Belles take on a marathon
By ALLISON ROCHE
News Writer
Saint Mary's student Alissa Blair started running only a year ago.
Just 18 weeks ago she began marathon training with fellow Saint Mary's student Jennifer Wagner.
And on Sunday, Blair and Wagner completed the 26.2 miles of the Chicago Marathon with respective times of 3:38:05 and 5:31:05.
Blair finished comfortably within her goal time of three and a half to four hours, while also qualifying for April's Boston Marathon. Though excited by the results of her first marathon, Blair is not sure if she is ready to start thinking about a second.
"I think I might just do it, but we'll see," Blair said.
Wagner could not be reached for comment after the marathon, but beforehand she was optimistically looking forward to running another marathon in the future, regardless of difficulties she experienced while training for Chicago.
"Originally I had a goal time of four hours, 15 minutes. Because of the injuries in the final few weeks of training, I will be happy with finishing. I've worked 20 weeks to see that finish line. It is disappointing to have such a big setback, but next time I'll reach my goal time," Wagner said Thursday.
Blair found the energy of more than 37,000 runners and near 1 million spectators to be an empowering presence that kept her motivated throughout the most grueling miles of the event.
"It was awesome. There were 65,000 feet hitting the pavement at the same time. It was a very positive experience," she said.
The weekly training schedule Wagner introduced to Blair consisted of four days running with one long run, one medium run and two shorter runs, then one day of cross-training and two days of rest. Their longest run was 20 miles, which the pair completes two-thirds of the way through training. Their workouts slowly tapered from that peak to Sunday's race. In the last few days of training they ran just a few miles, rested and loaded up on carbohydrates and water.
Blair attributed her easy progression as a runner to the gradual build in distance during training. She encouraged other beginning runners to start with just a few miles and then build their physical and mental stamina as their mileage increases.
Unlike newer runner Blair, it has been Wagner's goal to run a marathon since her senior year of high school. Despite tendonitis, shin splints and harsh weather while training, Wagner did not wavered in pursuit of her goal.
"All I have to do is think about crossing the finish line and I run faster," she said.
All News Stories for Tuesday, October 9, 2001
