[…] run, I then feel comfortable knowing what pace I have done on similar terrain.

Another alternative to speed training on the track is to run with someone faster. I have a friend whom I try to run with twice a month who really pushes me on my long regular runs. I can do this only twice a month because his natural speed makes me dig deep into my reserves to find mine.

Regarding injuries and peaking before race day, I try to practice what a lot of my older utrarunning heroes already know, the art of listening. If my body feels too worn down and the running doesn’t feel right, I try to give it some rest before pushing it again. Missing a speed workout from time to time will be much better for racing performance than trying to do speed training when you are not feeling 100 percent. It means that you don’t have a strong enough base and you need to evaluate your training and racing program.

Michael Wille took third place in the fall Lake Tahoe

Ultra while preparing for the 2002 Marathon des Sables.

IF ONE races every weekend, yes, weekly speed work on the track would be too much! Butthen it depends how far one goes; if one runs only one mile of speed work per session one could handle this distance twice a week and even more, with no deleterious effects.

Racing twice a month one can handle the weekly speed work. However, if one is running at 5K pace or

[…] faster during the speed sessions, I wouldn’t advise more than three miles of speed work at any one time. Never run all circuits in the same direction; go the other way every two laps to even the stress. This kind of regimen will keep a person sharp and pretty much injury free. The number of miles logged, running weekly, must be taken into account. If one is running more than 70 miles a week one cannot benefit from lots of speed work. Contain any penchant to overtrain. My example, 2001: I had six world records, at 5K, 3,000 meters, the mile, 10,000 meters on the track and on the road, and the marathon. In the age group 75-79 10,000 on the track Iran 41:59:00, a 6:46 pace, and in the 10K on the road I ran 41:12, a 6:39 pace. This I did off two days of walking six miles, the third day of running 13 to 16 miles at 8:30 pace with three miles at 7:20 after seven miles of warming up, and then finishing the run at the 8:30 pace. Repeating this cycle over and over, I did not suffer any running injuries, logged 2,012 miles, of which 40 percent was walking, and I stayed healthy and racing fit all year long.

John Keston set age-group records for 77 year olds in the 5,000 and 10,000 in 2001.

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About THE Authors

ELLEN MCCURTIN, our new “On the Road” columnist, is an ultrarunner who currently lives and trains in Danbury, Connecticut, although she considers Maine to be home. She holds the Maine women’s 50-mile record (6:19:59) and is a four-time member of the U.S. 100K team, with a PR of 8:16. A graduate of Columbia University, Ellen has worked for Glamour and Town & Country as a research editor and is now freelance. On the weekends, she volunteers at the farm and wildlife center at Green Chimneys, a school for special needs children in Brewster, New York. Ellen is married to distance runner Joe LeMay. Hercurrentrunning goals include breaking 19 hours for 100 miles at the Vermont 100, breaking 80 miles for the 12-hour run, running under 3 hours for the marathon again, and getting closer to five minutes for the mile (her current PR is 5:17).

BRENT WEIGNER’s marathon career began on June 30, 1968, at the Whitewater Wisconsin Marathon, where he ran 3:53. A recent high school graduate and Cheyenne Central High School record holder in the 880 (2:01.3), Brent had never raced over 10K. By 1972 he had lowered his marathon time to 2:49:39 at Denver’s Mile-High Marathon, where he finished in sixth place. In 1978 he organized and competed in the First Annual Rocky Mountain 50-Mile Run from Laramie, Wyoming, to Cheyenne, in which he finished second in 7:14. The following year Brent ran his marathon PR at Boston with a 2:45:50. As of January 22, 2002, Brent had run 120 marathons and ultras. He completed marathons in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., on January 18, 1998. On July 27, 1999, he became the first person in the world to run an ultramarathon on all seven continents. Eleven days later, on August 7, he broke his own world record when he completed the Cross Calgary 57K, thereby lowering the record to 267 days for running ultras on all seven continents. Dr. Weigner has taught seventh grade geography at McCormick Junior High School for the past 27 years. He can be contacted at RunWyo@msn.com or by phone at 307/635-3316.

174 M& MARATHON & BEYOND May/June 2002

JAMIE POLLEY was born March 25, 1954, and raised in Swift Current, Saskatchewan. He graduated from the College of Law at the University of Saskatchewan in 1977 and moved to Calgary, Alberta, where he has practiced law. He is married to Laurie McMurchie, a lawyer, occasional runner, and dedicated cyclist. They have two children, Sarah (19) and Danny (18), both of whom are active but not as runners—at least not yet. Jamie ran track and cross-country in high school and then rediscovered running about 15 years ago. He ran his first 1OK in 1987, his first half-marathon in 1989, and his first marathon in 1990. He has not yet gone “beyond” the marathon.

HAL HIGDON is one of the pioneers of modern distance running, having written dozens of books on the subject (one of our favorites is his often-reprinted On the Run from Dogs and People). He also has trained thousands ofrunners through their first marathon both through on-site marathon clinics and virtual training programs over the Web. Much of his personal marathon training has been directed at the Chicago Marathon, which is run near his home. Hal has written for Runner’s World since its second issue (then called Distance Running News) in 1966 and is the magazine’s senior writer. A world-class age-group racer, Hal is also an artist. His many activities can be viewed on his Web site at www.halhigdon.com.

DON KERN lists on his business card, Computer Guy, Writer, Adventurer and Other Cool Stuff. Since running his first marathon in October 1995, he has completed 67 marathons and one 50K ultra. On his first trip to Antarctica for the marathon in 1997, Don got the idea to run marathons on all seven continents, and he finished the quest in August 1998 in Adelaide, Australia. He makes a habit of running at least one marathon a month, something that’s “not hard to recover from if you’re as slow as me.” Don’s stories of his other adventures can be found at his Web site, www.cooladventures.net.

May/June 2002 ABOUT THE AUTHORS @® 175