Athletics: How To Run and Enjoy the Marathon - What Marathon? Plentiful Choices Abound

(A Practical Guide To The 26.2-Mile Journey) By James Raia
Web site: www.byjamesraia.com  
E-mail: James@ByJamesRaia.com

Runner's Web Editor's Note:
We will be running one chapter of this book on the Runner's Web each week for the next 15 weeks.

Introduction
How to Run & Enjoy The Marathon, a series of 15 self-help and service-oriented articles about running marathons - the proper shoes to running etiquette - is written by James Raia, a journalist and veteran marathon and ultramarathon runner in Sacramento, Calif. A contributor to many newspapers, news services, magazines and internet sites, Raia began to run long distances in 1983, the same year in which he completed his first marathon, the California International Marathon, in 4 hours, 12 minutes and 30 seconds.
How To Run & Enjoy The Marathon is based on the author's more than 20 years of writing about the sport -- its nuances, its elite athletes and the running masses.
Since he began training for his first marathon, running has become an integral component of the author's lifestyle. Raia has completed nearly than 70 marathons and ultramarathons, including several 50 milers and double marathons. His fastest marathon, 3:07:42, was run in 1990. A two-time finisher of the Boston Marathon, Raia for the past several years has completed many of his marathons in the 3:45 range.
Raia, 48, has traveled to more than a dozen countries on assignment for myriad publications, Runner's World to Modern Maturity, The New York Times to USA Today. He also writes syndicated cycling and running columns, publishes two electronic newsletters, Endurance Sports News and Tour de France Times, and is the author of The Tour Within The Tour de France, a travel/sports e-book about the prestigious cycling event. He lives in Sacramento, Calif., with Gretchen Gaither, a teacher and sculptor.

For additional information on his two free newsletters or his other e-book, visit the author's web site, www.byjamesraia.com or contact him via e-mail at RaiaRuns@aol.com.

Table Of Contents
1.Marathon No. 1: It's not all about pain
2. What Marathon? Plentiful choices abound
3. The Basics: Common sense for the masses
4. Marathoning For Dollars: Running is fitness on the cheap
5. Want To Finish: Join the club
6. Fleet Feet: If the shoe fits, wear it
7. Need Motivation? Take a break
8. Now Hear This: Just Say No To Headphones
9. Night Moves: Exercisers Need A Visible Presence
10. Women Marathoners: Running Safe Means Running Smart
11. Running vs. Walking: Marathoners Can Do Both
12. Runner's Creed: Share Thy Space
13. Marathon Time Limits: The race directors' dilemma
14. Marathon No. 1 (Revisited): Don't Forget The Little Things
15. Reference Guide: Where to Find Out More About The Marathon

Chapter 2. What Marathon? Plentiful Choices Abound

With more 400 marathons yearly in North America, runners have myriad choices - road to trail marathons, marathons in major metropolitan cities to marathons in quaint, rural communities.

In September, for example, more than 30 marathons are listed on the comprehensive Runner's World magazine's calendar. In October, the busiest month of the year for marathons, more than 50 marathons are scheduled.

From small-scale races like the Lewis & Clark Trail Marathon in Bozeman, Mont., to the huge corporate-sponsor driven LaSalle Banks Chicago Marathon, runners have an average of nearly two marathons per day from which to choose in October.

But just as there are various race options and runners of all shapes and sizes, so too are there marathons of diverse quality and reputation. Likewise, there are many reasons - course beauty, financial bargain, prestige, convenience - that prompt runners to choose a particular event.

But is there any consensus what makes a good marathon?

If a runner desires to participate in a marathon in October, what would make them choose the Roaring Fork Marathon in Basalt, Colo., the Wine Glass Marathon in Bath, N.Y., or the WhistleStop Marathon in Ashland, Wis.? Or would they opt for the Chicago event, where a new world record is always a possibility?

Rich Benyo, a former editor of Runner's World, has been involved with long-distance running for more than 30 years as a journalist, participant and race director. He believes a marathon should offer one quality, without exception.

"Since the marathon became standardized at 26.2 miles, any race worth its salt should offer a precisely measured course," says Benyo, who's also president of the Napa Valley Marathon in Napa, Calif. "This should be a given, comparable to getting four wheels when you buy a car.

"The certification is more important to those who are 'racing' the marathon so they can get a fair and honest time. But an accurately measured course should also be of concern to casual marathoner because, let's face it, if it ain't 26.2 miles, it ain't a marathon."

Benyo's opinion is shared by most race directors and athletes, but not everyone.

Ron Hayden, race director of the Tri-Cities Marathon in Richland, Wash., does not offer a certified course, and believes "it's only important for those interested in using the course as a Boston Marathon qualifier."

Away from the length, what else do runners look for when choosing a marathon?

"A T-shirt of good quality and not a walking billboard (sponsor-covered)," says Barry Turner of Sacramento, Calif., a veteran of nearly 30 marathons during his 25-year running career. "That turns me off more than anything."

Like many marathoners, Turner looks for good financial value when considering a marathon.

"Goodies are important now that I'm paying $40 to $60 per race," Turner says. "I do want a rate of return, not just a big bag with a few items in there as I received from a marathon in Sacramento."

Bob and Margie Read are marathon and ultramarathon runners and former race directors of the Run On The Sly, a quartet of trail events ranging from seven to 50 miles.

As race directors, they offered runners a complimentary barbecue, unique T-shirts, sweatshirts and belt buckles, quality aid stations and even portable showers. The event's entry fees range from $15 to $65.

"What I like in a marathon is mostly pretty scenery, although good crowd support is a close second," says Margie Read, who has participated in approximately 70 marathons and ultramarathons.

"Helpful aid station personnel and friendly staff is a must. I don't care much about goodies and things, but is is nice to have some token of completion, like the medallions given at the California International Marathon or Big Sur International Marathon. I use marathons as training for ultramarathons, and they have a value in simply having the distance with the convenience of not having to carry your own stuff."

For others, reasons for entering a particular event change as their careers progress. Well-known marathons like Boston or New York City may retain their appeal to runners for many years. In other instances, priorities change.

"Goodie bags, pre-race dinners, expos, prize money, etc., seem beyond the point to me," says Renee Dupres, a long-time marathon and ultramarathon runner in New Mexico. "I much prefer the smaller races where it's all about spending some time on your feet, running as hard as you can for 26.2 miles and sharing the energy of the runners around you."

Benyo, also editor of the niche magazine Marathon and Beyond, equates marathons with baseball.

"These days, a lot of runners equate a race, especially a big-city marathon - with goodies. The goodies are nice, but they shouldn't distract from the basics. It's sort of like a modern pro baseball game. There's a lot of gush & glitter, big scoreboards that do tricks, a wide menu of food and drink, stirring organ riffs, etc.

"Yet the basic remains a field on which nine guys play against nine other guys to the best of their abilities. Which is why some of the (minor league) farm teams are doing better than their parent teams. It's because they still stress the basics."

© Copyright 2003, James Raia

Posted with the permission of James Raia.

Subscribe to James Raia's Endurance Sports News and Tour de France Times at: www.byjamesraia.com. They're free and spam-free.