Welcome and Congratulations!

Welcome to your resource for everything you need to know to successfully complete your first marathon and congratulations on making the decision to do something only a select group people will ever accomplish in their lives!

The latest statistics show that only about one out of every 10,000,000 people will run a marathon. That puts you in a pretty elite group of people and you should be proud of that fact. Running a marathon is a big accomplishment and it requires a big commitment and the rewards mentally, emotionally, physically and even spiritually are immense!

Let's get this show on the road(no pun intended)! First, we'll take a quick look at what you can expect as you begin training and then of course what you can expect on race day! We'll call it the overview, sort of a snapshot of what's to come in the next weeks and months of your life as a marathoner. After that we'll get into more specifics and match you up with the training plan that best matches your current level of fitness and your lifestyle.

We'll be delivering this training through daily lessons, videos, a training schedule and even provide you with the opportunity to email the coach with your questions.

Without any further adieu, let's introduce the coach and get this party started!

The Power of Decision

Over my forty-five years on this great big planet, I have avoided making more decisions than I have consciously made.

But what's the real difference between making a decision and not. I mean they both end up with a result, one we chose and one we didn't.

Actually, not making a decision is the same as making a decision. Think about it. When you decide something you are making a choice from a set of options. One of those options is to not choose any of the choices and by not selecting the other options you are automatically choosing it.

I know it's kind of confusing. Trust me it happens every time you make a decision. You see, life always moves forward. When you choose not to make a decision, life doesn't suddenly stand still until you do. It keeps on moving forward.

Here's an example; Let's say you are trying to decided whether or not to run in a marathon that is 3 months away. You can make 3 different choices.

1. You can choose to run the marathon.
2. You can choose not to run the marathon
3. You can choose not to decide, in essence, deciding not to run the marathon.

Your third choice, while you may not actually say; "I choose not to decide.", is really a choice not to run the marathon. Why? Because three months from now, whether you are involved or not the marathon is going to happen.

So what difference does it make?

A whole lot! By not making a decision you are not releasing yourself to move on. If you chose to run, then you would begin to move in that direction. If you chose not to run, you would be freeing yourself to move on to other ventures. When you choose not to decide, there is always that question in the back of your mind and it becomes a distraction. When you haven't made a decision to do or not do something, have in essence made a decision to let that thought stay there and fester as a distraction in your mind.

Try making other decisions with unresolved issues on your mind. Pretty soon you're spending more time playing air traffic controller for all of the unresolved issues rattling around up there and less time living.

The worst part is not far behind. There comes a time, when you find it difficult to make even the most simple of decisions. You lose confidence in your ability to do anything. And it steamrolls from there.

All the while, as you're not making decisions, the results you "chose not to choose", keep happening. Ever catch yourself saying; "Why does this always happen to me?" "I didn't choose this!" Life doesn't come to a stand still while you try to avoid making a decision. Quite the contrary, if you are not actively involved in directing your life you will get whatever the world dishes out and... you will have no one to blame but your self!

Don't we get it? We have the power to change everything in our lives. Everything that happens is set in motion by our decisions or lack of them. The only real question is will we decide or will we accept what comes our way?

Maybe, just maybe, you're afraid of making the wrong decision. I can understand that. We all have our doubts sometimes if we're totally honest. You're not going to get it right all of the time. What I can tell you is that any time I have made an active decision in my life, in some way I have always been better off for it. Even if the result I wanted wasn't what I got, it was still my result. And when I look at it, every time a decision I make doesn't work out the way I had hoped, I learn something from the result I did get.

My latest thing is what I refer to as either; "Actively Engaged" or "Actively Disengaged". What exactly does this mean?

You remember in "From There to Here" how I said I had wanted to run a marathon for a long time? Why did it take me so long to get to that outcome? And, why when I did do it was I so unprepared for it?

A conversation I had with a friend not that long ago revealed the answer to me. It was just one of those, "Ahah!" moments. Right in the middle of our conversation I made the observation that I had been living my life for the last several years actively disengaged.

I had a good job, one with a lot of responsibility, but I had been doing the same thing for so long that it didn't really require a whole lot of effort on my part to be good at it. I was pretty good at what I did, if I do say so myself. Running a business is one of those things that just comes naturally for me. But it had become second nature.

Have you ever watched a really top-notch athlete in action? Obviously, they have a lot of talent. This particular game you watch, they seem to be going through the motions. Sure they make a lot of great plays, but it seems as if they had more to give and they were holding back. Have you ever seen that?

