Marathon Weekend 2016

[Barca33Runner]

This brings me to a related question I have for people. It's more for people that have run at least one marathon but it could apply to anyone really.

A co-worker (I have mentioned this person before) approached me about running a 100 mile ultra marathon next summer. They wanted to know my opinion. This person hasn't completed a 1/2 marathon yet. They were signed up for Wine and Dine but obviously it got cut short. But they were complaining about the humidity for that race. My response was, "Maybe you should try a marathon before trying to do 4 of them in one day, in August."

So my question is this, am I the only one that thinks some of these races are hard? Do some of you more experienced runners find a marathon to be easy and I am just over thinking how hard it is that this person doesn't even feel the need to complete one before trying 100 miles in a day, in mid summer?

I left that conversation feeling like I might just be a wimp because I couldn't jump from a longest distance run in a race of 6.8 miles and do a 100 mile race 10 months later? I am completely intimidated by the marathon. I'll still do it. I will finish it, even with less than ideal training. But I just don't think I will ever get to the point it feels easy. I don't even see a 1/2 marathon as being "easy". It's not intimidating to me, but still not easy.

OK, hopefully I made some sense with this post. I'm interested in the feedback.

Doing the Dopey for the third time and my fourth marathon. The reason my marathon number is low is basically for the reason you give: It is hard, demanding, intimidating, and not particularly fun. I've gotten to the point that I can kind of enjoy a half marathon, which is a miracle in itself and still doesn't mean it feels easy, but I save the marathon for once a year because it is a grind. Being at Disney definitely makes it a bit more tolerable.

Endurance sports have a bit of a "can you top this" element to them that gives people the idea to attempt things like an ultra-marathon despite never finishing a marathon. Not saying that it can't be done or making any judgments, just an observation. Then again, my first race was the 2012 WDW Half and I had never run a mile continuously in my life when I signed up for that; so my foray into this realm was probably equally ill-advised.

 

[Waiting2goback]

My dad ran 3 NYC Marathons. I don't think he ever thought they were easy. I don't think he would have ever considered an ultra. He was certainly not an elite runner, but I'd say he has a lot of running experience, and there were definitely races that he thought were difficult, even later in his running career.

As for me ... my longest run to date is 7.78 miles. I'm just getting to the point where I think half marathon might be reasonable. If you approached me about doing an ultra, my response would likely not be DIS-friendly. Then again, I don't even want to do a marathon, and if I did, I don't think I would ever find it to be easy. I'm not sure if I'll ever get to the point where a half marathon is easy. But for me ... it doesn't have to be easy. I don't mind hard, as long as it's worth it. And I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels this way ... I'd guess that a lot of marathoners feel that way as well.

(And you're right - you'll finish the marathon because you've been putting in as much training as you can despite rough circumstances, and it will be awesome when you cross that finish line and get your Mickey medal!)

I don't want easy either. I signed up for a marathon after 3 months of running last year to finally challenge myself and see what I was capable of, after taking the easy route for 20 years. But, I am also realistic. In my opinion, listening to some podcasts and posting on a forum doesn't prepare you to run 100 miles. Those races require teams of people as you need to have food and stuff on the course and you can't carry it all with you. There is a lot more that goes into them.

 

[Keels]

This brings me to a related question I have for people. It's more for people that have run at least one marathon but it could apply to anyone really.

A co-worker (I have mentioned this person before) approached me about running a 100 mile ultra marathon next summer. They wanted to know my opinion. This person hasn't completed a 1/2 marathon yet. They were signed up for Wine and Dine but obviously it got cut short. But they were complaining about the humidity for that race. My response was, "Maybe you should try a marathon before trying to do 4 of them in one day, in August."

So my question is this, am I the only one that thinks some of these races are hard? Do some of you more experienced runners find a marathon to be easy and I am just over thinking how hard it is that this person doesn't even feel the need to complete one before trying 100 miles in a day, in mid summer?

I left that conversation feeling like I might just be a wimp because I couldn't jump from a longest distance run in a race of 6.8 miles and do a 100 mile race 10 months later? I am completely intimidated by the marathon. I'll still do it. I will finish it, even with less than ideal training. But I just don't think I will ever get to the point it feels easy. I don't even see a 1/2 marathon as being "easy". It's not intimidating to me, but still not easy.

