Fall in Love with Distance Running!

By Coach Michele Maciejewski

It’s no great secret that running a half or full marathon is tough. Running is tough whether you race a half marathon in 2 or 4 hours. Just ask any one of the 130 athletes currently running in the Fleet Feet Running Club (FFRC) Distance Training group and they will all confirm this. 

FFRC runners will also tell you that, as they say, “The tough is what makes it great.” And every Wednesday night and Sunday morning (and even some random Facebook-driven weeknights) the group gets through the tough together so we can all race great together.

I recently shared a conversation with an athlete who’s had great training seasons but is currently struggling with her running. We talked about all the reasons that might be and the clearest culprit we uncovered was being too much in her own head. She was focusing on what felt bad, where she had stalled in her pace or distance and how she compared with others. 

This runner knew where she was veering off course, but admitted she needed the positive reinforcement, the camaraderie and the guidance that FFRC, its highly skilled coaches, and other runners had given her. She needed her running friends to bring herself back to the confident runner she was. 

The fall training season begins this Wednesday, August 7th at Onondaga Lake Park. It’s not too late to sign up for 14 weeks of guided speed workouts, manageable long runs, and our weekly calendars of recovery runs, strength & cross-training workouts and tips on pacing, nutrition & hydration, injury prevention and more!

FFRC is training to race the Syracuse Half Marathon but we have athletes preparing for other fall marathons and half marathons from late August through early November. Check out our training program website for more information and to sign up for a great fall training season.