Every Saturday morning at 8 a.m., 35 Eugene community members and University students arrive for training practice, equipped with running shoes, stopwatches and perseverance.
Training for a marathon can be highly intimidating, and it may be hard to stay motivated while running long distances alone. Perhaps this is why a group of nearly 35 avid runners have come together with one thing in mind: the 2010 Eugene Marathon. The marathon training group started running at the beginning of January and meets every Saturday to follow a specific running regimen decided by running coach and mentor Joe Henderson. With race day still months away, members of the training group show up for their weekly run with a united sense of motivation and running enthusiasm.
Running is something Henderson knows all too well. A marathon runner and experienced running coach, he knows how to prepare his runners both mentally and physically for the grueling 26-mile run.
A retired University journalism professor, Henderson has taught running classes at the University for the past 12 years. He said his students would often ask for advice about training for the Eugene Marathon, and students forming groups on their own prompted him to coach a training group.
Henderson has designed a foolproof running plan that prepares runners at any experience level to complete the marathon, scheduled for 7 a.m. on May 2.
“The goal for everyone in my group is to not only finish, but finish feeling good,” Henderson said. “Our success rate with past groups has been 98 percent; essentially, everyone who gets to the starting line finishes.”
For University senior Mary Tyner, completing the 26 miles will be an unprecedented running achievement. She said that training so far has taught her how to be mentally relaxed.
“There is something so enjoyable and indescribable about being on your own, enjoying your surroundings and listening to your own breathing while on a run,” Tyner said. “Once you get into that relaxed mental state, you will be surprised at how far you can go.”
Although the farthest the group will run in preparation for the race is 21 miles, Henderson is confident that is the best way to prepare his trainees. The workout schedule alternates between longer and shorter runs every week.
“The beginners wonder why we aren’t going to run the whole 26 miles before race day; they wonder where the extra five miles is going to come from,” Henderson said. “I tell them that little extra is going to come from the adrenaline of race day, the cheering family and friends, and the finish line at Hayward Field.”
Henderson said the training mentality is to focus on short-term goals.
“You can’t think of it as training for 26 miles. I like to think of it as, this week we are training for eight miles and next week 13,” Henderson said.
Both he and the members of the training group agree that training with a group is the best way to prepare.
University freshman Nick Harsell has been running since his freshman year in high school. He plans to stick with the training group and complete his first marathon this spring.
When Harsell thinks ahead to race day, he is unsure of what to expect, but he said he knows he will be inspired by the crowds and other runners.
“Just the crowded scene and everyone around me will have the same mood and feeling of running,” Harsell said. “Everyone will be there to run the distance and we will go through it together; it is just amazing.”
When running such long distances during training and preparing to run on race day, Henderson likes to remind his group about the mental aspects of running. He said training your mind can be just as important as training your body for 26 miles.
“The challenge is more than just putting one foot in front of the other; it is convincing your mind to do it,” Henderson said. “Our goal is to shrink the distance and make it seem smaller in your mind. We can make seven- or eight-mile runs seem short.”
For experienced marathon runners in the group, the distance isn’t as much of a factor, but for Tyner, the intimidation of distance has yet to be overcome.
“The most I have ever run was a 10-mile race, and I am still going through anxiety when we have a long run in our training group,” Tyner said. “We have 15 miles coming up next week and I am nervous about that.”
Henderson believes the group mentality keeps people coming back to train. He said everyone shows up every Saturday not only for themselves, but also to support each other.
“The group support makes a tremendous amount of difference,” Henderson said. “The magic is not in the program or the coaching; they get it from each other.”
For now, the group plans to just keep one another running. For many of the first-time marathon runners like Tyner and Harsell, focusing on the small, weekly goals will be the best preparation.
“Today we are training for 10 miles,” Tyner said. “For now, we can’t be thinking about 26.”
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