Spirit of the Marathon |

Today’s post is later than usual due to a relaxing pancake breakfast made by the husband followed by some a.m. reading in bed with coffee.

{#1-Apple Cheddar Chicken}

image from http://www.iowagirleat.com

Another great recipe from Iowa Girl Eats. I seriously love so many of her eats. From dinners to treats they are all delicious. Check her out if you haven’t!

{#2-Run This Town}

I have had the opportunity to run in some great cities over the past few years. When planning upcoming trips one of the first things I plan is the routes I hope to run. I often struggle to find information on running routes in specific cities in advance and usually wish there was a resource I could use when planning my next vacation. I’ve decided to create my own resource, found under the Run This Town tab, that will highlight favorite running routes in specific cities. The posts about each city will include descriptions about sights on the run, terrain of routes, distances, where to park, and of course photos. Hopefully this will benefit other runners the next time they have a chance to travel

{#3-New York City Marathon}
I’ve always dreamed of one day running the NYC Marathon. Don’t get too excited…I don’t have a surprise announcement about running this dream race. This past week while grading papers I found Run For Your Life was on Netflix streaming along with other great running movies like Spirit of the Marathon. Run For Your Life is a documentary about the NYC Marathon. The documentary follows the race’s director from its first year with hardly any runners to the grand race it has become. Of course watching the history and nostalgia of the race that runs through all five boroughs made me want to run it even more, so I decided to look up the race online and was really disappointed to see that they are changing how you can receive guaranteed entry.

The NYC Marathon is currently a lottery system unless you run for charity, qualify at specific local races, have run 15 consecutive NYC Marathons, or have applied for the lottery three years in a row and have not been accepted. I had been counting on the last option as the charities require you to raise signficant dollars that I’m just not sure I could. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to count on that option as this is the last year they are guaranteeing entry for runners who were denied entry after applying to the lottery for three consecutive years. Also ending next year is guaranteed entry for runners who have run the NYC Marathon the last 15 years or more in a row. I’m bummed for those people, too.

Now I’m curious about what future entry options will look like (qualifying times like Boston?), or if it will solely rely on lottery entry and if you don’t ever get in, then you don’t get in. The Houston Marathon has had a lottery system for a couple of years now, but also has a guaranteed option if you run a qualifying time that allows you to register before the lottery opens to other runners. Since this is bucket list race for me and the race I plan on running for my New York state race, I will definitely be keeping an eye on this. Some of you NY readers, do you know any other details?

{#4-My poor husband}

I do this to my husband ALL the time! Usually it goes something like I don’t want to pick where we eat, you pick. Well, I don’t really want to eat there. I’m not feeling there either. And so on!

{#5-Happy Easter}

Have a runner in your life? Want to send some Easter love their way? Make a runner basket for them! I filled this basket with some of my favorite running gear items. You could go big or choose just a few items to include in their runner basket. Starting from the top left items include-1. Runner’s World Magazine, 2. My Life On the Run by Bart Yasso, 3. Spirit of the Marathon DVD, 4. Bic Bands headband, 5. Body Glide, 6. Nuun, 7. GU, 8. Bearded Brothers bar, and 8. Pro Compression compression socks.

Happy weekend everyone!

I’m a sucker for watching movies that are both inspirational and involve sports. Look in our DVD bin and you will find far more sports movies than rom coms. True my husband also is a fan, but like he really bought any of them. From Field of Dreams to Remember the Titans to The Mighty Ducks they have been watched many times and seem not to lose there inspirational impact. The Ducks..err Geese are one of the reasons I’ve always loved the story of the geese so much that I use it in my classroom at the start of the school year every year.

When it comes to running movies they are rarely as popularized as other. One of my favorites is Dean Karnazes’ story of running 50 Marathons in 50 States in 50 Days. Another favorite, Running the Sahara, documents three runners and their 111 day journey across the Sahara desert. What prompted this post in the first place was me reading last week that a sequel to my favorite running documentary is due out this year-Spirit of the Marathon II. I actually might have squealed; that’s how exciting this news was to me. So why so exciting?

Well, first of all, the original came out as I was training for my second marathon. Watching it captures all of the emotions that go into running a marathon. If you’ve ever stood at the starting line of a marathon or ran your own race, then I swear you’ve felt the emotions in the runners around you. First timers are nervous, excited, and anxious. Veterans are excited, perhaps uncertain about a PR, and hopeful for a good race. Charity runners are carrying thoughts of people they are running for and their own race-pride, hope, and worry. Elites are chasing for that win or top performance. There is happiness, pride, fear, anxiety, uncertaintly, and excitement all at once.

All those emotions were there. It is true what they say about your first; you’ll never forget it. Marathon that is.

For those who have ran a marathon watching this movie will bring back all those emotions of your first race. For those who have always wondered why someone would ever want to run that far, this movie offers a glimpse into those reasons and the complex emotions runners feel as they travel 26.2 miles in the Chicago Marathon. It also gives you perspective of first timers yet to complete the distance, seasoned runners, and elites. You hear from marathon greats like Frank Shorter, Paula Radcliffe, Deena Kastor, and Katherine Switzer.

http://www.nhpr.org/post/profile-kathrine-switzer

Part of my pre-marathon routine is to watch this movie a week or two before my race to really get the emotions and excitement going. If you’ve ever wanted to relive the emotions or try to understand the emotions of a marathon, check out the preview of the original below. It is six minutes, but so worth it. I got goosebumps as I watched it again last night. I won’t give away any endings other than I always tear up. What can I say? I don’t cry in real life about a lot of things, but play a running movie and I ball.

The sequel, Spirit of the Marathon II, will come out later this fall!! In a similar format, it will follow runners as they train and run the Rome Marathon while also focusing on the impacts running marathons has on people and societies. The documentary looks at reasons why people run marathons from overcoming cancer, to breaking social norms, to seeing how far the human body can go. You can bet I signed up for the update emails AND I’ll be buying it as soon as it comes out. I know Ry just can’t wait (cue sarcasm). Click below to watch a preview.

If either of these videos doesn’t have you out the door to run or signing up for your next race, then maybe it is time to lace up anyway and get some fresh air to your brain.

Happy Monday!

Tag Archives: Spirit of the Marathon

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