People at the top of their game in any venue in life, don't really have off days where their talent just isn't working. It's usually the effort that isn't there. Michael Jordan in his hay day didn't wake up and lose his natural ability. No, if he had a bad game it was his head or effort wasn't in it. Tiger Woods doesn't lose a golf tournament because he lost his talent and skills. He loses because his mental focus isn't in it.

Many of us watched the 2008 Summer Olympics and saw Michael Phelps win a record 8 gold medals in swimming. He is obviously an incredible athlete. He possesses a whole lot of natural ability and combined with hard work for many years he turned his body into the ultimate swimming machine. If he loses a race, it's not likely that he suddenly lost all of his ability. No, it's much more likely that on that particular day his mind wasn't into it.

That happens to all of us sometime. I use sports as an example just because of its popularity to the greatest number of people, but it happens in all walks of life. Generally when we see it happen though, it's for a short period of time. One day, one game, one meeting, one speech, one whatever.

In my case it ran on for several years. I was in the automotive industry for over twenty years. I knew dealerships as well or better than anyone I've ever known. I know them upside down, inside out, frontwards, backwards... I understand the business. I may not have quite as much talent as some people in the business, but I understand it extremely well.

I became active disengaged. In other words, I was there everyday doing my job well and yet it wasn't by far my best effort. The problem is, once you disengage in one area, it becomes easy to do it in other areas as well. Imagine a day where everything in your life becomes just something you do as if you are going through the motions. Now multiply that times 365 days a year for 5 to 10 years.

Ever look back on 5 or 10 years in the past and realize you're still in the same place doing the same things in spite of all of the big goals and dreams you had?

I was going through life, taking it as it comes, letting whatever happened take its course. I had stopped making decisions almost all together. Sure I made decisions at work, but that was again more of my knowledge and ability than my conscious effort.

Needless to say, when it came to running a marathon, things were not much different than the rest of my life. Sure, I did make the decision to sign up, but that was more a result of being caught up in the emotions of the moment than a real commitment. Let's be realistic for a minute. Does running ten times during a seven month period sound like I was actively preparing for a marathon?

I can't vouch for you, but the answer in my book is a resounding, NO!

Being actively disengaged goes like this:

On the surface it seems like every thing's cool. You probably even have lots of goals and such.

You wake up on a typical morning because you have to go to work or get a job or live.

You sleep until the last possible minute, because work is something you "Have" to do not look forward to.

You go through the day at work, somewhat scattered and not really into it, but you get the job done.

As the work day ends you are faced with choices. Go to the gym, go home for a run, go spend quality time with your kids. All of them would be personally rewarding.

Just before you head home one of your coworkers suggests a trip to the local pub for a couple of pints to unwind.

That sounds like a great idea because you need to unwind and put the day behind you.

You end up getting home way too late, no gym, no run, and the kids and your spouse are already in bed.

Or maybe you blow off the coworkers and head home.

Once you're there, you of course have to sit down and watch a little of the idiot box before you get on with your night.

Four hours later, it's time for bed and guess what? No gym, no run, no quality time with the kids.

Wash - Rinse - Repeat!

This can go on for a long, long time. Sadly, although I am admitting to doing this, there are millions of us who do this every single day and don't even realize it. Sometimes we call it going with the flow, but unfortunately that's just a poor excuse.

My friend on the other hand is "Actively Engaged" in his life.

He's very busy. He makes decisions all day long, because he knows and understands their impact on his quality of life. Yes, that means he makes decisions to go to the gym, to do the extra work, to go coach his kids soccer team, to not go have a beer when he might really enjoy just unplugging, because that's not going to improve his relationship with his family one bit. And yes, it does take more effort to be actively engaged all of the time but...

Let me ask you this; After a marathon is complete, they post finishing times, 'results' on their website. Do you think they ever list the guy who signed up but didn't run because he spent all of his time drinking beer instead of training? Or the woman who didn't run because she had to see all of the episodes of her favorite reality show and couldn't train properly?

Survey Say: NO!

When you're older are you really going to be proud to tell your grandchildren how you watched every episode of some TV show they have never heard of or would you rather pull out your finishers medal from the marathon you ran and tell them about a real life experience?

Being actively engaged in life is not easy. Making decisions is not easy. Both get easier with practice. If you're really unsure of yourself, get someone to help you. Find someone you look up to and ask them to mentor you. Hire a personal coach. Hire a personal trainer. Sometimes the only thing you need to get you moving in the right direction and making decisions is just a little boost from someone else. Knowing that there is someone else there to help you hold yourself accountable can be a very powerful thing.

