Dec 19, 2000

A woman from Omaha began her note with an honest appraisal of where she stands now. "Cycling is my sport of choice," wrote Nancy. "However, I recently began building a running base and am up to 30 minutes every other day."

Already she’s looking toward a marathon -- next April in Nashville. "I read somewhere not to try one until you’ve run consistently for at least two years," she said. "Do you agree?"

Not necessarily, though I do sometimes ask today's runners, "What's your hurry?" (I took nine years to work up my distance, and nerve, for the marathon while being otherwise occupied with short races.)

Some runners need to take years, but that requirement doesn’t cover everyone. Thousands of runners finish marathons in their first year.

They can’t do it without the necessary basic training. I recommend building to at least an hour of running before even thinking about entering a marathon training program. Finishing a race of 10-K or longer is another good test to pass before moving up.

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