over, while not overloading the system.  Carbohydrate drinks (such as Myoplex) are a good source of replenishment.  So are sports drinks with high electrolyte content (such as Gatorade Endurance Formula – which will be served on the Chicago Marathon course).  Continue to eat (often and in moderate portions) up to two hours before the start of the race.

Professional athletes face the same concerns.  Here is a link to an article by a Rabbi who provides some guidance on ways to handle the fast:

http://www.marathonguide.com/news/newsviewer.cfm?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ethejewishweek%2Ecom%2Ffeatures%2Fhammerman%5Fethics%2Ffasting%5Fmarathon

Continue to eat a balanced diet as you prepare the body for race day, AND as you prepare yourself mentally to succeed on October 9.

Coach Brendan

“Good form will carry you through.”

Coach Brendan Cournane is a marathon running coach and speaker based in Chicago.  He has completed over 80 marathons, including a marathon in each of the 50 States and has also raced in Europe, South America, Antarctica, China and Africa (where he also climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro).  He has run the Boston Marathon six times and has a personal best marathon time of 3:16.  He can be reached at Coach@CoachBrendan.com or through his website: www.CoachBrendan.com.

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September 22nd, 2011

TAPER TIME – The Calm Before The Excitement of Marathon Day

For most of us, this past weekend was the longest long-run of the training season. We had a great day for our long run here in Chicago; and smiles abounded everywhere you looked.  And now with just three weeks to go we are in the final phase of training for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon – the “Taper Period”.

This training phase confuses many runners, especially first time marathon runners.  I am often asked:

“Why is our longest long-run less than the marathon distance, and why do we run our 20-miler so far in advance of race day?  Won’t my training suffer by running less over the three weeks before race day?  Shouldn’t I be running more miles these last few weeks?”

First, we run less than marathon distance as the longest training run to reduce the risk of injury.  Marathon training, like training for most endurance events – is a risk/benefit analysis.  The risk of running too many training miles (based, in part, on the experience, base level and current condition of the individual runner) must be weighed against how much training will maximize performance on race day.

Studies have shown that the risk of running more than 20 miles in training carries a higher risk of injury than the physical benefits resulting from longer training runs.  This is true for experienced marathoners as well as first time marathoners.  This is why only experienced and well-trained runners should run multiple long runs of 20 miles or longer.  Time on our feet is the best preparation for marathon day.  Once we have a long run in the range of 3 hours or longer, we are better able to handle race day.

Second, we run the longest run of training three weeks before race day to allow our bodies to recover and get stronger for race day.  Physiologically, our bodies need one easy day of recovery for each mile of a hard workout.  For a 20 mile run, this is approximately 20 days, or three weeks.  During this time, we do not stop running or training, but shorter runs allow our bodies to adapt and recover from the cumulative stress and physical ‘wear and tear’ on our bodies resulting from several months of training.

Third, our training does not suffer over the taper period.  Our body’s adaptation from training requires about two to three weeks to receive the full benefit from training.  The maximum benefit from this weekend’s long run is realized on or close to race day.  A reduction in mileage at this point of training improves performance, while additional miles tend to hurt performance on marathon day.

Over these last few weeks the shorter runs brings life back to our legs as we prepare for the journey on Marathon Day.  This period is the time to fine-tune our training, and many runs are now run at our marathon pace.  Remember – for many first time marathoners, your long run training pace IS your marathon pace.  Practice running at a comfortable pace for race day.

This is also the time to reflect upon training and re-establish goals for race day.  Visualize a successful race, from the time you leave home to the time you cross the finish line and all the way back home.  Prepare for the unexpected – weather, crowds, traffic, slow start – and have a plan in advance of how to turn each of these potentially negative events into a positive situation.

Coach Brendan

“Good form will carry you through.”

Coach Brendan Cournane is a marathon running coach and speaker based in Chicago.  He has completed over 80 marathons, including a marathon in each of the 50 States and has also raced in Europe, South America, Antarctica, China and Africa (where he also climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro).  He has run the Boston Marathon six times and has a personal best marathon time of 3:16.  He can be reached at Coach@CoachBrendan.com or through his website: www.CoachBrendan.com.

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