You don't have to start with the biggest life decisions, in fact, I recommend you start small. Maybe just make a decision to go straight home from work today and go for a short walk. If you have family, take them with you. You'll be amazed at what one small decision can do for you. Or make it even smaller. Choose something healthy for lunch. If the only thing you can afford to eat is the fast food value menu order the side salad and don't drench it in dressing.

You can do this, I know you can! Make a conscious effort to make one new decision every day. That's just one, but if it's one that you've actually put some thought into it's a huge step forward. Try this for the next week. Every night before you go to bed take two or three minutes and write down in your diary, what decisions you made that day and how you felt. At the end of the week go back and look at what you've done. Record your successes based on your decisions and your failures. Remember, failure is just discovering another way not to do something in the future. Be proud of yourself for your decisions and reward yourself in some small way. Maybe after a month of making just one decision a day you'll buy your self that new pair of running shoes or that latest book you've been wanting to read.

Whatever you do to recognize the new you make it positive. Going out on the town for an all night binge is not the kind of reinforcement that leads to positive results in life. In fact, when you reward your self by celebrating with alcohol, you're basically saying, "I have suffered through all of this other stuff I have to do, now I can reward myself with this destructive habit." I'm not here to preach against the consumption of alcohol, I'm just saying that it shouldn't be your ultimate prize.

Do something really cool for yourself. Something that reinforces the positive life you are moving towards. For some reason, we seem to think that a celebration has to involve either lots of alcohol or lots of food. Where we got that from I'm not one hundred percent clear, maybe it's from our post Great Depression days in this country where we had nothing and showing a bounty during a celebration meant bounty. Whatever the reason, I think it's time we change the way we celebrate. If you've got something to be proud of share it with a few friends over a nice modest dinner where the most important thing is the great conversation, not how much you can consume. but this is really a different conversation for another time.

Be actively engaged, make decisions you can be proud of!

Now it's time to look at the Power of Focus!

From There to Here

As long as I can remember even back into grade school, I was not the kid winning the foot races. That didn't really change much as I got into middle school or high school either. In fact, I am probably faster at the age of forty-five than I ever was growing up.


What I did have was determination. Growing up in the small Midwestern town of Holland, Michigan was interesting enough. Good values were instilled, good morals were taught and a good solid work ethic. Other than that not a whole lot for someone like me.


When I grew up it was kind that era when you graduated high school and either went to college or married your high school sweetheart or someone close to that. I did not go to college. I had planned to work for a builder. In fact that's what I had done during my senior year of high school. I figured, I would learn the business and maybe someday become a general contractor, right there in Holland.


The building industry, particularly new homes took a major dive in the early eighties and fresh out of high school my dream of being a builder was washed away.


I did get married, not to my high school sweetheart, in fact she had gone to our cross town rival. Boy was she beautiful though. I thought I was the luckiest man on earth. This too would pass. Maybe neither of us was ready to be married, more likely just me, but in less than two years it was over.


For some reason, I just didn't feel like I clicked in Holland, Michigan. Even today, I love to visit and yet can't stay. There was always a yearning to be somewhere else. Somewhere far away from the small town I grew up in.


So, when my younger brother went into the Marine Corps and ended up in Southern California there was nothing on earth that could keep me from making my way out to Orange County. I still remember my first few days in California like they were yesterday. It was absolutely gorgeous. It was March of 1990 and although it was in the 20's back in Michigan, it was a perfectly beautiful 75 degrees in Costa Mesa, California. I was home!


Within a few weeks, my brother and I were running together. This was runners' paradise. Running in Michigan in March meant freezing temperatures and snow drifts and miserable. By contrast, Costa Mesa had absolutely beautiful weather from sun up to sun down every day.


Add to that the fact that maybe even more then than now, everyone was into fitness! What more could a young man ask for? I think it was actually sometime in this new era of my life that I first caught the "bug" of interest in marathons. I think it was more of a curiosity at this point. My brother and I were much more of the "gym rat" type than avid runners. Running was just something that I had enjoyed once and now used to try to keep lean and mean after a good gym session.


There was a lot of gym time, a lot of job time (I was in the car business actually before I even moved to CA), and the occasional 5k fun run when we got inspired to do something different. At the end of the late nineties, after another failed marriage, a few extra pounds and some real frustrating months, I got bit by the running bug again.