OK, hopefully I made some sense with this post. I'm interested in the feedback.

I'm not one of the people you're asking ... but, man, I just don't know that getting to that point in that very short timeframe is actually, physically possible. Especially going from a small base like that.

IF, and I mean IF ... the person was already averaging 70 miles a week AND had no job so they could fully focus on the miles, plus the additional levels of strength training AND yoga/stretching that would go with reaching the required distance for that task. Also, there would have to be a SIGNIFICANT lifestyle change - I mean, your new job becomes training for the 100 miles. You can't really DO anything other than that in such a small time. Your diet becomes entirely different. You're probably looking at two-a-days on the mileage, plus weights or something most days just to force your body into failure so you can get stronger and tack on more mileage in that short of a timeframe. And then there's also the added expense of possibly finishing training in the environment where the 100 miles will be run so you can acclimate to the weather.

For me, just getting to Dopey mileage has been a struggle enough - and that is in about a year from start to finish. And that's "only" 48.6 spread out over four days. Also - FULL TRANSPARENCY - I don't work (#RetirementLife or #FunEmployment, however you want to view it), I have no kids, a VERY supportive and tolerant husband and a lot of free time. So, I can speak a little bit to how hard it has been just to give things up and train for Dopey.

Dopey has become my job this year, and I know I've done things that have caused me setbacks, or days that I've just decided that going to HH was more important than that speedwork. Or that I eat terribly and go out too much before races that I could've posted better times at.

To echo what @Barca33Runner said - currently, I'm at a point where I find 10Ks to be fun, and I'm almost to the same with halfs - but I still feel a pretty serious sense of accomplishment after I finish them. Honestly? I think you need to not only respect the distance, but appreciate it and see a future where you could love it before you can think bigger. Because these big goals turn into a lotta miles on the road to get there.

 

[StarGirl11]

This brings me to a related question I have for people. It's more for people that have run at least one marathon but it could apply to anyone really.

A co-worker (I have mentioned this person before) approached me about running a 100 mile ultra marathon next summer. They wanted to know my opinion. This person hasn't completed a 1/2 marathon yet. They were signed up for Wine and Dine but obviously it got cut short. But they were complaining about the humidity for that race. My response was, "Maybe you should try a marathon before trying to do 4 of them in one day, in August."

So my question is this, am I the only one that thinks some of these races are hard? Do some of you more experienced runners find a marathon to be easy and I am just over thinking how hard it is that this person doesn't even feel the need to complete one before trying 100 miles in a day, in mid summer?

I left that conversation feeling like I might just be a wimp because I couldn't jump from a longest distance run in a race of 6.8 miles and do a 100 mile race 10 months later? I am completely intimidated by the marathon. I'll still do it. I will finish it, even with less than ideal training. But I just don't think I will ever get to the point it feels easy. I don't even see a 1/2 marathon as being "easy". It's not intimidating to me, but still not easy.

OK, hopefully I made some sense with this post. I'm interested in the feedback.

To me anything below half at a certain pace is considered easy. Once I ramp up the pace though anything is game (I can now actually run a 3:00 ish half with minimal soreness the next day(there's something I never thought would come) and do a 1:45 10k without breaking a sweat in good weather). However its all relative to the person what's easy and what's not.

On the topic of ultras. Please pass this on to your co-worker if possible. Do not make the jump without racing in between. You have no clue what your getting yourself into, your asking for injury. If you really want to do an ultra without trying the distances between for the love of all that is holy please at least try a timed ultra (meaning 6h, 12hr, 24hr, etc.) to at least get an idea of what your getting yourself into before signing up for a 100.

Ultras, especially the 100 milers should be worked up to gradually most runners make the jump after their first marathon or when they start to feel like the marathon distance is less of a challenge (my case). To make that kind of jump requires a runner of a special breed (I mean that in a good way). And this is coming from someone who went from 1/2s to Fulls to a 100k in two days (so really more like a 50k recovery wise) to a 50 miler over a year and a half period. But I also had quiet a bit of foundation before I started really escalating the distance last spring (I've been running now 5 years, the escalation started around the 3.5 year mark if I'm doing my math right). Plus I have a fantastic trainer who knows how to get me ready for this kind of thing.

