I think I’ve written on this subject before so forgive me if I’m repeating myself. Honestly, after over 2 years of blogging about mostly running, I have no doubt I’m starting to recycle material. But hey, if I can’t even remember maybe you won’t, either, or maybe you need to hear it again?

Me after my first half!!

The number one response I get when people hear I have run multiple half and full marathons is this:

I could never run a marathon.

To which I promptly respond: BALDERDASH! or, it’s similarly flamboyant and yet slightly less used cousin, POPPYCOCK!

Because the truth is, if you have legs that work and no medical conditions that make it inadvisable, you absolutely, 100%, can run a half or full marathon.

I want to dispel some commonly held myths that might be keeping you from crossing this off your bucket list. I mean, if you want to. It’s certainly not mandatory. Many people live long and somewhat happy lives having never run so much as a mile! And there are lots of things you SHOULD be concerned about, but today I want to write about the things that you shouldn’t. Things that you should just blow off entirely and not give a second thought. Ready??

1. I have to be in amazing shape and need to have been running for years. So not true. I ran my first half only 1 year after I ran a whole mile for the very first time. Training programs abound from very cool people like Hal Higdon and even Alison Sweeney. They are all beginner friendly and many times only have you running 3 – 4 times a week.
2. I have to be “good” at running and if I’m not, I shouldn’t even bother. Yeah, that’s ridiculous. I am not a naturally good runner. I always finish in the middle and sometimes at the very end depending on the day I’m having. You know what they call the last person to cross the finish line at a marathon? A Marathoner. Sign up for a course that’s open to runners and walkers and you will find yourself in great company with perfectly normal people just like you who are far from wearing the title of “elite runner.”
   

   Sorry it’s blurry, but this is me hanging with some great friends before a race. Do we look like serious elites to you?? It’s fun! I promise! It really is!

3. You can’t walk in a half or full marathon. Mmkay . . .except for almost everybody does. I’m not sure who started this urban running legend, but most of us walk at least a little bit and many of us run/walk the entire thing using intervals (see Jeff Galloway for more on that). It’s totally legit and embraced. (oh, and btw, if you chat with someone who doesn’t know that move along. They most likely are pretty inexperienced and/or aren’t a real runner;).
4. Everyone there will know what they’re doing and I’ll feel foolish. First of all, can we all get over the “I’m not doing something I want to do because I’ll feel foolish” thing? The older I get the more I am SO OVER this. If you want to do it, GO FOR IT. I would rather look like a fool doing something I love than sit in my family room safe. And secondly, you won’t look like a fool because the other runners are there for you. We are a family and we support each other.
5. I’ll finish last and that will be mortifying. Really? Have you ever seen someone finish last at a marathon? It is the MOST INSPIRING THING EVER. I don’t know about you, but if I did something that someone called the most inspiring thing ever, I’d call that a pretty good day. And besides, you most likely won’t. Just trust me. You probably won’t.

So although there are good reasons for not training and running your first half or full marathon, the above should not be on your list. I don’t care how old you are, or how unfit, or how unlikely it seems as your read this. You can do it. I believe in you.

“It’s very hard in the beginning to understand that the whole idea is not to beat the other runners. Eventually you learn that the competition is against the little voice inside you that wants you to quit.” Dr. George Sheehan

What am I missing? What myths about distance running are holding you back?