Abu Dhabi - Visit to Masdar City

I was in Dubai in April 2011 to attend the 59th UITP World Congress.

On the back on of the Congress, I made a visit to Masdar City in Abu Dhabi which is only just over an hour's drive away. Masdar aims to be the first carbon neutral city in the world.

Here, in the heart of the desert, thousands of dedicated people, billions of dollars and years of effort are coming together to achieve a groundbreaking goal: the world’s first entirely carbon-neutral, zero-waste city... constructed from scratch !

Masdar City will be a clean technology research hub, designed to rival Silicon Valley. Commissioned by the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, the city’s five and a half square kilometres will be home to 50,000 people, 1,500 businesses and some 40,000 daily commuters, and will strive to be entirely self-sufficient for all energy needs.

Some 80 percent of water will be recycled. In addition to solar and biomass conversion, other renewable sources of power under consideration include geothermal, hydrogen and wind. Biological waste will be used to create fertiliser, whilst industrial waste will be recycled or re-used.

This is an experiment of colossal proportions, with no historical frame of reference. Yet it’s also a serious business venture with a tight schedule and savvy project managers. The question is, how do you manage a build of this scale? How can you contain costs and manage cash flow of such vast sums of money? And how do you prove to the watchful eyes of the world that the entire build is, and always will be, completely carbon-neutral?


Watch a video on the concept of this city here .


Masdar City's website is found here.

If you like to know more about the developments of Masdar City, read this very interesting presentation " Building the World's Most Sustainable City"

Transportation

Along with a public metro line and light rail, Masdar's driverless cars, or Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) vehicles were at the core of Masdar City's public transportation strategy.

After touring Masdar City, I can personally attest to the fact that cruising around in a driverless electric car that is pre-programmed to take you to the next station at the touch of a button is a remarkable experience. However, it is a rather expensive option since such vehicles are really not proven to work when the demand is high. Whilst the ride and the look of the vehicle is good, we have to wait and see it the technology is really reliable and cost effective.

Watch the PRT video here. 

All these features are very interesting, but will Masdar become the world's greenest city. Read Jan 25 2011 Time magazine's article ... Masdar: World's Greenest City ?

Marathon Training 9 - Jeff Galloway : Running & Walking Form

The Warm Up
No stretching for warm up because of the injury risks.
Instead, walk 3-5 minutes first.
Then gently introduce the body to running motion by running for 15 sec and walking for 15 sec.
After 5 - 10 mins of that gradually move into the running form that you going to use.

Adopt the Run Walk Run method of running which conserve resources and erases fatigue.

The 3 Forms are:

1) Upright Body Posture - a relaxed posture which does not strain your upper body

2) Short and Smooth Stride - reduce wear and tear on the joints, tendons and ligaments. Also help to conserve resources.
3) Feet Low to the Ground - low bounce and just shuffle with feet low to the ground which will reduce pounding on the feet, the legs and muscles. This help to conserve resources too.









Use the Magic Mile running time to help you determine the time duration you are going to take in a marathon of half marathon.



Water : 2 to 4 ozs every 2 miles. Don't over drink.
Sports drink : 16 ozs the day before and the day after 16 ozs. They will help replace the electrolyte levels and fluid.
To boost blood sugar levels before a run, sugar or energy bar 30 minutes before start, during the run boost blood sugar by 30 -40 calories every 2 miles.

Marathon Training 8 - Endurance Training Jeff Galloway

Some good tips from Jeff Galloway ...

Extending Endurance
Your body responds to a gentle increase in distance, when done slowly and regularly, and with enough rest between runs. Here’s how to increase endurance while reducing the chance of injury:

1. Run a long run each weekend.
2. Maintain your conditioning by running (with walk breaks if desired) 2 other days a week
3. Starting long run distance: one half mile longer than your longest run in the last 2 weeks
4. Increase by one half mile each week
5. Put walk breaks into each long run from the beginning (see table below for suggested ratio)
6. Don’t exercise the day before long runs
7. Pace of long runs should be at least 2 min/mi slower than you could race the distance

(for pacing guidelines, use the prediction chart in the back of Jeff’s books, and add 2 min/mi)

You get the same endurance whether running slow or fast. By running very slow and taking walk breaks you extend endurance, reduce the chance of injury and recover very fast.

Walk break ratios on long runs

The frequency of walk breaks is tied to the pace of your long runs. The following table is based upon my experience in working with tens of thousands of walk-break-takers, but many runners thrive when they walk even more often than the ratio recommended by the table.

