Working the Color Run Event 5k

Over this past weekend I had the opportunity to work at The Color Run 5k in Ft Lauderdale. What an experience! I have a whole new understanding and respect for races and what goes into putting them on. I carpooled down Thursday morning, and immediately went to work at Packet Pick up. Everyone else had arrived Wednesday and set up packet pick up, we arrived Thursday in time to work at it.

The event had over 5000 people registered so they had 2 days of packet pickup (Thursday and Friday). It was exciting getting people excited and checked in for the upcoming race. We finished up around 6 and had a short meeting. Friday morning a group of us met for an early run before heading out to packet pickup and the venue for setup. We worked hard all day setting up all the barricades, banners, flags, stage area, tents and tables. We finished up the day around 9 pm (had a short meeting at the hotel over dinner around 8).

Staking everything in the ground

Saturday (race day) was crazy, we got up around 2:30 am and were at the venue at 3:30 am to begin setting up all the race day festivities. We had to unload the truck full of the packet pickup stuff so we could do race day packet pickup at the race, let me just take a moment to say please pick up your packet prior to race day whenever possible, there were over 2000 people trying to register or pick up their packets race day morning and most showed up half hour to 45 minutes prior to the race start. This causes everyone to have to wait in long lines, and start the race late.

yellow zone volunteers

We set up all the color zones which included getting the roads closed off, setting up all the signs, flags, color barrels, arch ways etc. Our volunteers began showing up and they were trained on how to properly work their area they were assigned.  After leaving color zone 1 (yellow) I was brought back to the SHINE zone at the finish-line. I made it back just as the first wave of the race was taking off. I quickly got all my glitter/shine ready and waited for my volunteers to show up and help... they never made it. My teammate at the finish line gave me one of his volunteers and she was so excited to be helping me out in the SHINE zone. Eventually my yellow zone squad made it over and helped me also... what teamwork! It was stressful having people say they would be there to help and never show up but everyone else stepped up and we had a very successful event.

Once the last runners came through we started cleaning up and tearing down the color zones and finish area while everyone partied with DJ Matt in the finisher zone. It was fun hearing everyone having so much fun, there was color everywhere, loud music, balloons flying... Such a fun event! It took us a few hours to clean all the garbage, and pack up all the tents, barricade, banners ect. We washed everything before packing it all up because it is being shipped off to another event. Everything was cleaned, inventoried, counted and packed.

We got back to the hotel around 2 and most went to take quick naps, I opted for a quick shower (I looked like the Tin Man) and swam a few laps before some hot tub time. What an awesome experience. I will be sure to thank volunteers more often, get my garbage into a trash whenever possible, and really take a moment to look around and appreciate all the hard work that was put into the events I am at. Every sign, banner, tent, table, mile marker, water station... they were all put up and tore down by people. A lot of work!

Our "local" Color Run team

Tomoka Marathon Race Recap 2015

The second annual Tomoka Marathon

I decided after running Miami and qualified for the Marathon Maniacs I was going to take a break from marathons and work on strength and speed with hopes of running a sub 4 and getting closer to a BQ. After running Jax Bank (Dec 28) a bunch of my running friends from FCR decided they were all running Tomoka, so I thought I better too! Unfortunately, unlike most of my friends in FCR I didn't continue training after running Miami. My longest run in the past 8 weeks was 14.5 miles... My best friend flew in for spring break and we were so busy every single day leading up to the marathon including; 5 hour snorkeling tour in the Keys, kayaking the Springs, the day before the race we were up in Savannah GA site seeing all day! I didn't get more than 5-6 hours of sleep the entire time.

Race: Tomoka Marathon
Date: March 29th, 2015
Finish Time: 4 hours, 08 minutes
Distance: 26.2 miles
Gain: 639 ft

The marathon got underway around 6:30 a.m. Sunday, the half started at 7am and the 5k started at 7:30am. The staggered start was awesome. It cleared so much of the congestion at the beginning of the race.

