26 miles to go

Advice from previous half and full marathon runners on how to get to the finish line — one step at a time.

Story by Dimas Sanfiorenzo and photos provided by Elizabeth Lawliss and Mary Duprey

The alarm goes off. It says 6:30 ¾ in the morning, on a Sunday. She gets on some stretch gear, running sneakers, inhales some “disgusting energy goo,” and she’s off. Off for seven and a half miles. Her mind is focused, and she isn’t even thinking about getting tired yet. How could she? After all, this is only the second week of training for Elizabeth Lawliss, and she is preparing herself for one of the most grueling experiences a person can put themselves through — marathon running.

Ask any marathon runner and they will say completing those 26.2 miles, and to a lesser extent 13.1 miles it takes for a half-marathon, is one of the most amazing, inspirational, and life-changing experiences. In the next sentence, however, they’ll say it can be the most painful and dangerous, both physically and mentally. That happens, of course, if it isn’t done correctly, and that’s why it’s important the proper precautions are taken.

Lawliss is a marathon veteran. She has been running religiously since she was 14 and has participated in three half-marathons and two full ones. She is currently getting warmed up for the Plattsburgh half-marathon in April and the Lake Placid marathon in June. So she knows firsthand the traps that someone running their first marathon can get into. While some might worry about the physical aspects, it’s actually the psychological pitfalls that Lawliss herself succumbed to and what she thinks people should watch out for.

“I just remember being mentally frustrated, just because I wasn’t used to the sport.” Lawliss said. “I didn’t understand the discipline it took to get into this.”

This included everything from doubt, to being distracted by thinking too much, to just plain being bored and letting it get to someone’s head.

“Why I’m doing this? Why am I still running? This sucks — all those thoughts start coming into your head,” Lawliss says. “Mentality you think it’s taking forever, when really it’s not”

For Gerry Duprey, someone who has been running for 30 years and has completed four full marathons and a handful of half ones, the biggest issues with novice runners are mental but it becomes even before the running starts.

“The hardest thing for a new runner is taking that step out of the front door. I think a lot of people are conscious of that and are afraid of what people might think.”

“Most people can do the physical part,” Duprey says. “The hardest thing for a new runner is taking that step out of the front door. I think a lot of people are conscious of that and are afraid of what people might think.”

Duprey, however, doesn’t downplay the physical aspect of the race. He knows this best going back all the way to 1980 when he ran and, barely, completed his first marathon after only seriously running for a year.

“It wasn’t the best experience I ever had,” Duprey says. “I didn’t train properly leading up to it. I limped through that one”

The process of training is crucial and it’s something that John Lynch, the track coach at Plattsburgh State University, doesn’t advise someone to take lightly. Even though Track running is widely different from long distance running, he knows both with him just finishing his first marathon in October.

“Novices tend to do too much too soon,” Lynch says. “They see that they have to run 26 miles for a marathon or 13 miles for the half marathon, and they’ll go out the door and run 10 miles in their first week of training.”

When people make this mistake numerous risks come up, including tendonitis and hamstring issues. Lynch encourages newcomers to take out the time to find a nice regimen, and says people should get started at least six months in advance. One possible regimen he recommends is to start running ever other day for a half hour, then, when ready, go for five days a week, then for seven.

“You just want a slow steady progress before you think about counting mileage,” Lynch says.

“Keep the fats down. The fast foods, the sodas and the sugary drinks — stay away from that kind of stuff if you can ... The thing is you need a well balanced diet with your fruits, your vegetables, and your proteins.”

Throughout training, there are various important things to consider. These mostly have to do with the dedication to the sport. This includes everything from not detouring too much from a routine to eating the right food.

“It’s all self discipline,” Lawliss says. “Stick to a regiment because it’s so easy to give up, especially when you attempt your first long run.”

For Lawliss, marathon running included giving up certain things like drinking and going out on Saturdays, because she was a slave to Sundays. More importantly, for her, is giving up those greasy, cheap and easily attainable fast foods. It’s something that Mary Duprey, Gerry’s wife and fellow half-marathon runner, agrees with.

“Keep the fats down. The fast foods, the sodas and the sugary drinks — stay away from that kind of stuff if you can,” Mary says. “The thing is you need a well balanced diet with your fruits, your vegetables, and your proteins.”

So now that the mental aspect is out of the way and there’s a good regimen going on there is the aspect of what to wear. Whatever it’s running in the hard-brutal cold of February or the soft-sunny sky of April, the right attire is a must.

“You definitely want to wear as little clothes as possible,” Lynch says. “Anything under 40-degrees, though, I would wear some spandex.”

It’s an idea that Gerry agrees with.

“One of the things that happens with new runners is that they tend to over dress. They don’t realize you have to be a little cool,” Gerry says. “If you’re comfortable when you step outside, once you get a mile or two down the road, you’re going to be overheating.”

When it comes to sneakers it all really comes down to personal preference and comfort level. However Lynch says, as for overpronators, people who’s feet roll in, the best brand is Brooks or Saucony. If not then any good running shoe would do.

“It needs to be something with some support,” says Gerry, who wears Mazunos. “It also needs to be broken in; you don’t want to be running in a new pair.”

So that covers everything, right? Wait not yet. There is still one important aspect to remember. One that is probably more crucial than anything said before. Whatever its wearing Nikes or Brooks, or breezing through a half-marathon, or gasping through a full-marathon, or running with a few a thousand in Boston, or just a couple of hundred in Plattsburgh — one thing needs to be remembered. Savor the moment.

”The best feeling in the world is finishing the race,” Lawliss says. “After all that hard work and a difficult experience, you look back like ‘wow look what I have done.’”

Have you ever completed a full or half marathon?