Pace per mile	Ratio of running to walking
9 min/mi	Run 5-7 min/walk 1 min
10 min/mi	Run 3-5 min/walk 1 min
11 min/mi	Run 3-4 min/walk 1 min
12 min/mi	Run 2 min/walk 1 min
13 min/mi	Run 2 min/walk 1 min
14 min/mi	Run 1-2 min/walk 1 min
15 min/mi	Run 1 min/walk 1 min (or 30 sec/30 sec)
16 min/mi	Run 1 min/walk 1-2 min
17 min/mi	Run 1 min/walk 2 min (or 30 sec/60 sec)
18 min/mi	Run 30 sec/walk 60 sec
19-20 min/mi	Run 15-30 sec/walk 60-90 sec

Nutrition Tip
The best time to reload your muscle fuel for the next workout is within 30 min of the finish of your run. A snack of 80% simple carbohydrate and 20% protein has been the best re-loading fuel, according to the research

Marathon Training 8 - Run Walk Method

The run walk method is what I am working on now towards completing a marathon. It is a very doable approach to run a marathon. Most importantly, it will reduced significantly the risk of injuries which is so common in long distance runners.


Read this testimony below and I hope it will address many of your questions, perhaps cynicism.

Run-walk method helps with marathon training

Jim Mahoney/Staff Photographer

Karen Lester glances at her watch during her early morning Ironman workout at John Roach Track. Ms. Lestor uses a run/ walk method. During this workout she runs for four minutes and walks for thirty seconds.

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By LESLIE BARKER GARCIA / The Dallas Morning News lgarcia@dallasnews.com

Published: 20 September 2010 03:16 AM

Initially, Karen Lester scoffed at incorporating walking into her Ironman training. After all, she had run (not walked) three marathons, and she knew how to run. It didn't include walking, but her coach kept encouraging her. After swimming 2.4 miles and biking 112, he said, she'd need every last bit of energy to run 26.2 miles, the third leg of the Ironman tripod. Not until a training run on the actual course in St. George, Utah, did she change her mind.

"I saw those mountains," says Lester, 46, of Dallas. "Twenty-six miles up and down, up and down. I decided that run-walk was going to be a great idea. I've been faithful to run-walk training from then on."

Vishal Patel, 34, was a beginning runner when he started using the run-walk method. He was overweight and had shin splints. Going from running to walking to running again was, he says, "pure survival."

In 2001, Claire Oliver ran 18 miles of her first marathon and then "hit the wall," she says. "Everything hurt in my body. I probably walked four of the last eight miles."

Then she began incorporating walking into her training.

"I always thought it was really wimpy and was for people without the stamina to run," says Oliver, who lives in Dallas. "But I ran my next five marathons with the Galloway method. It made a huge difference."

The Galloway of whom she speaks is Jeff Galloway, the 1972 U.S. Olympian who is widely credited with creating a run-walk program in 1974. His books, including Galloway's Book on Running (Shelter Publications; $18.95 paperback), have remained popular, as have his programs in Dallas and dozens of other cities.

Long before the concept became synonymous with Galloway's name, running and walking were fraternal twins of movement. They jockeyed for position in our activity repertoire, as our ancestors decided how fast they wanted to get someplace, and whether they could maintain their pace to get there.

"Anthropologists believe running was the first form of two-footed locomotion," Galloway says from his home in Atlanta, "but it was only designed for very short bursts, like to escape predators and other dangers. More efficient was walking, and it served us extremely well. It was very, very efficient."

If muscles are used continuously, as is the case when you run without breaks, they fatigue more quickly, he says. If you intersperse walking with running, muscles used for running revive themselves during walk segments.

"Hardly ever do I see people have to push their weak links - some have knee problems, some Achilles tendon or ankle or hips - into a state of injury or abuse when they're doing run-walk-run," he says."

After Oliver's first marathon, she had troubles with her iliotibial (IT) band, the tissues that run down the outside of the leg. She hurt everywhere, she says. But after using the run-walk method of training and competing, she had no injuries.

"Doing Galloway helps you stay injury-free, meaning you can run more often and often longer distances," says Oliver, 33. "That's what I did. I'm a stronger runner because of it."

When she trains with her running class, she runs continuously. On her own or when coaching others, she prefers alternating running with walking, usually a 4-1 ratio. Pace depends on her heart rate and on the distance of the training run. Under eight miles, she tends to run faster. Eight or more miles, she runs at a "comfortable, conversational" pace.

The run-walk method gives you something to look forward to, she says. "You think, 'I can do this for four minutes.' My body trains itself. I can look at my watch and 3:56 have passed. You get used to what four looks like."

She adds, "That one minute of walking goes by a lot faster than a minute of running."

Lester echoes that thought: "It's easy to start walking after running. It's harder to start running after walking."

Like Oliver, during her training Lester runs four minutes and walks from 30 seconds to a minute. For a half-Ironman and other smaller triathlons, she runs the whole time. For longer events, she goes with run-walk.

"I would use it for any Ironman or for a marathon," she says. "If you do it during a race and get halfway or three-quarters of the way through and feel absolutely spectacular, you can just run the last part.

"My coach tells me all the time that all the people who pass when you start walking, you'll see yourself passing by the end of the race," she says. "You'd rather end the race feeling like you have energy than ending it really worn down. Run-walk has helped me do that."

Another plus for the method is that anyone from beginners to die-hard competitors can benefit from it, says Patel, assistant training director for the Dallas Running Club.

There is a social stigma, however misguided, to walking, he says.