The temperatures hovered in the lower to mid-40s, and most of us locals were freezing. Most of us were still wearing our shorts an tank tops praying we would warm up once we started running. The course was gorgeous. We ran what we call "the Tomoka loop" which has some of the most diverse, natural "Old Florida" scenery.

You get to see a little bit of everything including unobstructed vistas of the rivers, inland creeks and marshes, barrier island dunes and beach. We ran over high bridge (a small draw bridge) where in my opinion had some of the most beautiful views on the course. We ran under the huge trees that were covered in spanish moss, down John Anderson road which has a lot of big beautiful houses and finishing down Beach Street. At mile 25.5 we had to cross over the huge bridge to reach the finish line. The start line (an finish line) were at "The Casements" which is a historic former winter home of John D Rockefeller. The post race party was also held there in the beautiful Rockefeller Gardens on the Halifax river. FCR had a tent area setup with food and drinks for a post race celebration.


I started the race with the 4:15 pacer which I felt was a little ambitious with my lack of training the past 2 months, but thought it was achievable as long as I didn't walk. I stayed ahead of her the entire race. My FCR friend met up with me around mile 10 (ish) and ran with me pacing me to the end. She was amazing. Without her I wouldn't have been able to finish as quickly as I did. Miles 18-21 were on packed dirt which I have a really hard time running on, and it wiped me out. I tanked at mile 23 and without her there pushing me, I don't know that I could have gotten myself running again. My lack of training hit me hard there. The support of a friend who knows how you feel and what your goals are was so amazing. With her push, I got a new PR of 4:08:08.

The best part was coming around the corner to the finish line and seeing (heading) a crowd of FCR friends cheering me on to the finish. The support of this group (FCR) is beyond amazing. People were riding their bikes back and forth on the course offering us water/Gatorade/cliff bars/ibuprofin and just all a round giving us their support. They were hopping on the course running with others (race directors encouraged people to join in to support other runners, FCR group is awesome at not clogging the water stations by bringing their own hydration and they did not cross the finish line or take anything from the race) Then when I crossed the finish line I saw my husband (unexpectedly) standing there cheering for me. He got to see me PR at this race and I couldn't wait to tell him about the whole course! We went over to cheer on the a last few people from FCR that were finishing, than met up at the FCR tent to hear how everyone's race went. Several from FCR got BQ's and most of the others met or exceeded their goals they had for the race. It was an amazing day.

The course was so gorgeous, it was flat and shaded. They had enough water stations but if it had been warmer out they would have needed more. I loved the oranges and fruit they had as well, that is always such a pick-me-up the last 10 miles of the marathon. I am excited it run it again next year. 

Gate River 15k race recap

Gate River 15k

Along with almost 15,000 other runners beat the green monster today. If you haven't run the Gate River 15k you might not know what that means, but I am here to tell you all about it. 

For being such a large race Gate River was extremely organized. Probably one of the most organized races I have participated in.  On race day, the police did a great job of funneling cars to several different parking lots which kept the lines moving and got everyone parked pretty quick.  There were tons of port a potties all around for your last minute restroom needs. Bathroom lines  (when there were lines) took about 2 minutes. So short! The starting line was clearly marked with the different wave starts.  With a submitted time I was able to qualify for the seeded corals. Wave 1 - Yay! I have never been so close to the start line before, it was crazy.


We took off right on time and hit our first bridge at mile 1. I was very surprised by the amount of elevation change there was on this race... I mean, this is FLORIDA!

