RUNNING WITH MEN. I’m a 25-year-old woman whoruns 40 miles per week but is considering moving up to the marathon. My heroines, Grete Waitz, Joan Benoit Samuelson, and Uta Pippig, frequently trained with men. Is this a good practice for women who want to improve their performances? When is it not a good idea for a woman to train with men?

Gail Bloom Evanston, Ill.

THE HEROINES you mentioned train primarily with men because there are few, if any, women in their communities who can run fast enough to keep up with them! While one can become a very good marathoner by training alone, running with others shares the training burden. It really doesn’t matter if your training partners are men or women. When you need to go faster and work harder, it is good to have someone to help push the pace. It’s also nice to have company when the going gets long or especially dreary.

If you can’t find women equal to your ability, then you should definitely train some of the time with men who are somewhat better than you and

some of the time by yourself. Some solo training will help your confidence. The time not to train with men is when they are so much better than you that you simply cannot keep up and frustrate yourself. There is alot to learn from runners who are better than you, so look for other ways torun with them—for example, joining them for the last 10K of a 20-mile run or doing repeat 400s while they are doing 1milers.

—Kathrine Switzer won the 1974 New York City Marathon and is a TV sports commentator.

TRAINING WITH runners who are faster than you can improve your training. When you train with faster runners, you can become faster. (When you train with slower runners, you can become slower.) Generally, men have the potential to be faster runners than women, and more runners are men, so working out with them can be a great training technique. I’ve trained with men my entire running career. For the best training results, don’t do all of your training runs at a fast pace. Vary the pace, distance, and terrain. —Teresa Daus-Weber was the 1995 USATF 100K Masters Champion, 1992 Leadville Trail 100 Champion, and a member of the 1990, 1994, and 1996 U.S.

100K teams. She is also ultrarunning correspondent for Racing West.

July/August 1997

MARATHON AS FIRST RACE. I plan to run my first marathon next year. I’m 35, have been running for two years, and usually train 25 to 30 slow miles a week. Two of my running partners ran marathons within the last year without having run any other races first. Isit best to run other races before your first marathon? If so, why?

Ruth Chester Jacksonville, Fla.

YES. RUNNING races is totally different from training. Racing presents numerous variables that cannot be simulated in training and that may overwhelm you. Incorporating a few shorter road races (ideally, a couple of 10Ks and one half-marathon) into your training program will prepare you for the unfamiliar: learning where to position yourself at the start, running in the presence of hundreds if not thousands of other runners, drinking at aid stations, and, perhaps most importantly, proper pacing.

Race experience will help you harness the inevitable early-race excitement and keep you from running too fast too soon. And if that’s not enough, the fun and sense of accomplishment you’ll feel from completing the shorter races will undoubtedly enhance your motivation to train for the marathon.

July/August 1997

One of the keys to marathoning success is managing the variables that are within your power. Race experience is one of them.

—Rich Hanna

is a sub-2:20 marathoner and U.S. 100K team member. He has coached more than 200 first-time marathoners through the Leukemia Society’s Team in Training program.

ITIS notnecessary torun shorter races first, since your primary preparation for the marathon is endurance, not speed. Prior to your first marathon, it is important for you to work up to a single long run of about 15 to 20 miles. Better to do short runs during the week and one longer one on the weekend, instead of a consistent series of average distances.

Don’t believe that you have to do vast numbers of training runs before your marathon! I ran my first marathon at your age (in 1977) never having run more than half that distance. My first 50-miler (1984) was run on that same basis, and my first 100-miler (1985) on the same ratio. Have confidence in yourself and enjoy the adventure of breaking new ground.

—Tony Rossmann,

an attorney and law professor in San Francisco, is a former president of the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run board. He has completed more than 200 marathons and ultras.

AS FAR as I know, there should be no serious objections to your plan. Your present base of 25 to 30 miles per week, without injuries, should provide a firm stepping-stone to

graduated individual training runs of 12 to 27 miles during the two to three months preceding your intended marathon. Just remember to space the upper-reach (15 miles and above) runs to allow full recovery. Apply ancient Chinese wisdom as much as possible: “Make haste slowly.” And don’t hesitate to scrap a training run at the first sign of an injury. “An ounce of prevention… .”

From my own experience, prior racing (at shorter distances) does tend to sharpen you, improve speed, and foster faster recovery from sustained exertion. But since the goal of your first marathon is completion, not record performance, you can come close to racing-induced sharpness simply by incorporating some personally satisfying interval work into your long training runs. (I like “ladder” intervals. Lacking fixed reference points like you’d have on a track, I just ran them off my watch, and lacking that, Td run to certain landmarks on my course.)

At your age (prime for what you have in mind), and with your obvious determination, you needn’t fear any

naysayers.

John J. Kelley

won the 1957

Boston Marathon, was eight-time AAU marathon champ (1956-63), and is coauthor of Just Call Me Jock (1981).

IDON’Trecommend that you attempt your first marathon until youhaverun afew shorterraces and increased your mileage. This may sound overly cautious, but any veteran marathoner will

tell you thata lack of training can make your first experience with the distance a miserable one.

Running 26.2 miles may not carry the perils of hunting a wounded buffalo in the long grass, but it is not without its hazards. One of the biggest dangers that first-time marathoners (and veteran marathoners) face is running out of steam in the late stages of arace—“‘hitting the wall”—which takes place when your glycogen stores are depleted. This is usually triggered by dehydration, improper pace, and/ or lack of training. Drinking plenty of fluids andrunning a conservative pace will remedy two of the problems, but low mileage is another story.

To complete your first marathon successfully, you should enter a few shorter races (to find a comfortable pace and familiarize yourself with raceday atmosphere) and increase your mileage to a minimum of 60 to 70 miles per week, including several important 20-mile workouts. After you’ve accomplished this, your first marathon will be amuch more enjoyable event.

Tim Martin is board member and past president of Six

Rivers Running Club. He is a veteran of

over 40 marathons, several of which he admits were run on low mileage.

Send your questions to

“On the Mark” Marathon & Beyond

July/August 1997