This time was different. Instead of running after the fact to keep the extra pounds away. The gym became the place to do my cross training when I wasn't running.


I was getting closer this time. It was 1999 and I decided to go for it. Not knowing the first thing about training for a marathon, I decided the best thing for me to do would be to join a team in training group, you know the ones where you raise funds for a charity and they help you to train for a marathon? I chose the Arthritis Foundation as both my mother and my grandmother had struggled with it for years.


Training was going well. I was running on our long runs at a pace that for me was astronomical. Around a eight and a half minute mile pace. Not fast for some folks, but for me, as big as I was, that was light speed. I was truly getting faster for the first time in my life. I ran a 5k in 23 minutes. Not light speed but a solid pace for what is affectionately referred to in the race circuit as a "Clydesdale".


Things couldn't have been going better and when I got the opportunity to take a new job with better pay, it just seemed like the natural thing to do. I mean after all everything was going so well, it must be an omen.


One little detail... my previous job was about two miles from home which put me home getting ready for a run in five minutes. I got home so fast that even on really late work nights I still had plenty of time to put in a solid run. My new job... forty miles from home and in Southern California that means no less than an hour and a half on the freeway.


My dream soon turned into a nightmare as I found it harder and harder to keep up with the training schedule. More responsibility at work meant less time to train. It soon became clear that aside from leaving my job which I wouldn't, something had to give and that something was the marathon.


Close but no cigar!


For awhile I tried to keep up with my running, but the stress of work and the schedule finally got the best of me. If I ran more than ten times a year over the next four years I'd be surprised. When you quit running, you miss it for a while, then it becomes like everything else you no longer do in life... just something you used to do back when.


After not having been to Michigan for a few years, I had the opportunity to spend a couple of months there at the end of 2003. It was cold. So be it! I proceeded to spend a lot of time walking around my old hometown. A place you haven't been in a while can be very different when you just walk around and absorb it. It was refreshing and reviving. On top of all that I dropped a good forty pounds from all of the walking. Again I loved visiting but now I was anxious to be home in California.


In March I started a new job. Again, forty some miles from home. But my recent weight loss had left me feeling much more capable of handling the extra work load and still maintaining a running routine late night. This time when the demands of the drive got to great, I moved. I went from two hours in the car one way to a ten minute drive if I got stuck at a traffic light.


Finally I could train again, right?


Still didn't happen. You might think at this point, how bad did he really want this?


Sometimes life is just that way. Don't get me wrong, I don't believe for a moment that life just happens to us without our consent. It's just that we let ourselves get distracted. Pretty soon all of the extra time I had gained by moving close to work, became extra time to hang out at the local pub. I mean it was conveniently located between work and my home. And beside, there's always tomorrow.


How quickly the pounds add up and the dreams fade. Funny thing, kind of an observation I finally made not that long ago. I was told by friends that a certain gal kind of had a thing for me. Sounds like Jr High doesn't it. Not really though because I'm one of those people who really doesn't pay attention to those sorts of things. I really love people and so I could sit and have a two hour conversation with someone and never realize that they were interested in more than conversation. Maybe that's kind of sad on my part, but I don't really think so. To finish up the observation. Armed with my new found knowledge, I observed this person stating on several occasions that she liked her men a little older and "chunky".


What? There must be some mistake. How could this person be interested in me and chunky guys all at the same time? Oh! I get it now! Ouch! Self-denial, self-denial, self-denial.


A year later came the big kick in the teeth I'd been apparently waiting for all of my life. My younger brother decided to get in the best shape of his life and as a part of his renewed commitment to fitness he ran the Los Angeles... yes you guessed it... Marathon!


I have never been so proud and devastated both at the same time. I was working that particular Sunday in March 2005 and yet I tracked him every step of the way online. I was absolutely inspired!


I signed up within 45 minutes of the time he crossed the finish line for the Long beach Marathon in October of that year, but didn't run. In fact, I never really got my training off the ground.


Next year, brother runs the 2006 LA Marathon, again I sign up for Long Beach to run in October. Now this is killing me! I have got to get off my duff and start training.


And I did, successfully train. Ten times during that next seven month period.


If anyone ever tells you a marathon is all about physical conditioning, they have never run one! 2006 was going to be my year no matter what. I may not have been physically ready, but I was in complete control of my mind game.