The course wound through several "higher end" neighborhoods and the community involvement was spectacular. People lined the roads through the entire course of the race. People had their BBQ's out and were offering sausage and pancakes, donuts and pastries, several areas had sliced fruit, popsicles, even whiskey shots and ice cold beer! People had music playing in front of their houses and made signs cheering as we all ran by. It was really fun. At mile 8 we came up to the Green Monster. The 1 mile incline of a bridge (Hart Bridge), and it was very unwelcome when it arrived! Haha. I knew about the bridge and thought I was prepared but I don't think you can prepare for that until you have experienced it first hand. It was SO LONG! All of mile 8 was uphill, but then all of mile 9 was down! Yep, they had a 1 mile-timed downhill section of the course. That mile for me timed in at 7:27. Not bad considering I had just ran uphill first! The final .30 seemed to take forever, finally came across the finish-line at 1:21:16. Not what I had originally hoped for, but considering I have an abscess tooth (diagnosed Friday afternoon) and we were running "bumper to bumper" with other runners from start to finish, and it was SO WARM and humid out... I'll take it :)

I finished in the top 10% of all female runners and earned myself a "top 10% finishers hat" in addition to my metal. That was pretty cool! I feel like the finishers area was very spread out, I actually missed all of it. I walked forever and finally found some water, walked quite a bit more before finding my metal and the photo-op area... Then that was it. No muffins or bananas or Gatorade or anything. I walked through the parking lot to find the my running group to see how everyone else did. I guess there were other items in the finishers area, but I somehow missed them. I was so in need of more water and some Gatorade because it was so warm out. 

FCR (Flagler County Runners) throws an amazing "after-party" with mimosas, bloody mary's, beer or all different kinds, breakfast casseroles, bacon, sausage, eggs, breads, fruit - it was awesome! We had a lot of fun just hanging out with everyone. Can't wait to run it again next year!!

Race of the Runways 5k ~Race Recap

5K Race of the Runways - Flagler Beach Rotary Club

I had a chance to "race the runway" at Flagler County Airport. It was a fast flat course along the actual Flagler Beach Airport runway and taxiway. We were entertained by helicopters and planes flying above us during the race. it was an open space, with extra wide turns and was well staffed. They had 1 water station at the half way point (which I never use during a 5k, but it is nice to know it's there if I had needed it).

I worked late Friday night, after a very long work week and was beat. I arrived at the airport around 8am on the very frigid Saturday morning. I didn't "feel" like running, but since I paid for it, and an FCR friend went out of their way to pick up my packet and drop it off at my work for me on Friday night, I figured I better be there and run.

They were very well organized with tons of pre/post race food items (bagels with PB or cream cheese, fresh sliced fruit, nutri-grain bars, water and juice). We started right on time (1 minute late, but that's on time for a race event! haha). We took off and ran almost 3 miles of the 3.1 on the runway. They had a bunch of the planes out lined up and down the runway. It was also cool being able to see how many people were ahead of you (because it was basically 1 large loop). I ran most of the race next to the older guy again (I ran Waterfront with him and got my sub-24 PR). I found out after the race he is an FCR friends dad! So funny!

I came in at 23:44 (the exact same time I had for my last 5k). I didn't give it my all which bums me out a little because I think I would've come in a few seconds faster and got a new PR. Oh well, next time ;)  I got 2nd in my age division, the metal was a little airplane with a spinning propeller. Pretty sweet! My son loves the tech-shirt and metal, he tried to steal them... haha.

Overall it was a great race, I look forward to it next year, hopefully it won't be so darn cold though!

My Life, and Lyme.

I don't talk a lot about Lyme Disease or my personal struggles with it. Most people either don't understand it, or are blissfully ignorant. Lyme disease is one of those things that you hear about but aren't educated on, something that happens to other people, not to you. If you are one of those people, please take time to educate yourself. Learn. Lyme does not attack only crazy trail runners, nor are you immune because you’re not out playing in the woods every weekend. 

I don’t pretend to know much about Lyme or even Lyme prevention. I have searched Google for everything about Lyme, and mostly what I've learned, is no one knows a lot about Lyme. We know where it comes from, the wide range of symptoms, but there is no "cure", only treatments that CAN help. All I really know is my experience with the disease. I did a lot of internet searches for distance runners with Lyme disease, or running after Lyme. The information just wasn't there, which was part of why I have decided to try and incorporate a little more about Lyme into my blog. I was desperate for success stories, and hope to provide one for someone else.

