Running is not for the faint of heart or mind. It takes physical and
mental commitment and it takes time.
Mark Kauffman, an experienced runner who placed second of
300 in the Tri-Span 10k Run in downtown Wilmington on July 9,
knows that it can take months to get in race condition. But, the
amount of time depends on the length of the race you’re training
for — the longer the race distance, the longer the training period.
“Running can be a rigorous sport,” Kauffman says. “It’s not something you can just
jump into and be great right away. The key is to be persistent and consistent. Efficient
training will include running a set number of days and miles per week.” By way of
example, Kauffman is planning to run the Battleship North Carolina Half Marathon in
November for which he is training now, but he says it could take as little as a month to
train for a 5k.
36
WBM august 2011
Runners make
their way down
Military Cutoff
Road during
the inaugural
Quintiles
Wrightsville
Beach Marathon
on March 21,
2010.