While many Dartmouth summer dwellers lay motionless beneath the sun in their free time, others must keep circling the Green in their training for marathon competition.
Erika Meitner '96 said she decided she would train in preparation for a marathon in the spring of 1995. Meitner has been running for two years now, although she still has not built up to actual marathon training.
"Right now I run four to five miles, four days a week, and eight miles, two days a week," she said. "That's not actual marathon training. That involves much more mileage."
"I've been using a book called 'The Runner's Handbook' by Jack Shepard and Bob Glover. Right now I'm just running as I always did," she said.
Gila Ackerman '94, who is finishing up school this summer, is training to run in the New York City Marathon for the second time on Nov. 5. She is using the same training schedule she used the first time, as detailed in another book by Glover called "The New Competitive Runner's Handbook."
"He's kind of my mentor," she said.
Ackerman's long-distance running hobby began when she found herself in the city with free time on her hands.
"There's this club in New York called the Road Runner's Club, and I ran in some of their little races just because I had time," she said. "They were so much fun, and they pretty much sponsor the marathon, so I decided to go ahead and try it."
Ackerman finished her first marathon in three hours, 57 minutes.
Many non-runners cannot understand the allure of distance running because, quite simply, it hurts.
Ackerman said the 26-mile road race through the streets of New York "really wasn't that painful."
"It was literally one of the most exciting moments of my life. There are 26,000 people who compete in the New York City marathon, so there are all these people all around you," she said. "I was used to going on runs by myself or with one other person, so all those people took my mind off running."
Meitner said it was difficult at first for her to get into a regular routine, and she had to be literally dragged out of bed for a morning run.
"Sometimes one needs a hard-core partner to motivate you," she said.
"It's an addiction almost. When I started running, at first I hated it, but I stuck with it in part to help train for rugby. I don't play rugby any more, but now I love to run," she said. "It's time alone for an hour to think and listen to music ... and just look at beautiful scenery."
For Meitner, running is a very individual experience.
"It makes me feel accomplished to know I ran eight miles that day. I get grumpy when I can't go out running. It's one of those things that I do purely for myself and for no one else."
Ackerman said that in her next marathon she would like to improve upon her performance.
"The first time I just wanted to finish, but this time I know I'll finish, so I'll probably go for a time," she said.
Meitner has not yet raced competitively, but she said that placing well is not her chief priority.
"I feel like running [a race] would be selling out because the thought of competing never crossed my mind in conjunction with running. If I do end up running a marathon, it's for the sense of accomplishment in finishing. I don't care how long it might take."
Meitner said she thinks people are too prone to convince themselves that they cannot run.
"It's hard, but the more you put into something, the more you get out of it, like anything else in life. Everyone says, 'Oh I can't run.' That's totally untrue," she said. "Just go really slow to start and walk sometimes if you have to, and eventually, you'll be running ... and walkmen are the best!"
Both Meitner and Ackerman warned of things that new runners might watch for.
"There are tons of icky things that people don't talk about that happen when you run a lot. [One woman] used to tell me about getting clumps of salt deposits on her head when she was training for a marathon," she said. "Plus you also encounter blood blisters on your toes and chafage in weird areas ... yick."
"I've gotten a little bit more obsessed with running shoes," Ackerman said.