Over the last 6 months, I have done three different rounds of oral antibiotics, narrowly escaping the surgical implantation of a PICC line for intravenous antibiotics. I have been referred to an infectious disease doctor in Jacksonville, but our beautiful state of Florida doesn't have the greatest health care and I have been having a really difficult time getting in to actually SEE a doctor. Even after the treatments that I have had, I still suffer many of the Lyme symptoms. I am fortunate that they come and go, others aren't so lucky. They last anywhere from 2-3 days, to a week. I get extremely tired, foggy brained, and very sore and achy all over.I sometimes spike fevers and just feel very run down. I have a friend that asked me why I don't take a few days off training and take it easy during my "Lyme Attacks" so I can get rest. I explained that it doesn't help, I can sleep for 12 hours and still feel exhausted when my Lyme flares up. It's not like I am sick and need rest to recover. Lyme is just there. Taking rest time hasn't seemed to make any difference on my recovery time from it so I just push through knowing my running pace will likely be slower than normal, and the workouts will be harder than I expect. 

These last couple days I could feel it coming on, and it hit me full force this morning. My eyes hurt and my body aches. Getting out of bed this morning felt physically impossible. I had a migraine. I put my running shoes on, and left to meet my friend. It was a hard run. My whole body was fighting me, and my brain felt like I was playing pinball with it while I ran (bouncing around in my head). "It's just Lyme" I remind myself, I am stronger than this. I ran 8 miles, will do some deep cleaning today, then I have an 8 hour shift waitressing tonight. I will not succumb to Lyme Disease, and it will not overtake MY life.

"I suffer in silence.
I fight alone."

Also, I highly recommend reading Bart Yasso book, My Life on the Run. Bart Yasso is a running legend who has struggled with Lyme Disease for a long time. 

Losing Toenails

Pretty feet... I just ran my 3rd consecutive monthly marathon (Nov, Dec and Jan), and my toes have been a little sore. I know, weird right? I have sore toes but my legs feel pretty good. After this last marathon (Miami, 5 days ago) they were feeling really bruised although they weren't physically bruised, they just hurt. Last night, I feel like I have finally earned my rite of passage into the runners world. I lost my first toenail.
I have heard so much about lost toenails, black toes or black toenails and how common they are among marathoners, and especially common for ultrarunners. I have been running for a few years now, and completed 4 full marathons plus several halves and long training runs without any issues, imagine my surprise to have my nail, just fall off! I must admit... I am feeling pretty hardcore. I have earned this lost toenail and am going to embrace it!

When I told my mom I lost my first toenail, her response "Welcome to the toenail-less club!" Somehow, that made me feel so good! I finally, officially, have "runners feet". I will take pride in that!

So now for advice, if you lose a toenail or have bruised toes no need to worry. You earned that bad boy – embrace it if and when it happens. Don’t freak out.  It really is not a big deal. It is HARDCORE! Way to go fellow runner.

Now if you are really concerned about your toenails, or it happens frequently there might be a reason it's happening that is completely preventable. Worth a shot, right?

Here’s what LiveStrong says to do about it (source: http://www.livestrong.com/article/331008-how-to-prevent-losing-toenails-from-exercising/) 

Step 1
Trim your toenails so the edge is straight across and just above the nail bed. Cutting your nails too short or with curved sides will increase the risk of infection or ingrown toenails. Perform regular toenail maintenance to keep them at the proper length.

Step 2
Wear socks made from wick material to keep the feet dry during exercise and reduce the chance of blister formation around the toenail. Not all socks labeled as athletic have wicking properties. Look for socks made from merino wool or synthetic fabrics such as polyester or acrylic that have been specially designed to keep moisture away from your feet.