In October of 2006, I was better prepared mentally to run a marathon than I had ever been and quite frankly four marathons later I was never more ready after that date. When that fateful day arrived, I was calm and I was ready... at least in my mind. I remember being at the starting line with my brother. He was as nervous as you can get. And I can relate because quite frankly that's the way I normally feel before a race. This day I was just ready! No nerves, no jitters, no nothing but ready.


Had I really fully understood what I was getting myself into I might have been at least a little ill at ease, but there I was calm as could be. I have run three marathons in fair physical condition but this was not one of those three. Physically, I had no business being anywhere near the starting line of that marathon.


When the gun went off we started the slow "death march" (unless you're an elite runner things start kind of slow) and shortly after crossing the starting line I told my brother to go ahead and run his race. I'll see you at the "Beer Garden"! For novice marathoners a combination of running and walking is not uncommon. In fact many of the teams in training teach their first timers to run with regularly scheduled walk breaks. For me at some point during this whole thing it went from walk breaks to run breaks. It was a long march with intermittent runs thrown in just to keep it interesting.


And it's true. You absolutely will experience every emotion you own over the course of a marathon. 26.2 miles is a long way for a human being to run. Whether you are struggling to finish the distance or trying for a personal best time you are going as "all out" as you can for a huge distance. No matter how well you prepare, it is going to hurt somewhere in your body or deep down in your soul.


I went from elation that I was doing this finally to deep dark depression over the fact that I had such a long way to go to happy to tears to disappointment that I wasn't going to make the "Beer Garden" cut-off time to anger at how far it seemed the next mile marker was away yet to compassion to the runners who had stopped along the side of the road in pain to ultimate joy... literal tears of joy when I crossed the finish line and saw my brother waiting for me.


I'm pretty sure I have some emotions I didn't run through but it sure felt like I'd gone through them all.


Oddly enough, within a few hours of finishing, I didn't even really feel any pain. But apparently, that's because I was in the eye of the storm. The next morning as I headed for work, I almost fell going down the stairs to the parking garage. It was kind of a little, "Hello" from my legs to my brain, just to let it know they hadn't gone away all together.


Four days later I was actually out for a short run. After what I had gone through in Long Beach, there was no way I was going to be that far out of shape for the LA Marathon I had just signed up for.


This time I ran at least twenty times in the five months leading up to the marathon. I would be a little better prepared physically, but I was without my brother who had knee surgery very close to the date of the marathon. There's a lot to be said for running with a partner or in a group. Even though my brother and I have never actually run together (yes, he's faster than I am, and thanks for reminding me!), just knowing that he is out there on the course somewhere and will be there at the finish line gives me a feeling of support.


It hit me particularly hard in this marathon. After a miserably cold wait before the start and an uphill start much steeper than they made it seem, I was already to crack at around mile five. My brother and sister-in-law had come out early and ridden the Bike Tour so I knew they were there somewhere. At some point though as I was running and watching all of the team-in-training groups with their precision running formations and cadences and such, it dawned on me that I was completely alone. For a moment amidst a sea of some twenty five thousand runners, I was struggling through this event completely on my own. Yes, I know that's absurd, but we are talking about a marathon where in your mind over the course of 26 miles anything can happen. In fact, my brother tells of running one of his marathons thinking our Dad was running with him. This is not one of those spirit visitation things, he's alive and well in Michigan, but during this particular portion of that particular marathon my brother would have sworn he was there. So when I say that in the middle of all those people I felt completely alone... it's not that unusual during a marathon.


I can see it as clearly as if it is happening right now, I remember coming around a corner somewhere about mile 18 and there was my brother at the side of the road with a bottled water. He actually ran with me for about a hundred yards. The whole time it was all I could do to keep from balling my eyes out I was so happy to see him.


Two more marathons have gone under my belt, so to speak, since I ran my first LA Marathon. Both of them miserable right up to the very end. So why do I keep going after them?


What makes a guy do something that by all accounts he's just too big to do more than maybe once?


What makes me think that there are ultra marathons in my future? Am I nuts? Am I unbalanced?


Well perhaps I am a little bit crazy, but what happened to me this year 2008, is reason enough to say as long as there is air for me to breathe I will run farther and farther and I will do so in better and better shape and I will work to inspire more and more people to do the same and get in the best possible condition they can.


If I can inspire you to do just one marathon, you will thank me profusely, one time! If I can inspire you to get in good condition, you will thank me for the rest of your life!


How do I know?


Because this year, I had a heart attack. I'm telling you right now that give me enough time I can teach anybody the mental skills they need to run a marathon one time. It's not much different than teaching someone to firewalk or anything else that requires conquering your fears and overcoming.