If they've never experienced the soreness post-marathon they have no clue what's in store at an ultra. I've got a few fulls under my belt and attempted my first 50 this fall (90+ heat combined with lack of route shade made me have to be pulled on the last lap just 6 miles short, got a medal for doing 50k at least). Recovery is brutal and it takes most at least a couple of weeks before most actually bounce back. I know I was feeling okay by about a week. But it took me almost a month before I started feeling like miss speedy again on my runs and this is from someone who has turned around on a weeks rest to run a faster time at shorter distances.

Ultras are a whole other ball game both physically and mentally from the shorter races. You have to make sure your fueling regularly (even more so than with fulls). Checking for blisters. And be prepared to be out there for the long haul. And with 100s that usually means 24+ hours especially for newbies.

Sorry I got going there. I just really don't want to see someone getting injured because there getting themselves into a bit more then they should.

 

[Ariel484]

Never tried the 14s but I'm on my 3rd pair of the 15s. When I got fitted for them, the guy told me to go 1/2 size up from my normal running shoe size bc they were running smaller than the 14s. Not sure if this would make a difference for you or not. I'm curious how the sizing of the 16s is running.

I have read the same thing about them running small, and I totally believe it. At this point I think I'm giving up on the 15s and trying the 16s.

 

[mbwhitti]

I have read the same thing about them running small, and I totally believe it. At this point I think I'm giving up on the 15s and trying the 16s.

Let me know how you like them! I'm sure I'll be forced to move up in the series soon.

 

[Baloo in MI]

My November mileage before my injury - 77 miles. Not bad for 10 days, but I am officially done running for the year and have deferred the 2016 Dopey.

As posted last week, I went to my doctor who (after X-rays) was not sure of my diagnosis but thought it was tendonitis. He recommended that I give it two weeks then see a podiatrist if things had not improved. Things still had not improved at all on Monday so I went ahead and made the appointment - saw the podiatrist this morning. Short story now made long - I have stress fractures in my left foot and am not allowed to run for 6 weeks. In an air cast through the end of December, then slowly weaned off. The good news - this bone injury will heal completely and not impact my running in the future. The podiatrist assured me that this was a much better diagnosis than tendon or ligament injuries given my love of running. So I'll stay positive and accept that which I cannot change.

We will still be in WDW for the races. We are actually headed down for the New Year's celebration so will be there for 2 weeks before our cruise. But no races for me.

Keep up the good work and I hope to see some of you in WDW. I'll be there cheering you on.

Sorry to hear the injury is a stress fracture, but glad it will heal up and let you get running again. Your attitude is awesome, I am not sure I could match your reponse. I am impressed! Sounds like you have a great vacation planned, enjoy it!

 

[Ariel484]

Let me know how you like them! I'm sure I'll be forced to move up in the series soon.

If they could just go ahead and not change the shoes from year to year, that would be ideal.

 

[DOOM1001]

This brings me to a related question I have for people. It's more for people that have run at least one marathon but it could apply to anyone really.

A co-worker (I have mentioned this person before) approached me about running a 100 mile ultra marathon next summer. They wanted to know my opinion. This person hasn't completed a 1/2 marathon yet. They were signed up for Wine and Dine but obviously it got cut short. But they were complaining about the humidity for that race. My response was, "Maybe you should try a marathon before trying to do 4 of them in one day, in August."

So my question is this, am I the only one that thinks some of these races are hard? Do some of you more experienced runners find a marathon to be easy and I am just over thinking how hard it is that this person doesn't even feel the need to complete one before trying 100 miles in a day, in mid summer?

I left that conversation feeling like I might just be a wimp because I couldn't jump from a longest distance run in a race of 6.8 miles and do a 100 mile race 10 months later? I am completely intimidated by the marathon. I'll still do it. I will finish it, even with less than ideal training. But I just don't think I will ever get to the point it feels easy. I don't even see a 1/2 marathon as being "easy". It's not intimidating to me, but still not easy.