Step 3
Verify your running or athletic shoes have enough room in the toe area. A shoe that is one-half to one size larger than your street shoes will provide room for the foot to expand when it strikes the ground during exercise. Have your foot measured and fitted at an athletic shoe store if you continue to have problems with toenail damage. These experts can ensure that your shoes are long enough and wide enough to protect your toenails.

Step 4
Lace your shoes tighter than normal if your foot slides excessively back and forth in your shoe. Your foot should not slide enough for the toes to touch the front of the shoe.

Miami Marathon 2015 Recap #Miamifamous

2015 Miami Marathon race recap 

Mom & I on the red carpet

Well I still can't walk normal today, that must be a sign of a hard earned and unexpected Marathon PR. I want to start off by saying, I am so grateful to having such an amazing, supportive husband. Without him I would not be able to do what I love. The training, the races, everything would not be possible without him.

Race: Miami Marathon
Date: January 25th, 2015
Finish Time: 4 hours, 09 minutes
Distance: 26.2 miles
Gain/Loss: 1742 ft

We drove down to Miami Saturday (about 5 hours) and spent about 2 hours at the Race Expo. It was massive, as if I would expect nothing less from Miami than an "over the top" Expo. It was pretty cool walking down the red carpet surrounded by flags of all the countries that had people participating in the event.  There were runners from 80 countries, 6 of the 7 continents, and from all 50 states!
We didn't eat much all day since we were driving, and I was starving so we left to find some food. We had problems finding dinner so I ended up not eating my normal pre-marathon dinner. That made me a little nervous. We settled into the hotel around 5:30 and snacked on our dinner (chips with bean dip, hummus with pita chips and a slice of veggie pizza all bought from Whole Foods around the block from our hotel). I was so relieved and excited to run this marathon without any Lyme Disease symptoms to hold me back or hinder me. This was the first of the season that I didn't "feel" it for the race. That, on it's own, I knew would make the race so much better than my last 2 marathons.

The corrals at the start line

Woke up early Sunday morning after an expected sleepless night and debated what to wear. It was supposed to be 53 at 6 am and around 65 when we finished around 11. There was also light wind 5-10 mph. The great debate of pants/shorts hit hard! We both decided on shorts and tanks and I wore my arm warmers as well. Today, I will become a Marathon Maniac. That alone made this race amazing.  I kept that in my mind throughout the whole race. I was going to achieve my goal of 3 marathons in less than 90 days. Pretty exciting.

A view from the BLIMP of all the runners

We walked the 1.2 miles down to the start line at the American Airlines Arena on Biscayne Blvd. The corrals were crazy busy. The marathon was well organized, they were checking our BIBS to make sure you were in the right corral and the corrals gated off so people weren't going into the wrong corrals. We started about 25 minutes after the gun time in Corral F. There were so many people. The scenery of Miami in the dark (6am) was cool. So many flashing lights and colors, the architecture of the buildings was pretty cool too. There was a lot of "support" from local businesses and spectators. There were 24 aid stations with water and gatorade. Also roughly 10 stations with fresh fruit which was seriously amazing. They had cups of small peeled oranges, or pineapples at some stations, 1/2 bananas at others, some even had protein bars, GU chomps, pretzel rods and even cupcakes (provided by  the cutest little spectators)... such an awesome pick me up.

At mile 1 we encountered our first bridge. It was huge but the scenery was gorgeous. The sun was rising over the ocean and it was a beautiful site. The first 3 miles are ran across MacArthur Causeway. A long a line up of Cruises ready to depart later on the day. Around 6 miles we got to run along the Miami Famous South Beach.That was a cool site. Mom and I noted the cars that must've been left overnight due to too much partying. Bummer their car was going to be stuck most of the day while the Marathon continued!! Around mile 10 I remembered to enjoy the scenery. We were just running for fun, taking our time in hopes of finishing. The first 13 miles were at a very easy pace which included 2 bathroom stops (I wasn't feeling well, and with no breakfast my stomach was not happy about running). We had been staying near the 4:20 pacer in hopes of finishing near her. Mom mentioned she would be slowing down, and her feet were hurting. She had switched out her high arch insoles for a different pair this morning, she decided that was a huge mistake :(  She even joked about it being tempting to turn of with the 1/2 marathoners... I peeked over my shoulder to make sure she didn't ;)

