Marathon Report and Tips

I had a great time this last weekend running with my brothers in a marathon. Four of us went to South Carolina and ran the Kiawah Island Marathon.

Kiawah is a beautiful little resort island just off the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. It is a resort with golf courses nestled amongst some beautiful wooded areas. It is a pretty flat course that basically circles the island twice.

The four of us had been training for this marathon for quite awhile, so we were mostly well prepared and had a good time of it.

Remember, never try to run a marathon without training for it. I did that once. The pain lasted for months. With proper training, the pain and discomforted is very minimal. My brothers and I all seem to be doing very well just a couple of days after this one.

The main goal for us in this marathon was to get my brother qualified for the Boston Marathon. He is 56 years old, and so needed to do it in less than 3 hours and 46 minutes. He followed his training regimen faithfully and worked hard most of this year. His training got him to the point to where he could accomplish this herculean task physically. Then it was my job to help him stay on pace through the 26.2 mile course.

The start of the race was very crowded and very slow. Our first mile took more than 9 minutes, and we needed to average more like 8 and a half minutes for each mile. So we picked it up and endeavored to stay close to 8:24 for each mile. We did very good right up until about the 25th mile. At this point I could tell that he was having some trouble, but we had managed to get a minute or two of cushion, by keeping to this slightly increased pace, so I allowed him to ease up just a bit for that mile. We did that one in about 8:45. I didn't want to lose our last minute of cushion, just in case he cramped up and had to walk in, so for the last 1.2 miles I increased our pace back to what it had been. He pushed himself to stay with me, in spite of the fatigue and stiffness he was experiencing, and we cruised on through to the end.

We thought we had finished with a minute or two to spare, but when we looked at his official time posted on the bulletin board, we were shocked to see they had clocked him at 3:44:50. Only 10 seconds ahead of his 3:45 goal.

But he was gratified that next to his name on the list was an asterisk, signifying that he had indeed qualified to run in the Boston Marathon.

He was so elated about his finish that he went around telling everyone that he was a "Boston Qualifier". It was great! He worked hard and accomplished his goal.

Remember that that is what it takes to get to where you want to be. Set a goal, and work hard to achieve it. Don't give up, just because there is some pain or discomfort involved. Some people may consider you crazy for even setting the goal and starting to move toward it, but if you want it, and pursue it with your heart and might, you can achieve it.

You will most likely have to do things that other people are not willing to do. But that is what makes you a winner!

There will inevitably be setbacks and seemingly overwhelming roadblocks along the way, but stay the course. My brother had several problems that arose during his training. But, he would call me, and we would talk and discover ways around his roadblocks and challenges. He continued to work hard and believe that it is was possible, and so he accomplished his goal.

I also feel the need to mention that he had the support and prayers of his brothers. That can make more of a difference than you might ever imagine. We prayed for him before the race, as well as during. In those final miles when he was feeling the stress of the accumulating miles, there were multiple prayers offered up in his behalf. And, of course, after it was over, there were prayers of gratitude.

The spiritual side of things is also very physical. I will probably blog about that more later.

It is always a good idea to get a coach or a mentor to help you to move forward toward your goals and aspirations. Someone that you can talk to and confide in. Ideally someone who knows how to get to where you want to be. Someone who has been there.

Anyone can look up an address and give you directions on how to get there. But those who have actually been there and live there can tell you about potholes to avoid and land marks to watch for along the way. They can make the journey much simpler. Even telling you about things that may have changed since the latest maps were made.

Look for people who are doing and living the way that you want to live and do.

I hope that those of you who are looking for better health and fitness will consider me as one of your major coaches and mentors. Feel free to contact me and ask questions. I am here to help.

I am a marathoner, a health researcher, and a fourth stage cancer survivor. I have searched out the answers to most of your health questions. I live a healthy life style, independent of medications, or other potions and pills. I would love the chance to help you to do the same.