Becoming a Marathoner – Dwight

My name is Dwight Heiman, age 46, and I have been your typical weekend warrior type of runner. Two, three or four times a week at best with runs of three, four or five miles with a “long run” of six miles once or twice a year when I was feeling ambitious (usually after watching the Boston Marathon at mile 19 - our family’s regular spot). Actually running the 26 miles has always seemed out of reach - I get tired driving a car 26 miles.

Now, with six weeks to go, I am up to 16 miles and think about Patriot’s Day at least once every waking hour - this is going to happen and I am beyond excited! I went for a physical and my doctor told me that my knees were too healthy, but luckily he had a cure. “Pick a Monday in April,” he said, “and gather 30,000 close friends who have good knees too, and then run five times farther than you ever have, and voila! You're a marathoner!”

I picked a running program with Carl Faust's assistance designed to keep me on my feet for 26 miles and it has been working great. My route takes me on RT 16 and Commonwealth Ave. on a Sunday morning and it is starting to be crowded with runners. The elite athletes are something to behold! I feel like a Volkswagon Beetle at Daytona watching them. They are greyhounds and move up Cardiac like I run downhill with a tailwind, only faster. They don't even stop at intersections for traffic - the lead runner waves the cars to a stop and they gladly let the group through - only in Boston. I enjoy reading the other entries in this blog, especially nutrition tips and how to carry enough water for long runs without hiding bottles in bushes ahead of time.