Q from AskThePersonalTrainer.com:
I am a 43 year old female who has never run. I’m in fairly good health; don’t smoke, not over weight. What are the chances that I could start to practice and run in this event? Could I walk a little/run a little the day of the race? Any suggestions.
A:
(First I need to apologize for all the dedicated runner in the Maryland Race for the Cure for my huge delay in answering your questions. Blame my webmaster (oops, that’s me) for sending your questions to the wrong place.)
The Race for the Cure is a misnomer. The point is not to “race,” or run a PR or even beat your neighbor.
The point of the event is to raise the consciousness of and raise funds to prevent breast cancer.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer among American women, with about 180,000 new cases and 46,000 deaths annually.
Enough preaching – Now for the techical advice you came for:
If you can run about 1/3 of the race distance hard, you can typically finish the full race fairly easily.
For a 10K (6.2 mile) race, in this example, you only have to be capable of running a hard 2 miles.
Most of all, don’t fall for the myth that’s it’s better to be able to run the entire way. You’re better off taking walking breaks even if you don’t feel like you need them. You can always accomplish more by working a little harder, then taking periodic breaks than you can by working at a steady pace.
Don’t worry. The vast majority of “racers” are there to show support for friends and family members. From my experience, there are far more walkers than serious runners.
Just relax, have fun, and remember why you’re there.
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