OK, hopefully I made some sense with this post. I'm interested in the feedback.

I'm at a point where I don't get sore from half marathons anymore but I still would not consider them easy, and for some people they're still major accomplishments.A full marathon is downright hard and no joke,my first race ever was the Disney full,no 5K's,10K's or halfs before and I jumped right to a full marathon,that's definitely pretty insane but I felt like I could do it as I had always ran 4-6 miles several times a week and I knew I had over half a year from the time I signed up to get a bunch of longer runs in before the actual race.Race day came and it was what I expected,HARD!!but I got it done,took me almost 6 hours but I finished.I've done 5 fulls and about 18 halfs and the difference between the two is huge,simply because my body will never become used to going 26.2 miles because I'm never going to do enough 17+ mile runs to get my body used to that distance,I can go out right now and do 9-10 miles with no problem,a little extra push and you got a half.If you devote your life to training for them and have an athletic fit body then it obviously can be done but that co worker who wants to go from running 6.72 at Wine and Dine to 100 miles in summer is wacky nu nu.I myself have zero desire to run an ultra marathon,Goofy last year was fun and in 2018 I'll likely be doing Dopey but I'm a Disney freak and is just one of those things that has to be done,the whole getting up 4 days in a row at 2-3 am to go catch a bus and partake in the events with thousands of runners is like an adventure.A 100 mile relay like Ragnar would be something I would do,that just seems like fun but by myself I wouldn't be into it,plus my body is just not made for that,26.2 is as far as I'll go.

 

[Baloo in MI]

Wow! I took two days off from the thread and it took me 2 hours to catch up! Just wanted to wish everyone good runs this weekend. If many of you are like me you are facing some long runs in the next week or two. Run hard and smart, we are almost there. All this work is leading to a great reward! Five weeks and many of us are already toeing the line. I am so stoked! I have 8 - 12 - 20 miles this weekend; looking forward to the challenge. Good runs all!

 

[GrandAdmiralStrife]

so, anyone else starting to freak out a little bit? Or will it really hit home next week when the corral assignments are posted?

 

[FFigawi]

This brings me to a related question I have for people. It's more for people that have run at least one marathon but it could apply to anyone really.

A co-worker (I have mentioned this person before) approached me about running a 100 mile ultra marathon next summer. They wanted to know my opinion. This person hasn't completed a 1/2 marathon yet. They were signed up for Wine and Dine but obviously it got cut short. But they were complaining about the humidity for that race. My response was, "Maybe you should try a marathon before trying to do 4 of them in one day, in August."

So my question is this, am I the only one that thinks some of these races are hard? Do some of you more experienced runners find a marathon to be easy and I am just over thinking how hard it is that this person doesn't even feel the need to complete one before trying 100 miles in a day, in mid summer?

I left that conversation feeling like I might just be a wimp because I couldn't jump from a longest distance run in a race of 6.8 miles and do a 100 mile race 10 months later? I am completely intimidated by the marathon. I'll still do it. I will finish it, even with less than ideal training. But I just don't think I will ever get to the point it feels easy. I don't even see a 1/2 marathon as being "easy". It's not intimidating to me, but still not easy.

OK, hopefully I made some sense with this post. I'm interested in the feedback.

I don't ever think a marathon is easy, but sometimes they can be not hard. That sounds contradictory so let me try to explain. Racing a marathon all out for a new PR is hard, very hard. It requires 100% effort and 100% concentration every step of the way for the entire race. Running Disney at a relaxed pace and stopping for character pictures along the way is not as hard. Maybe comfortable is a good way of putting it. It's still a formidable amount of work, but it's not hard like going for a PR is hard. In either case, running 26.2 miles is not easy, but they occupy different spaces on the sliding scale of hardness. Put another way, this is why the Clif pace team asks their pacers to run at a pace that is 1 minute or more slower than their typical marathon pace. Trying to pace the 3:30 group when your PR is 3:25 will be very hard. Pacing the 4:15 group when your PR is 3:25 will be more comfortable. I hope that makes some sense. If not, let me know and I'll try again.

