Thursday, March 10, 2016

A Librarian’s Approach to Marathon Training

Meredith Ruhl is an intern at the Morrill Memorial Library in Norwood, Massachusetts. She is currently in her last semester in the Simmons College Graduate School of Library Science. Read Meredith's column in the March 10, 2016 edition of the Norwood Transcript and Bulletin.

If you drive along Commonwealth Ave. in Newton on a weekend morning in the late winter or early spring, you will likely see hundreds, if not thousands, of people running in the carriage lane next to the main road. Often braving not only the steep terrain of Heartbreak Hill but also subzero temperatures, snow, and ice, these intrepid runners are training for the Boston Marathon. Many are tackling their very first marathon and doing so to raise money for local charities, as I am this year.

As a child, I watched the Boston Marathon every April. I often handed out cups of water to runners at my elementary school’s water station and cheered on my teachers or my classmates’ parents who were running. I loved Marathon Monday, but I never imagined I would one day be preparing to run 26.2 miles from Hopkinton to Boston.

When the opportunity arose to run this April on behalf of an educational nonprofit where I used to work, the Natick Community Organic Farm (NCOF), I felt drawn to this event that means so much to our city. I have completed several shorter races, but a marathon is a new challenge for me. As the mileage of my training runs climbs steadily out of the familiar realm of the half marathon, I need all of the help and advice I can get on training, nutrition, and race-day logistics.

As a library intern and lifelong bookworm, I felt compelled to read as much as I could about marathon training. I checked out several books from the Morrill Memorial Library and requested others available in the Minuteman Library Network. I have been keeping a stack of marathon books on the coffee table in my living room. While I have not read each one from cover to cover, I have been flipping through chapters that sound useful and gleaning valuable pieces of advice.

“The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Marathon Training,” by David A. Levine and Paula Petrella, appealed to me because it provides very basic tips and does not assume that the reader has any prior knowledge or experience. I also picked up “Marathon: The Ultimate Training Guide: Advice, Plans, and Programs for Half and Full Marathons,” by Hal Higdon, because I was already using a training plan from the author’s website. From “Chi Marathon: The Breakthrough Natural Running Program for a Pain-Free Half-Marathon and Marathon,” by Danny Dreyer and Katherine Dreyer, I gained insight into how to improve my running form in order to avoid injury and discovered a hydration tip that has worked well for me (it’s pretty simple: one sip of water every ten minutes during long runs). Consulting books by experienced runners has helped me gain confidence as I embark on this rather intimidating journey.

Running a marathon will likely take me around five hours, as I am not a particularly fast runner. If running for five hours sounds miserable to you (as it honestly does to me at times), you might prefer one of the many running books on shorter distances available from the library. Many runners enjoy Jeff Galloway’s method of alternating between running and walking, featured in his books “The Run-Walk-Run Method,” “Galloway’s 5K and 10K Running,” and others.

Whether or not you are planning on training for a race, you may be interested in learning more about famous runners and their impressive athletic feats. Part memoir and part training manual, “Meb for Mortals: How to Run, Think and Eat like a Champion Marathoner,” by Meb Keflezighi with Scott Douglas, is full of advice from the winner of the 2014 Boston Marathon. The Minuteman Library Network also has a number of books on the history of the Boston Marathon, including “Boston Marathon: A Celebration of America’s Greatest Race,” by Tom Derderian.

“Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen,” by Christopher McDougall, comes highly recommended by many of the runners I know. To be inspired by the winner of the first Olympic women’s marathon, check out “Running Tide,” a memoir by Joan Benoit Samuelson with Sally Baker. For a literary reflection on both running and writing, check out Haruki Murakami’s memoir, “What I Talk about When I Talk about Running.” If you would prefer a more humorous take on the subject, check out “The Terrible and Wonderful Reasons Why I Run Long Distances,” by Matthew Inman of The Oatmeal.

In addition to the lessons I have learned from books while training for Boston, I have been grateful for tips from several friends who are experienced marathoners, willing to answer my numerous and perhaps naive questions (including, “What do you do when your water bottle freezes during a long run on a cold day?”). Marathon training has a wonderful way of bringing people together. Usually a solitary runner, I have recently started running with others who are also training to run on behalf of NCOF. We have even met other runners trudging up the Newton hills at a similar pace and exchanged phone numbers so we can run with them again. While I still find that running on my own is a good way to clear my mind and deal with stress, I have also found great joy in connecting with others over a shared challenge.


After successfully running 16 miles last Saturday, I started to feel that the marathon was within reach. I am nervous about the race, but also excited to see friends and family members along the way as I run through my college campus, the town where I grew up, and the town where I live now. If you plan to watch the Boston Marathon on April 18th, keep an eye out for a familiar face from your local library!