The sunrise over the causeway

Mile 15 she started trailing a little and I assumed she would be back at my side by the next water stop. She wasn't so I just kept running. I passed the 4:20 pacer around then and continued running. I ran with the 4:15 pacer for a few miles, and lost them around mile 20. I was counting down "8 miles to go", "6.2 miles, just a 10k to go". I made one last bathroom stop around mile 22, shortly afterward because the race backtracked, I passed my mom who wasn't too far behind me. This gave me such a boost hearing her yell across the hwy "GO TONI!! GO!!" I was so excited to have seen her. I was still feeling pretty darn good. I was being silly to the photographers, and high-fiving spectators. They had beer around miles 9 and 23, beer? Yep this is Miami!

Some of the amazing fruit givers!

Haha. Mile 23-24 felt really long. I remember thinking I must have missed the mile marker it felt so long. It was probably the hardest part of the whole race. I knew I was going to come in around 4:15 which would be a PR for me so I kept picking up the pace more and more. I knew there was a chance and I was so excited to be that close to an unexpected PR. There were 5 bridges total for this "flat course". The final bridge being at mile 25 - SERIOUSLY?? I was so mad. Haha. I came over the bridge running faster and faster. I rounded the corner and could see Mile 26. OH MY GOODNESS I am almost done. Sprinting at this point I entered the finisher chute. I LOVE long finisher chutes. I ran down it pushing everything I had and crossed the finish line. I had no idea what my time was because of the delayed start, or where my mom was. I quickly checked the online live race updates while walking down the finishers chute... 4:09:35. WHAT!? I thought there must be a mistake, I refreshed 5 times and it stayed the same.

The after party!

The finisher chute was awesome, they had everything from pastries/bagels, cookies, protein bars, pretzels, fruit, Gatorade and water. Also tons of photographers. My mom crossed just a little behind me and we got our super cool finisher photos taken together. We had to hustle back to the hotel because of an early checkout time so we didn't get to enjoy the after party - but it looked amazing. It was huge and there was so much going on I wish we could have stuck around a little longer.

Miami Marathon for me, was the Race of the Unexpected PR.

I am excited  to say I am #Miamifamous and hope to run this beautiful, fun race again.

Waterfront 5k/10mile Race Recap

Waterfront 5k/10 mile race recap

My husband and I got up early and drove across town to European Village and found some parking under the toll bridge. I paid and registered in advance for the 10 mile race, but woke up not feeling well this morning so I didn't eat. We got down to the start line and I still wasn't feeling 100%, so I went and transferred from running the 10 mile race, to the 5k. Ugh, I didn't plan to run a 5k I planned to run the 10 mile. I was going to use it as my last "medium" distance speed run before Miami next week. I thought since I was only running the 5k - I better seriously push myself. I have been shooting for a 24 minute 5k for almost 2 years now... maybe I can get close. My previous PR for a 5k was 24:19. That's the closest official time I have gotten.

Race time.
The 10 mile race started 10 minutes before the 5k. It was an out and back course with about 4 miles on dirt paths, and mostly running along Waterfront Trail (by the inter coastal). Beautiful run! The 5k was also an out and back along the water. We started and I took off weaving around people on the narrow trail. The path was about 3 feet wide with a few wood boardwalks. The path weaved in and out of trees along the inter coastal. Total elevation change was 141 feet. Not much, but quite a bit for our area on such a short run! My husband ran the 5k as well, since it was an out and back I got to pass him and wish him luck (probably around the 1.75 mile marker for me).