On to your co-worker and an ultra, like everyone else, I'd definitely caution them against running 100 miles if they haven't done a full and a 50-mile race first. Not to say they couldn't get both of those done on the way to 100, but I think that should be a matter of years, not months. Just like a full is more than just 2x the distance of a half, a 50-mile race is far more than 2x a full, and a 100 is way beyond 2 50s. It takes a lot of time and experience to teach your mind and body how to handle the volume of training that's required to get through a long ultra safely. You can't get that experience in a few months. The process is much longer than that, and some people learn along the way that their bodies are not capable of such high mileage. I hope your co-worker gives their plan some serious thought and realizes they ought to focus on getting through a full first before they consider making the jump to longer distances.

 

[bellanotte10]

so, anyone else starting to freak out a little bit? Or will it really hit home next week when the corral assignments are posted?

I am! Honestly so much in my personal life has gone to shambles and I'm trying to pick the pieces up... And I completely forgot this was in a month until I saw rumblings that Skipper Canteen might open soon and started stalking the boards for hints to when ADRs might open. It is going to be so much fun... But I am no where near as already as I should be. Not training wise. That I'm fine with. I'm not mentally prepared at all. I'll probably start crying as soon as I get my medal. My mom and I decided to do this race after my aunt suddenly passed away, and ironically registration was right after her funeral, so we've had this fighting spirit to complete in her honor (my mom who wasn't a runner before this) and for me to do something she would've enjoyed watching (me). Then my dog suddenly passed away and now I have no drive what so ever, and I'm not looking forward to the 10k at all anymore.

 

[dancingtodisney]

I've been MIA the last while but finally caught up on all your posts!

How is everyone feeling about the weekend runs? I just got my 9miles in this morning and have 19miles tomorrow followed by my now traditional 12 pubs of christmas pub crawl so that'll be interesting!

YAH CHRISTMAS!!

Just trying to get psyched up for the 9miler/19miler weekend ahead and wishing Disney would throw us a bone of information to motivate me! Bib #'s, the marathon course, shirt designs,the DOONEY....just something! I think we must all feel a little desperate for something to make this thing feel real at this point (when you get excited that your race just shows up as an option on a results page, it is lean times indeed!).
Am I the only one feeling this way?

I feel exactly the same!! AND we have the exact same miles going this weekend! PLEASE GIVE US SOMETHING DISNEY!!!

The one I ended up getting...so you can see there were color options as well:

Was the phone case good quality? I really want to get a decent case that'll last and they look so cute!

so, anyone else starting to freak out a little bit? Or will it really hit home next week when the corral assignments are posted?

Reaching the 30day mark to our check in on the 2nd I had a mini OMG HOW IS IT ALREADY THAT CLOSE freak out but I'm feeling a bit calmer now especially after a good run this morning

I'm stuck in between wishing I had like six more months AND wishing today was 5K day.

The more time part so I could be more prepared. So I could be faster. So I could be stronger. So I could squeeze in a full marathon so I won't feel so nervous about it.

But I'm ready to get to Florida.

I'm ready to see all of my friends from back home - the people I've known since I was a little girl and that I've grown up with. I'm ready for my friends from afar (my girl @mbwhitti and my friends from here in Texas) to come to Florida and for everyone to meet.

I'm ready to put more names with faces of all the great people on this thread and this board.

I'm ready to see our shirts. I'm ready to spend all my Christmas $$$ and money I've been squirreling away all year on merch.

I'm ready to make my way down Main Street in front of a cheering crowd, in a completely different capacity than I did 16 years ago.

I'm ready to cross the finish line. I'm ready to have those medals around my neck. To hear the clang when I walk around.

I'm ready to do what one year ago I thought was beyond impossible. And, you know what, maybe it still is - but I'm sure going to try.

You just summed up exactly how I'm feeling right now... one of my favourite posts so far!

 

[JClimacus]

My November mileage before my injury - 77 miles. Not bad for 10 days, but I am officially done running for the year and have deferred the 2016 Dopey.

