Monday, August 18, 2014

What makes someone a Marathon Maniac?


I answered "yes" to all 15 of these questions below on marathonmaniacs.com. Guess that explains why I am Marathon Maniacs #6697 on their membership roll. How about you?
  • Do your thoughts switch to the next scheduled race immediately after finishing a marathon?
  • Are you signed up for more than one race right now?
  • Do you know specifics about many of the marathons? Dates, courses, years run, etc.?
  • Do you know the story of how the marathon got started? Also why the course is 26.2 miles?
  • Do you read books on marathons like Marathon and Beyond?
  • Is www.marathonguide.com bookmarked on your computer?
  • Do you look at the race schedule more than once a week?
  • Do you start to feel down when you haven't run a marathon in a while?
  • Are your closets and dressers filled with marathon t-shirts?
  • Do you have so many marathon medals that you've run out of room on the hook they hang from?
  • When asked about your racing from non-running people, do you find yourself talking with great passion to the point that the person that asked the question regrets ever asking?
  • Have you run marathons on back to back weekends? Or better yet back to back days?
  • Have you run a marathon as a training run? Or just to pace a friend?
  • When asked by loved ones what your plans are for the weekend, you feel guilty telling them your running another marathon so you tell them "it's only a half this weekend"?
  • Do you plan all your vacations around a marathon race?

    There are actual qualification steps to be a Marathon Maniac, of course. I got there by running an ultra within two weeks of a marathon. But I think those 15 questions pretty well cover the criteria best. All of them hit close to home here, probably why I go by @marathoner on Twitter!

    Next up: Hamptons Marathon on Sept. 27, Walt Disney World Marathon on Jan. 11.

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