Jim Lenio

Running a marathon was on senior Jim Lenio’s “things to do” list, but when his friend, who was signed up for the race, broke his leg, Lenio took his place and checked it off sooner than expected.

Since he decided to run, Lenio said he was looking forward to becoming acquainted with the marathon scene.

“I am most anticipating the atmosphere I think,” Lenio said. “I have never been at or ran in (a marathon) before so I am really interested to see what it’s all about.”

Lenio shared the experience with his friend, Ryan, who also had never ran a marathon before.

“I definitely prefer running with someone else,” Lenio said. “Ryan has pushed me at times when I just wanted to cut a short run and quit early. We encourage each other a lot too, tell each other ‘you can do it!’ even if we are obviously both dying.”

The “wall” that runners tend to hit after about 19-20 miles was something Lenio was a bit concerned about.

“I guess around mile 20 or so you basically want to say, ‘alright, that’s good enough for me. I’m going home.’ Rumor has it,” Lenio said, “it is no fun running when you hit the wall.”

After the race, Lenio confirmed that the run was difficult. He said after about the first half it really started to hurt. He said he felt pretty good the first half of the race, but the second half hit him hard. Then, during the last mile, Lenio practically sprinted to the finish line.

“I don’t know what happened,” he said. “I just booked it.”

Lenio said he had a short training program. “The training programs (on the internet) … were all 18 week programs. I decided to step in for my friend with only 19 weeks until the run!”

Although Lenio didn’t train to the recommended level, he didn’t need it because he finished under his goal time.

Scott Nemec

After running a half marathon in May, senior Scott Nemec thought that he’d just continue on the path and run the whole thing.

It’s probably not the most common response for any average person; but for Nemec, it made perfect sense.

“I figured now was as good of a time as any to just go ahead and keep training for the whole,” he said.

But even with getting practice in long runs in the half marathon, training still had its toll on Nemec.

“Training has been tough, but what can you expect, right?” he said. “My training usually consisted of about three good hard runs per week, plus some other random exercises mixed in. I’d like to say I’ve trained well, but I guess Sunday will be the true test of how well I trained,” he said.

Before the race, Nemec said he anticipated the finish more than anything else.

“Let’s be realistic,” he said, “if you’re anticipating anything else, you’re in trouble.”

Besides finishing the race, Nemec said he was excited about all the people who watched him run.

“My grandpa will be there along with some of my other family and friends and it really means a lot to me that he’s here to experience this with me.”

Nemec said that when he runs, he likes to give himself some space. “I use my time running to just clear my mind and just really get away from everything,” he said. “It gives me time to focus on the real important things in life and I’m able to put it all into perspective when I’m out there on the open road.”

While reflection is definitely a benefit to running for Nemec, he said the few days after the marathon of near immobility do not excite him.

“But nobody ever said it would be easy,” he said, “and I’ve known all along that it will be tough. Just gotta persevere.”

Beth Peterson

For the second year in a row, junior Beth Peterson took the challenge of running the Twin Cities Marathon.

“Last year, three of my friends and I decided to run just to see if we could do it. Even though the training was really hard, we had a lot of fun, and the girls I ran with became some of my closest friends,” Peterson said. “This year was a little more impulsive, but when it came down to it, my motivation was the great experience I had last year.”

This year, Peterson ran with another good friend, junior Amy Vanden Boogart.

“I definitely prefer running with someone – it’s much more motivating,” she said.

After the race, Peterson said she was glad to have Vanden Boogart there, as well as a friend who decided to join them for eight miles of the race.

“I don’t know if I could have kept running without them,” she said.

Before the race she was nervous about hitting the “wall,” specifically miles 18-26, “where I can’t go on running except by sheer will power,” she said.

Peterson, having run the race before, said she knows the feeling of the finish line, and is definitely looking forward to it again. “Also – the course is beautiful,” she said, “and a lot of friends will be up to watch.”

During long runs, Peterson said she takes the time for various activities. “What I do during long runs differs from run to run. I listen to music, think, pray,” she said. “A lot of the time, I try to talk myself into believing that I’m really not sore.”

This year, Peterson didn’t train as hard as she did last year, which was something she was anticipating as being problematic. She had trouble with her arm during the race, and it was definitely a harder run than last year, but she crossed the finish line and those pains were gone.

Amy Vanden Boogart

For junior Amy Vanden Boogart, preparing for the marathon has been more than physical exercise – it’s been an exercise in spirituality.

“Running can be an analogy for each person’s spiritual journey,” she said.

Vanden Boogart’s training has been straining and disciplined, with the hope of finishing the marathon strong. She started training in May when she began running maybe a mile to three miles, and didn’t start increasing her every-other-day mileage until July.

She’s continued to increase her mileage each week, running every day up to nine miles. Last Saturday was the day for long runs. Before this, her longest run was 22 miles.

Similar to her sense of accomplishment when she finished running 22 miles, Vanden Boogart has now finished 26.2 miles, mentioning that she felt good about the run. She said she didn’t feel what she expected to feel – probably because she took it slow and didn’t strain herself too much.

Before the race, Vanden Boogart said there were a couple of factors she was not looking forward to. “I’ve heard lots of stories about people chaffing, bleeding and puking,” she said. “(I’ve heard) stories of people losing control of their bodily functions . pooping and peeing all over themselves.”

Vanden Boogart said preparing for the marathon has been a trial. Some of her friends who were originally signed up eventually quit the race, and she was the only one she knew who was running.

“I almost wanted to quit, to drop out, too; I thought, if all my friends aren’t doing it – and for good reasons – maybe I shouldn’t do it either. But then I remembered that I can still stand firm in what I need to do, because my strength to stand firm comes from Jesus, whose power is greater than any other.”

Vanden Boogart has demonstrated her commitment to sticking with it.

“I’ve learned a lot about discipline, commitment and sacrifice,” she said. “There were many mornings in which I didn’t want to get up and run, but I had committed to this race and was going to follow through.”