As posted last week, I went to my doctor who (after X-rays) was not sure of my diagnosis but thought it was tendonitis. He recommended that I give it two weeks then see a podiatrist if things had not improved. Things still had not improved at all on Monday so I went ahead and made the appointment - saw the podiatrist this morning. Short story now made long - I have stress fractures in my left foot and am not allowed to run for 6 weeks. In an air cast through the end of December, then slowly weaned off. The good news - this bone injury will heal completely and not impact my running in the future. The podiatrist assured me that this was a much better diagnosis than tendon or ligament injuries given my love of running. So I'll stay positive and accept that which I cannot change.

We will still be in WDW for the races. We are actually headed down for the New Year's celebration so will be there for 2 weeks before our cruise. But no races for me.

Keep up the good work and I hope to see some of you in WDW. I'll be there cheering you on.

Buckeye, your attitude is inspiring me. I suffered a calf strain in a half marathon on Nov. 15. I was able to get back to training a week later, then suffered a knee strain last Saturday. I'm wondering if the knee was compensating for the calf (I ran thru the calf problem on the half) and that weakened it. Anyway, when I strained it last Saturday I couldn't walk and my friend had to run ahead and pick me up in the car. I've been REALLY bummed out, been monitoring the posts here but too pissed off to post myself. The strain started to recover rapidly, but in the last few days has slowed down as there is slight, lingering soreness in the knee when I walk that seems to be very stubborn. I'm absolutely committed to not trying to run again until it feels completely 100%. I'm in my 3rd week of basically no training (going back to the first injury) and heading into my 4th next week - and I'm supposed to be running the Goofy so I'm starting to get scared. The good news is I have a very solid base of miles. I ran a 3:41 marathon in late September, took some time off, then basically picked up the same level of training (alternating 38 and 50 mile weeks) and then ran a 1:40 half on Nov. 15 where the first injury occurred. So if this thing finally gets right soon, I should be OK to at least complete Goofy at a reasonable pace. (My pace goals have been tossed out the window). Your patient and mature response to your injuries are inspiring me to keep perspective... thanks for sharing it with us.

 

[cavepig]

This brings me to a related question I have for people. It's more for people that have run at least one marathon but it could apply to anyone really.

A co-worker (I have mentioned this person before) approached me about running a 100 mile ultra marathon next summer. They wanted to know my opinion. This person hasn't completed a 1/2 marathon yet. They were signed up for Wine and Dine but obviously it got cut short. But they were complaining about the humidity for that race. My response was, "Maybe you should try a marathon before trying to do 4 of them in one day, in August."

So my question is this, am I the only one that thinks some of these races are hard? Do some of you more experienced runners find a marathon to be easy and I am just over thinking how hard it is that this person doesn't even feel the need to complete one before trying 100 miles in a day, in mid summer?

I left that conversation feeling like I might just be a wimp because I couldn't jump from a longest distance run in a race of 6.8 miles and do a 100 mile race 10 months later? I am completely intimidated by the marathon. I'll still do it. I will finish it, even with less than ideal training. But I just don't think I will ever get to the point it feels easy. I don't even see a 1/2 marathon as being "easy". It's not intimidating to me, but still not easy.

OK, hopefully I made some sense with this post. I'm interested in the feedback.

Nope, your not alone, races are hard & the longer distances are not to be taken lightly. I think some people just don't respect the distances. Honestly, until you run a half or full there's no way to understand what it's like. When I was younger, it was easier to run longer, but it was never 'easy'. Jumping right into an ultra without ever even doing a 1/2 sounds like a rude awakening for a first run experience. I would never consider a marathon 'easy' by any means and I don't think my cross country coach would either who runs ultras all summer.

 

[faneuil]

http://live.xacte.com/wdw/?id=820

2016 option is now available, but no names yet.

Anyone have a link to the 1/2?

Was the phone case good quality? I really want to get a decent case that'll last and they look so cute!

Mine still looks like new. I've been very pleased. It still gets comments.

 

[derekleigh]

This brings me to a related question I have for people. It's more for people that have run at least one marathon but it could apply to anyone really.

A co-worker (I have mentioned this person before) approached me about running a 100 mile ultra marathon next summer. They wanted to know my opinion. This person hasn't completed a 1/2 marathon yet. They were signed up for Wine and Dine but obviously it got cut short. But they were complaining about the humidity for that race. My response was, "Maybe you should try a marathon before trying to do 4 of them in one day, in August."

