Failing to Train

Leaving work this week, I grabbed a copy of the June issue of Runner's World, which had an article by Amby Burfoot about my beloved Comrades Marathon. The article itself, written by a very experienced runner who even won the Boston Marathon in 1968, was pretty good. He got his ass kicked, had to walk a big chunk of it and was completely cooked by the time he hit the Polly Shortts. He called it a "personal worst." But thing is he didn't train for it. He'd run a half-decent half marathon before it and just figured he'd coast. You'd think his lesson would be the age-old "Respect the distance." Instead, in a sidebar, Burfoot tells the masses "it doesn't take any special training to run Comrades -- no more than you would do for a marathon." Um, this is from a guy who covered the 54 miles in 11:05, which wouldn't even have been an official finisher until they eased the restrictions a couple years ago.


5.75 miles, 46:12