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Lead Stories: Friday, August 29, 2008

26.2 - vs. - 13.1:
13.1 reasons for running a half-marathon before attempting your first full

Posted June 4th, 2007 at 6:08 PM by Bridget Sullivan

Section: Running & Training, Health & Fitness, Exercise

Let’s get this one simple fact straight: you do not have to run a marathon to be considered a “real runner.” Anyone who pounds their feet on the pavement in repetitious monotony, automatically knows how many miles are in a 5K, and doesn’t laugh when someone bellows out the word “fartlek,” is a REAL runner.

But since the running boom officially “boomed” a second time with Oprah’s 26.2 feat in 1994, not to mention her triumphal landing on the cover of Runner’s World magazine, more and more runners continue to spin their feet at the distance. Dubbed “everyman’s Everest’ by former professional runner and current Runner’s World executive editor, Amby Burfoot, the marathon of the twenty-first century attracts everyone from the taut and toned twenty-year-olds to the Ben & Jerry fifty-year-olds. Gone are the days of the first boom where everyone ran hard, everyone ran more than 70 miles per week, and almost everyone belonged to the same gender.

According to a recent article in the New York Times, 410,000 runners hit the finish line last year, as opposed to 277,000 in 1994. And there are no signs of slowing down: the Chicago Marathon shut down registration for its famously flat October race earlier than ever before.

But why the sudden rush to the summit when there at least 13.1 reasons to run a half before you land on top of the world?

Read the rest at our partner site: HerActiveLife.com

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Podcast 47: Interview with Senator (and marathon runner!) Bill Frist

Posted May 4th, 2007 at 1:26 PM by Adam Jacobs

Section: Special Features, Interviews, Podcasts

In Episode 47 of The Final Sprint Podcast I was proud to be joined by Senator Bill Frist.

Senator Frist has not only achieved great success and widespread recognition for his work as an elected official, but is another example (like Oprah, Al Gore, P. Diddy, Kim Alexis, Shannon Miller, and of course Jim Ryun) of a public figure that has successfully completed a marathon. As a matter of fact, in just ten years Senator First was able to complete 7 marathons
and 2 half-marathons despite the demands of public service.

Senator Frist (who is also a heart surgeon, podtrac_survey_120x60_v2 author and pilot) represented the people of Tennessee for two terms, served as the Majority Leader for the Republican Controlled Senate, and is among the most influential people on health care policy in America.

In the interview Senator Frist discusses how he got into running, overcoming the loss of his kneecap in a motorcycle accident, and how he found the time to train for marathons while serving as the third person in the United States’ line of executive succession.

Download the podcast to hear Senator Frist speak about these issues, as well as, his passion and views on health and fitness (and how they affected his own legislative initiatives), the many other government officials who run and have completed marathons (i.e. - Senator John Edwards and former Governor Mike Huckabee) and much more!

Listen In
[PLAY] (To Download: Right click and select “save as”)

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Host: Adam Jacobs
Guest: Bill Frist
Producer: Greg Cherniet
Music: Ryan Ahlwardt & Darnell Perkins
File size: 17.1 MB
Length: 00:25:00