2012 - the year of the marathon

Last month I read a book by this crazy ultra-fit runner named Dean Karnazes. It's called 50 50: Secrets I Learned Running 50 Marathons in 50 Days-and How You Too Can Achieve Super Endurance!

The fittest man on earth.

Yes, you read that correctly. 50 marathons in 50 days. What the title doesn't tell you is that there's a third '50' to factor in. 50 states. That's right. He traveled to a different state every day and ran a marathon. Repeat 50 times. Okay, he's superhuman. This didn't kill him. As the saying goes it made him stronger. Kids, don't try this at home. Now, what I learned from the book, aside from how very cool and fit and kind of insane Dean Karnazes is, is that maybe I too can run a marathon. I've been running half marathons for 2 years now and completed #6 on 10/29/11. #7 will be in beautiful Huntington Beach on 2/5. Sunshine here I come! I've maintained that the 13.1 mile distance is plenty for me, thank you very much. Sprinkle in some 5 & 10ks and an annual Ragnar relay and that's a fine bit of running, don't you think?

The fittest woman in this picture.

So, what changed my mind? One of the most incredible things about Dean's story was the number of first time marathoners that joined him on his runs. These were mostly small events limited to 50 participants. After all, there aren't organized marathons 7 days a week. One would think these races would attract the elite runner who wants the chance to test themselves against a well-know athlete. I'm sure they were there too, but the stories that made it into the book were mostly about the newbies who got out there and did it. Hmmm. I guess I could join that club, eh? So, I'm tentatively adding the Newport Marathon to my calendar. June 2nd is the date. I haven't registered yet. Soon...