Getting Started

Ever wanted to tackle a marathon but don’t have a clue of where to start? Sure, you could run as far as you can as many times a week as you can but that would most likely leave you with an injury and a mental breakdown.

Over the next 4 months I will be coaching someone to get ready for a marathon with very little distance running experience. We will call this person Gertrude for the time being and her true identity will be revealed once she has crossed the finish line on March 18^th at the Wrightsville Beach Marathon. I will post updates on training, running tips and even gear reviews throughout the coming weeks. Any questions on Gertrude’s training methods are more than welcome.

Before we get started here is a little background on Gertrude. She played soccer growing up and continued to play in college at a high level and after graduating would join the odd women’s and coed rec leagues.  But as getting tackled and taken out for a pointless game at 9pm on a Sunday’s got old she needed to fill the void with something competitive. So she took up running. That’s the great thing about running, you can be as competitive as you want in relation to what you are looking to achieve. It could be running to stay in shape or to see what you are capable in comparison to your peers. For Gertrude, the goal of her training is to run a strong marathon. Not a world record, but a time she can be proud of and more importantly stay injury free in doing so. A  Boston Marathon qualification time on the clock at the finish line would be a huge bonus but it is not the ultimate goal.

The hardest part about doing a marathon for Gertrude is going to be the training. It’s getting up early, running on the treadmill after a long day at work and getting a long run in on the weekends when everyone else is out to brunch. So, for the next 4 months we will be checking in with Gertrude as she trains her way to the starting line. Again, please feel free to pass along any questions you may have about Gertrude’s training or your own training.

Get moving, keep moving,

Ian