From the start of the race, I was running along side of an older man. He was pacing himself well so I decided to try and stay with him. I studied him a little while running, and noticed he was very rhythmical while running. His breathing, his foot steps, his arm swing, all of it was in rhythm with each other. I took note of this. He pulled ahead of me around 2.75 miles and although I tried to keep up, I was also silently cheering for him. He finished about 20 seconds ahead of me, I came sprinting across the finish line at 23:44 (official time). To my surprise, I was the 1st FEMALE FINISHER of the race. What? How did that happen? I was certain there were woman ahead of me. I had people coming up to me afterward saying how fast I was, and how I was really "moving". I was kind've in shock. I've never been "fast". I have been training for distance. I know it was a smaller race (about 100 finishers), but having a PR for 5k was so amazing. Then finding out I was the overall fastest female finisher... I wish I would have realized that while running so I could have smiled for all the camera's that were at the finish line! LOL. My amazing super supportive husband also had a personal "official" PR of 30:25. He never ceases to impress me.

I talked to the man afterward (the older gentleman I was ran the whole 5k with) and he commented that he was trying to keep up with me, and pace himself with me! I laughed. We were both pacing each other, and both ended up having PR's for a 5k. Apparently his big goal was to beat his daughter who was running the same race - and he did! Sometimes I like to imagine why other people are running each race. Maybe it's their first or farthest distance, or are they just humoring a friend or family member, racing someone or possibly even using it as a training run? I enjoy talking to people afterwards and hearing the different reasons why they run. This older man will never know it, but I am so inspired by him. I believe he finished in the 60-70 age division. That's just incredible to me. Still running, even racing his daughter at his age, and he looked amazing. I want to be that some day. For now, I'll keep on running. Keep on improving. I want to be the best I can be.

#marathontraining #marathoncrazy #waterfront5k 

RunnerRant! Time for a rant!

There is an article going around that I have gone back and forth about responding to. The more I thought about it, the more I felt the need to respond, I mean, my page is called "RunnerRANT" so it's time for my first, official rant! I will start off by saying, I have always felt like runners, as a group, are the people I feel most comfortable around. We usually inspire and motivate each other, we are a community that doesn't judge each others "times" or "distances". We are there to encourage and celebrate our victories together.

This authors reasons why she will NOT be running a marathon in  2015  (or so it sounds, ever) followed by my responses..

• " OPRAH: Ever since Oprah ran the Marine Corps Marathon (with her time of 4:29:20) in 1994, marathons have been about completion. According to “How Oprah Ruined the Marathon,” Edward McClelland’s 2007 article in Salon, the queen of daytime television ushered in a new era of populist racing. Forget a competitive time—the point of running 26.2 miles could simply be … to finish? For better or for worse, I’m a perfectionist, an all-or-nothing gal, who wants to go big or go home. I’m not going big with a marathon so … I’ll stay home."

I was under the impression that anyone could run a marathon as long as they met the time cut off of (usually) 6 or 7 hours. I didn't realize you had to be a competitive Olympian to attempt to run a full marathon.  It sounds like maybe you are too scared to fail so you won't even try to run a marathon. That's sad to me. You claim to be a perfectionist, and a distance runner so my guess is you don't do any form of racing because you can't always be first place? Also, how dare you judge and attack everyone who runs a marathon "just to finish",  if only you knew how hard it actually is to push those physical and mental boundaries to JUST FINISH.  

• THE ME-ME-ME SHOW: Just like that pesky friend who’s always announcing her new-found pescatarianism (minus oil, minus dairy, plus chia), the hobby marathoner just rubs me the wrong way! From her Facebook posts about the amazing sights she sees on her long run, to the adoption of idiosyncratic lingo, to the epic race-day dramas (fueling stations! strains!): call me a scrooge, but all that attention just cramps my running style.

