Like a lot of people, I find marathons equal parts intriguing and terrifying. Sure, there’s the sense of accomplishment and the physical and community high you get from running all those miles but then again, there’s running all those miles. As someone who clocks only a few 30-minute runs a week, the idea of being able to cross the finish line in one piece after running 26.2 miles seems perhaps a little bit insane, and slightly impossible. Thankfully, though, an innovative new running studio, the Mile High Run Club, is taking some of the scariness—and guesswork—out of the marathon: Next week, the NoHo-based club is launching four tailored training programs geared to help novices and experts alike get ready for the big run.
“A lot of our runners always have a race on their schedule,” explains MHRC founder Debora Warner. “We wanted to design a program that could incorporate their Mile High Run Club classes, get them prepared for the marathon, and also give them suggestions and have conversations about it.” Mile High’s clients are split into Beginners (those who have never run a marathon) and Advanced (those who regularly run three times a week and have completed at least one marathon), and sixteen- and eight-week time frames—the latter being “for the person who is kind of panicking two months out and has not done any training,” Warner says.
Each plan also includes consultations with MHRC coaches (many of whom are certified by the Road Runners Club of America) to discuss any specific goals or challenges you might have. Which is a good thing because, as I quickly discover while chatting with Warner, there’s a lot more to training for a marathon than just running. In fact, there’s a whole science to the race (complete with its own jargon). “The plans are designed to incorporate micro cycles within the macro cycle,” says Warner. Seeing my confused look, she breaks it down in layman’s terms: “On week one, you introduce something, or set a goal; week two, you master it and then in week three, you fall back on it. That’s the reduced-mile week.” The ante is upped for the next micro cycle, and then the last two weeks of training are used to “taper,” which means decreasing volume and intensity of training by about 60 percent.
Since I’m a complete beginner, Warner recommends I start clocking runs every day and work on increasing my mileage each week. “You want to start building your base, running at a conversational pace,” she says. “Frequency is super important for a beginner. It’s recommended to have 500 miles of base training under your belt, and though a lot of people don’t do that, it does help, because running that much actually changes your body on a physiological and cellular level. It’s important to create those new pathways.”
For someone who just suggested I run 500 miles (!!!), Warner is surprisingly laid-back about the whole thing. She doesn’t think everyone necessarily needs to set such lofty goals, but emphasizes that, “you get what you train for. If you don’t run, you don’t become a better runner.”
Warner’s passion is contagious: By the end of our phone conversation, she’s already convinced me to run the Hamptons Half-Marathon in September. And that enthusiasm and encouragement might be the real benefit of signing up for Mile High Run Club. “Being around a supportive community of runners is really helpful,” she says. Running a marathon doesn’t just get your heart rate up, after all; it’s also a rigorous mental and emotional workout.
Which is also why Warner stresses the importance of setting realistic goals, and having several different times in mind when setting out for a race—that way, if you don’t reach your top goal, you’re not completely crushed. “Training is also about building confidence,” she says. “I think the confidence comes from the physical proof: After a runner finishes an eight-mile run, they have that breakthrough, like, I can do this. I got this.”
The post The New York Running Studio That Will Get You Marathon-Ready in 8 Weeks appeared first on Vogue.
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