Geb broke the World Record

If you haven’t seen the news, Haile Gebrselassie ran 2:04.26 in Berlin.  That’s fast.

I think we’ll see a sub-2 hour marathon in my lifetime.

should newbies run marathons?

Just my humble opinion.

I think its great that so many people have taken up running. Whether you run a 17:00 5K or a 47:00 5K, whether you run 5 miles per week or 150 miles per week, whether its on trail or road or treadmill — I consider you all my brother and sister runners. I welcome you to the sport and hope you love it as much as I do.

However.

I do agree with his general premise that new runners should not be doing marathons.

I want people in running for the long haul. Jumping off the couch into training for a marathon is not, in my humble opinion, the course that leads to life-long running.

Running a marathon is difficult. Its a grueling distance that tests endurance, stamina, and smarts. Unfortunately, I do truly believe that without the proper base, you ARE likely to get hurt. And, without the proper knowledge and experience you get from having some miles and some time running under your belt, I think you ARE more likely to make a critical mistake and suffer from overhydration or heatstroke. Veteran runners are not immune to making mistakes or getting injured. But I think the probability is much higher for a new, relatively clueless runner.

I don’t want to see runners get hurt or burned out on the sport by trying to tackle a very difficult distance and doing too much too soon. I don’t want to see runners get sick (and I sure as hell don’t want them dying!). And I don’t want them to have their marathon experience be so miserable that they end up hating running.

I would much rather see runners do 5K and 10K distances the first year and gradually increase with the marathon being the culmination. This allows new runners to build their endurance and allows them a chance to learn about race etiquette. It gives them an opportunity to get the right shoes and talk to veterans about training and learn about potential dangers like hyponatremia. It raises the chances they become … a lifelong runner.

What can I say, I am selfish. I want you in my sport for life.

All that said — those are my reasons, not the author’s reasons. Reading between the lines, I think he is angry that his own accomplishment of running a marathon has been cheapened, in his own mind, by the fact that now basically ANYONE of reasonable health and now say THEY are a marathoner. He no longer feels special. And that’s his problem, not mine.