Tips on running a marathon

Marathon is a sport for anyone, at any age and from any profession. Tens of thousands of people have used their experiences to prove that through proper training, and with some determination, everyone can become his own hero on a marathon course. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Running is simple. If you can walk, you can run. Running is inclusive. It is a sport for anyone, at any age and from any profession. It does not require a lot of monetary inputs. All you need is a pair of running shoes, and a willingness to find a little more meaning in your life to make it colorful.

For beginners, running a marathon may seem a mission impossible. But the moment you put on your running shoes and hit the road, you stand a good chance of turning it into a dream that can be realized. Tens of thousands of people have used their experiences to prove that through proper training, and with some determination, everyone can become his own hero on a marathon course.

But how soon that dream can come true will largely depend on how much time you would like to spend on the running course, and how hard you want to train yourself.

Basically running a marathon is about two things: Endurance and stamina. The former means how long you can run without stopping, and the latter refers to the ability to keep running at a certain pace. Luckily, these two abilities can be built up, through long runs, and tempo runs, (or running at a fixed speed). In between you can have recovery runs or a good rest.

The most common complaint from beginners is about the lack of training time. I consider it as a lack of determination. If former US president George W. Bush (his best marathon time is 3 hours and 44 minutes) could squeeze some time each day during his presidency for rigorous exercise routines, then surely you can too.