So my question is this, am I the only one that thinks some of these races are hard? Do some of you more experienced runners find a marathon to be easy and I am just over thinking how hard it is that this person doesn't even feel the need to complete one before trying 100 miles in a day, in mid summer?

I left that conversation feeling like I might just be a wimp because I couldn't jump from a longest distance run in a race of 6.8 miles and do a 100 mile race 10 months later? I am completely intimidated by the marathon. I'll still do it. I will finish it, even with less than ideal training. But I just don't think I will ever get to the point it feels easy. I don't even see a 1/2 marathon as being "easy". It's not intimidating to me, but still not easy.

OK, hopefully I made some sense with this post. I'm interested in the feedback.

Wow, so your co-worker, whom has never run farther than a Half wants to do a 100-mile Ultra with less than a year to train?! That sounds like a quick trip to injury-ville. Unless your co-worker is genetically and physically gifted (I mean that in a good way), it MIGHT be possible, but I highly doubt it unless s/he has been running VERY high weekly mileage for a few years.

While I've only done one Full, the 2016 WDW Half will be my 10th Half and I'm at a point where give me a days notice and I can easily do a Half marathon. It might not be the best time but I think I could still keep it below 2:00. A Marathon is more than just doubling a Half. A lot of people today seem to not respect the distance and the demand a marathon requires, let alone a 100-mile Ultra! If your co-worker aimed for an ultra in another two years, I'd think that is do-able. However if your co-worker doesn't respect the distance, he time to physically and mentally training for an ultra of this size, s/he is going to get hurt.

 

[DopeyBadger]

This brings me to a related question I have for people. It's more for people that have run at least one marathon but it could apply to anyone really.

A co-worker (I have mentioned this person before) approached me about running a 100 mile ultra marathon next summer. They wanted to know my opinion. This person hasn't completed a 1/2 marathon yet. They were signed up for Wine and Dine but obviously it got cut short. But they were complaining about the humidity for that race. My response was, "Maybe you should try a marathon before trying to do 4 of them in one day, in August."

So my question is this, am I the only one that thinks some of these races are hard? Do some of you more experienced runners find a marathon to be easy and I am just over thinking how hard it is that this person doesn't even feel the need to complete one before trying 100 miles in a day, in mid summer?

I left that conversation feeling like I might just be a wimp because I couldn't jump from a longest distance run in a race of 6.8 miles and do a 100 mile race 10 months later? I am completely intimidated by the marathon. I'll still do it. I will finish it, even with less than ideal training. But I just don't think I will ever get to the point it feels easy. I don't even see a 1/2 marathon as being "easy". It's not intimidating to me, but still not easy.

OK, hopefully I made some sense with this post. I'm interested in the feedback.

So, I'll echo everyone else and say this probably wouldn't be a good idea for your co-worker. After doing 50-60 miles per week for 5 months for my last marathon PR attempt, I did end up getting better and it made it "easier" than any of my other marathon attempts. However, "easy" is relative, as it was still a very taxing event. You're co-worker would have to be willing to put in hours, upon hours of training.

But bigger issue, is from my understanding one of the main driver's of being able to go the distance is mitochondria. The mitochondria are the powerhouses of the cell, converting carbs, protein, and fat in the presence of oxygen into useable energy (ATP). The density (or size) of mitochondria reaches a maximum after 8-12 weeks of training (this is the point at which you start to feel really ready for your endurance event). The more important factor as to why people incrementally increase their distances over years of training is mitochondria volume (or total number of). Mitochondria volume is increased slowly after years of individual training cycles, the belief is that this increasing can be infinite, but the more you run and the more years you put in, the smaller the increase in volume you see. Thus, a person jumping from a longest distance of 7 miles up to 100 miles in a matter of months probably doesn't have the right physical tools (not enough mitochondria) to be able to complete it comfortably. Can it be done? Possibly. Should it be attempted? Probably not.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Anyone have a link to the 1/2?

Looks like it should be the same link. Once you change it to 2016, it says "All Events" in the drop-down box. If you click on it, you can see it has all the events listed including the half.