You and I are not so very different from each other. We both have things we want to do in life, And, we both allow ourselves to be distracted by life and get off course. It is human nature and it happens. The difference between me and a lot of people is, I've been given a second chance in life. Many people like me who have heart attacks, never get that second chance. Quite frankly, if you had met me before my heart attack, you would not have picked me out of the crowd to be the guy.


That's the sad part, not only did I not see it coming, neither did anyone else. BUT... deep down inside, I knew I was not living up to my own standards. I just chose to ignore it. You know how you look at yourself in the mirror everyday and you say "Hello good looking!" Then you see yourself in a picture and get freaked out. Oh, the camera adds 10 pounds! In my case the camera would have had to be adding about 60 pounds.


That picture of me lying in the hospital bed, that hangs in my living room so that I see it everyday, doesn't lie. I want to cry when I see me lying there with an oxygen tube in my nose, helpless and in pain. I don't because that's over! I can not go back and change the past. Not one single second of it.


I do control what my future will be like.


Funny thing is, I didn't get to where I am today because I didn't know any better. Quite the contrary. I have always been a student of fitness. I have always known it would be a major part of my life. I don't think I ever imagined it would be a matter of life and death for me, but it is. I guess that's just part of our human naivety. That part that says we're invincible. I actually admire that quality in people. It helps us overcome fears in life. It's just the part that denies reality that can be dangerous.


Believing that anything is possible allows us to accomplish great things. Choosing to ignore where we are at is a whole different thing. Knowing the difference between the two is something that now that I've been there I can definitely help you understand.


We'll explore that difference in the next section; The Power of Decision.

Journey to a Marathon

Imagine if you will something you've wanted almost since you can remember. Maybe something you wanted to do or have or a place you wanted to visit.


If you're like most of us you can probably come up with a fairly good sized list of those things. Now think of one in particular that is really important to you that you haven't done yet. It's possible you've wanted this for more years than you can remember. Do you have that picture in your mind?


Now that I've made you think about it again, how much more do you want it right now?


That's kind of, sort of, maybe, how I felt about running a marathon. I don't really recall when I got the idea that this was something that would be really cool to accomplish but I know it had been in my brain for a long, long time.


This is a story about chasing your dreams! It's the story of a young man who wanted to accomplish something big in his life and of the journey he took to get to his destination. Like all of us you will hear of the ups and downs of that quest. Of failures and upsets. Of getting sidetracked and majorly distracted. In the end you will share in the personal victory of finally achieving a dream and the lessons learned along the way.


You'll also get to learn some of the lessons we all experience when what we want isn't all its cracked up to be once we get it.


Interspersed with the story you will find the keys you need to preparing for and completing your first marathon or perhaps your fastest. If you've tried before and failed, it's not your fault as you'll see as we explore what it took to finally get my marathon under my belt. Within you and I will explore everything it takes to get you ready for a marathon from the right shoes to the gear you need to the right training plan to how to eat right and much more. It's all available here.


The good news is you can read this in more than one way. You can read it start to finish or you can simply go directly to the section that particularly interests you. Maybe all you're looking for is a good basic beginners schedule. I've got that here for you and if that's really all you want, it's yours.


My hope for you is that this will not only inform you but also inspire you to run your first or your fastest marathon and to continue on beyond the marathon even if you never run again with a lifestyle that is healthy and fit!

You may have already noticed there are several links throughout this story. In addition to the list on the right-hand side of the page you can also follow these links directly to the topics you are most interested in. Just another shortcut to get you on track as quick as possible.

It is actually possible that you have no interest in marathons whatsoever, that's OK because you just might learn a thing or two about how to accomplish something else in life that is important to you.

I hope you will take the time to read this all the way through. It is after all for you! It's not written for my benefit yet rather for yours. If our time together helps you avoid even one of the mistakes I've made to this point in my life then the hours spent at the keyboard were worth it to me.

That is what I get out of all this writing. Knowing that somehow in some small way I have the opportunity to make a small difference in somebody else's life. My greatest reward.

So let's get moving with the next section; From There to Here!

What to Wear... What to Wear!

Big and little decision all at the same time!

Fuel

There's not really any question about whether or not you will burn a lot of calories during your marathon and preparation. The only real question is how many and what should you do to keep from running out of gas.

To hydrate or not?

Our bodies are over 70% water and because we have such an efficient cooling system, we loose a lot of it when we run long distances.