Talk about judgmental. GEEZ! How does "all that attention" on another person cramp your running style? The two having nothing to do with each other?  It sounds like you need to rethink your reasons for running. You very much focus on other people being proud of their accomplishments, and talking about it so much that it actually "cramps your running style?". So far the reasons for YOU not running a marathon all are because of other people. Why don't YOU really want to challenge yourself and your "perfectionist" running abilities? Don't you want the challenge? To see what you are capable of?  I love reading other peoples experiences with different marathons. I can learn from their mistakes, gain wisdom from their experience, and hopefully become a better runner from it. Believe it or not, I actually GO OUT OF MY WAY to read those "annoying" facebook posts and search the web for blog posts so I better know what to expect from each race.  

• NOTHING TO PROVE: Eight years ago, though, I had a different idea. I’ve always been a distance runner, so one summer I toyed with the idea of training. Slowly, slowly, I upped my six miles to seven to eight to nine to ten; for a couple weeks, I ran a comfortable fourteen. And then, it hit me. Fourteen miles took up two hours of my day. I’d put in the miles, felt good, but for what? I could imagine myself tacking another twelve-with-change onto that.

First I will say, being a "distance" runner is going to have a different definition to everyone. You claim to be a distance runner and mentioned that you run 6 mile runs... Personally, my short easy runs are 5-8 miles and my longer "distance runs" range from 15-22 miles (and beyond!). Anything under 10 I don't even fuel for or think much about, it's just another run. Claiming to be a distance runner puts a lot of pressure on yourself I don't even think you realize, then you follow it up with only running 6 miles, and bashing on people who run marathons or farther. Oh boy you are sure opening a can of worms here. I think you hit 14 miles and got scared that you couldn't run another 12 miles. I think that's why you wrote this article to start with, I think that's why you are so intimidated or offended by "marathoners". Why else would you openly attack a group of runners, a group from your "running community?" Doesn't make sense to me. We should be encouraging people to continue pushing themselves forward, not being complacent and under attack if they decide they want to push their limitations. 

• KNEES AND HEART: Only maybe is extreme distance racing beneficial for either.

Seriously? I don't even know what you are trying to say here?  "Only maybe is extreme distance racing beneficial for either?" I think this naive and confusing statement speaks for itself.

• THE JOYS OF MODERATION: Yes, all-or-nothing is great, but, contradictorily, I’m also a happy passenger on the moderation train. Maybe it’s the prospect of turning thirty in a month, but I want to be able to run for a long, long time. I’m happy to pace myself now to ensure I can run just as well later.

Yes you do contradict yourself, several times actually. I have never been on the "moderation train". I was raised to always do your best, and continue trying to be better. I have applied this to all aspects of my life, sometimes I fail but I can always feel good because I tried. I  know a lot of distance runners who are still running marathons and Ultras well into their 60s and 70s. As with everything else in life, it gets harder as you get older, but you still get it done. I, also will be thirty in a month and I have never been more motivated and inspired to push myself beyond the limitations I have previously set. I never thought I would actually run a marathon, and last year, even with three small kids and a full time job, I decide that was exactly what I was going to do. I trained, I ran, I completed, and I have never learned more about myself than I did during that process. This season, I chose to run a marathon each month of "season". My reasoning is my business and no one else's. If you feel the need to judge those of us that like to push our limitations than as I said before, I just feel sorry for you. I would applaud your 6 mile runs if you posted about them, and I think most of the running community would because that is exactly what we are, a community. Why on earth are you writing for runners world magazine if you don't like to read about people's runs? 

I'm tired of people feeling the need to judge people, put people down and assume they know anything when they really know nothing.  I feel like most people need to mind their own business and start focusing more inward than on everyone else. If you put the effort into yourself, think about how great you could be! This is just my two-cents. I hope this author is able to be open-minded  to everyone's responses that she has been getting, and realizes that she attacked a large community of people by making the accusations she made about why people run marathons, of course people are going to feel the need to respond.

What are your thoughts? Do you agree with her statements? Disagree?