Sep 18, 2006 12:49 pm US/Mountain
Runners Get Ready For The Denver Marathon
Prepared for the Web by Jesse Sarles, cbs4denver.com
DENVER (CBS4) ―
Runners across the Denver area are getting ready for the inaugural Denver Marathon on Oct. 15. CBS4 is a proud sponsor of the event, and will feature coverage leading up to and on race day.
The race will start in front of the City and County Building and run through many parks and neighborhoods.
"It's a big, big commitment to actually get through (a marathon), and that's why it's so darn rewarding," said Maureen Roben, head coach for the Denver Marathon's New Balance Team Run 5280 training group. "That's why people cross the finish line and their life is never the same."
For runners who are not up for a full marathon, there are other events, including a half marathon and a 4-person relay.
Denver has had trouble in the past launching a successful marathon, so it's an exciting note that the group behind this project has hired Dave McGillivray as race director. McGillivray has been the race director for the Boston Marathon for the past 18 years.
Denver Marathon Offers Way To Battle HomelessnessThe Denver Marathon is teaming up with the City of Denver to battle homelessness. Marathon organizers announced the Denver Marathon Corporate Relay Challenge on Aug. 28. The challenge will raise money for "Denver's Road Home," Mayor John Hickenlooper's 10-year plan to end homelessness in Denver.
"We are challenging Denver's business community to come out and support the cause to combat homelessness," said Anton Villatoro, the executive director of the Denver Marathon.
Villatoro said offering the corporate relay is a way for the Denver Marathon to give back to the community.
"The vision of this event is to build a marathon which will not only showcase Denver, but also bring economic and social impact to the city," he said.
Businesses, non-profits, foundations and other groups will be able to enter the relay event of the Denver Marathon. In addition to paying the regular registration fee, those runners will also be required to raise at least $500 for Denver's Road Home.
The first team to sign up for the corporate relay challenge was a group of Hickenlooper's staff members.
Erica Ferrero's Running JournalErica Ferrero, a director at CBS4, is among those who are training for the Denver Marathon's half marathon.
With only a few months until the race and no running experience, Erica joined a running club to train. In her cbs4denver.com blog
Erica Ferrero's Running Journal she discovers what is really involved in making a non-runner into a half marathoner and shares the trials and tribulations of training for her first half marathon.
Train For The Marathon, In A GroupBy early August most of the runners in Team Run 5280, the Denver Marathon's official training group, had run further than they ever had before in their life.
"They are seeing huge improvements in their running," Roben told CBS4. "I'd say at this point that three fourths of the peole have run further than they've ever run before in their life."
Training groups for beginning runners who want to take part in the Denver Marathon started in the spring. Tea Chand, a Team Run 5280 participant, said when she started that she hoped the group would help to ease her anxiety about running in the race for the first time.
"If you think about the distance and how far it is, it's a little nerve-wracking," Chand said. "For me, you don't know what you can do until you push yourself."
One of the ways Team Run 5280 helped participants with that anxiety was by having them run this year's 10K Bolder Boulder on Memorial Day. It was used to teach the training team to keep the pace under control. The team also learned how to handle water stops and got a feel for running in a crowd.
"Training for a marathon is all about stepping stones," McGillivray said at the time. "You know progressive training, progressive preparation, the Bolder Boulder is a great kickoff, if you will, to the running season."
By the time August had rolled around, runners were piling up the miles. For Team Run 5280 members, getting up before 6 a.m. on a Saturday morning to meet with team members and go running was becoming a normal ritual.
On one Saturday when a CBS4 crew was there, the group started with stretches and a briefing on where the planned course would take them. Several team members told CBS4 they like the "accountablity of having a group" and "having planned runs." "Everybody is really supportive," one member said.
Creative Training GroupsKids Running America, based in Parker, Colo., is a running program designed for kids to train for and complete the 26.2 mile marathon distance over a 10 week time frame; finishing their last 1 mile at the Denver Marathon.
Participants are given mileage tracking sheets and can run on their own or with school or club partners. According to the Web site, the program provides an "opportunity for young people to build self-esteem; improve their health and experience their own personal power."
Learn more about the group at their Web site:
www.kidsrunningamerica.com.
* * *An training group of note in Denver for adults includes several experienced women who are determined the cross the finish line.
"We are the BOFAS, big old fat ass women," Jamie Vance told CBS4.
That may be the group's name, but it isn't exactly an accurate description of the members. They are all dedicated to taking care of their bodies by running marathons. The name BOFAS came up during a long training run.
The group runs at least 3 times a week, and even when it was cold and there was snow on the ground last Spring they were out training.
Jackie Johnson had never run a while before she met the group. The mother of 4 is now a veteran marathoner.
"It was so incredible, so incredible to go out everyday," Johnson said. "You can do one mile at a time, 22 by the end of it."
Johnson and her group of BOFAS plan to run the whole way when the Denver Marathon starts.
Quotables"I am excited to run in a world-class running event that presents great running challenges that are exclusive to the Mile High city," said local elite runner Alan Culpepper, who will run in the half marathon.
"Racing is different because you get pumped up you get excited and your adrenaline gets going," Suzanne McMillan, a member of Team Run 5280, said. McMillan has lost 100 pounds over the past few years thanks to a dedicated effort to become a regular runner.
"They have a lot of work ahead of them, but as they'll tell you, just from the little bit they've done already, it's incredible how quickly you improve," Roben said after the Bolder Boulder, which many said was a great experience.
"(The race) was awesome," McMillan said after running the Bolder Boulder. "I was always kind of afraid of it because it was so big. Now I'm sorry I stayed away as long as I did because this was really a fun race."
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