What's a Marathon Exactly?

First, a quick running update. I had a very good, but cold, run this morning at Tufts--running 11 miles including a pretty substantial hill. I am a bit nervous about the hills on the Boston Marathon course, so it's been good to get some practice running some hills. That brings my total mileage for this week up to 24 miles...not too shabby. I'm trying to gradually up my mileage each week as I increase the distance of my long runs.

So far in my training, I've been pretty much injury free (knock on wood). Certainly I have some aches and pains, but nothing that's keeping me from running. I've actually been feelings pretty good on all my runs--hopefully my good luck will keep up as the mileage increases!

When I say that I'm running a marathon, I often get a ton of questions...so here are some answers to the questions I most commonly here.

How long exactly is a marathon?
 26.2 miles. And yes, the 0.2 is important, it is a VERY long 0.2 miles at the end of the run. Interestingly, the name of the race is supposedly to commemorate a Greek soldier named Pheidippides who ran from the Battle of Marathon to Athens to announce that the Persians had been defeated. The route that he ran is approximately 26 miles, so there you go. Of course, then he died. Hmmmm....

Wow, that's a lot of miles, how long does it take you to do that?
I'm guessing (and hoping) that it will take me about 5.5 hours to run the Boston Marathon, maybe a little more, maybe (hopefully) a little less.

Don't you get bored running for that long?
Well, sort of. I really enjoy running (obviously). I find it soothing to run, even by myself, and just enjoy being outside. But when running for extremely long distances, I like to run with people, which is why training with a team is so fun. And during the race itself, looking at the crowd and scenery will hopefully keep me distracted.

I thought you had to qualify to run the Boston Marathon?
Yes, you do. Unless you run for a charity. And since the chances of me ever qualifying are slim to none, running for a charity was the best option. I'm running as part of the Tufts Marathon Challenge, which raises money to fund research in an effort to prevent childhood and adolescent obesity. I'm excited to be part of this program because it not only supports a cause that I care very much about, but it allows me to reconnect with my alma mater (Go Jumbos!)

This all sounds great, what can I do to help you?
Well, if you live in the Boston area, or want to take a vacation, come watch me run on April 19th! Or just bring me cookies when my legs are sore and hurting after running. And if you want to be REALLY nice, you can support my fundraising efforts! You can donate online or contact me about how to mail a contribution.