Not Born to Run: Ben C's Road To Finishing His 1st Marathon

by Ben Crosby

This fall I read Born to Run and was enthralled with the author’s struggle to reconcile his body type with the ultra-athletes he profiled. McDougall is not your “typical” skinny-runner type at 6’4” and 220 lbs, and I was surprised in the way he explored running as more mental preparation than physical exercise. I’ve got a definite love/hate thing going with running myself; after a brief stint as a long jumper in middle school, I’ve never done much besides the occasional cross-training jog. Still, there has also always been something romantic about just throwing on a pair of shoes and going out to get a big gulp of exercise around the neighborhood.

This fall I decided to jump on board when a few other teachers at my school told me they were training for a marathon. The distances look intimidating at first, but it was amazing how following a gradual program (and making a sweet ipod playlist) got me ready to run 26. I definitely had my fair share of knee and tendon pain along the way, especially acute in the month leading up to the run. I thought about bailing (who hasn’t tried to balance fear of failure with the risk of chronic injury?), but ultimately decided to go for it.

Race day was exhilarating, and nerve-wracking. I was hesitant about even showing up at the starting line due to my lingering Achilles injuries and my worry that I would have to *gasp* quit. However, as soon as the start whistle blew, I knew I’d make it. The sense of purpose as 3000 people all set off running with a singular goal (to keep going!) was overwhelming. I chugged water, poached GU packets other runners had inadvertently dropped, and played numbers games to no end as the mile markers ticked up to 26. The breadth of athletes and body types was inspiring; I saw teens, dads, grandmothers, and no end of amateurs like me trotting along in their race-day best.

Crossing the finish line felt amazing; my time wasn’t record setting by any means, but I knew I’d caught the marathon bug. I’m training for the SF Marathon in July with some friends who will be running their first marathons. Can't wait to keep making fitness gains with my friends!

Challenge: Share your Eco/Active resolutions for 2011

Sponsor: Atayne [ See Challenge Here ]

Action: "I ran my first marathon last month...my goal is to to shave 30 minutes off my time for the next one!"