"We perceive it as bad, and it's not bad," he says. "Mentally, it's harder to stop and take that break. You have to really be disciplined to do it. It takes more mental fortitude than continual running."

Marathon Training 7 - Skilled Running: Balancing everything

Long distance marathon running requires that you maintain good running form throughout the entire 26 miles. Good running form is about balancing all the key elements together. These are :


1) Foot pull height
2) Speed  
3) Cadence and 
4) Lean


All of these elements must be in balance to produce good running form which will make running less injury prone and more fluid.


Watch this video below to learn more.


Hope your marathon training is making good progress.

Here's an interesting story on how to complete a marathon:

Running a marathon a walk in the park? Well, maybe just a little

Jenice Armstrong, Daily News Columnist
Philadelphia Daily News

Email Jenice Armstrong, follow Jenice Armstrong on Twitter

 

Completing a marathon has been a goal of mine for the longest time. So, on Sunday at 7 a.m., I'll be among the first-timers lined up for the Philadelphia Marathon, which I'll start at a slow pace - roughly a 10-minute mile - to set the tempo for what I'm estimating will be a five-hour trek. I'll be mad-hyped to cover those 26.2 miles, so I'll struggle against the impulse to run faster. Then, three minutes into the run, I'll slow to a walk. Not a slow run. A walk.


Mind you, I won't have broken a sweat. Nor will I be out of breath. I run 10-milers all the time without a break. I won't even be ready for water. But I will be walking.


Then I'll run another three minutes, walk a minute, and repeat for 26.2 miles.


Don't sneer. If you're a half-serious recreational runner with a marathon on your bucket list, my run-walk-run strategy may be your best hope.


OK, it's not my strategy. It's a method pioneered three decades ago by Olympian Jeff Galloway and taught in his book, the recently revised "Marathon: You Can Do It!" (Shelter Publications, 2010). Legions of runners swear by it, saying it helps them avoid injury and improve their finish times.


Take Tim O'Donnell, of Strafford, Pa., who organizes Galloway training groups locally. O'Donnell, then 55, tried the method during the 2005 Marine Corps Marathon, and was amazed when he finished a full hour before he expected to, at 4:23. "I literally passed thousands of people," he recalled. "It was kind of scary."


You, in a marathon


O'Donnell says people with even minimal running experience can be ready to participate in next year's Philadelphia Marathon - and finish it - provided they're comfortable with the notion of not running every step.


"If they can cover 3 miles, that's where we start. It doesn't make any difference how fast," O'Donnell explained. "They come out and our first run is three miles. Then, I give them their schedule."


His trainees then run-walk-run (or just run) for a half-hour twice a week, usually on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and log a weekly "long run," typically on the weekends.


Week 2: Add 1 mile


The second week out, beginners will do a 4-mile-long run, gradually adding mileage until roughly a month before the marathon, by which point they're closing in on the full 26.2 miles.


"The last [major] run for a newcomer is 24 to 26 miles about 20 days before the marathon," he says. Then they taper to shorter distances to rest up for the big race.


On marathon day, a runner like me who's aiming for a pace of 10 minutes a mile would follow a run-walk ratio of 3 minutes to 1 minute. Someone hoping for a pace of 9 minutes a mile would run for 4 minutes then take a 1-minute walk break before resuming running.


The downside: Disdain


I'm not going to lie to you: Purists feel that the run-walk-run method is cheating.


To them, the only honorable way to complete a marathon is to run all the way. Being honest with myself, I know that I'm definitely going to have to put my ego in check to take those early walk breaks.


I'll say this too, although I'm not proud of it: In certain half marathons, I've been the annoyed runner stuck behind a pack of chatty walkers.


On the other hand, Galloway sent these words of encouragement on Tuesday by email from Greece, where he attended last weekend's Athens Classic Marathon:


"There is a clipping in a museum in Athens, written by a reporter who followed the original marathoners in the 1896 Olympics. According to his account, every one of the original finishers walked significant portions of the race. The Olympic organizers awarded medals to three of these walk-break takers.


"The single determinant of being recognized as a marathoner is to cross the finish line," Galloway continued. "My mission is to help anyone who wants to receive this empowerment - because it can change the quality of life for the better."


I've been experimenting on my own with the Galloway method, straight from the book, since Labor Day. And if I write this with the zeal of a convert, it's because I've been able to complete back-to-back 20-mile training runs with energy to spare. Before then, I'd be so wiped out by my long runs that I'd collapse in bed for hours.


Come tomorrow, I'll be lining up at 7 a.m. for my full 26.2-mile dose of empowerment and a bucket list that's shorter by one long-imagined goal.

Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/sportsweek/134149118.html#ixzz1eX2FBnJP
Watch sports videos you won't find anywhere else

Ho Chi Minh City - The Urban Divide

I was in Ho Chi Minh City recently for a project. This is my second time there after some 3 years ago. There are certainly more traffic on the streets and not surprising I see more cars and taxis on the road as well, most likely due to the greater affluence of the people. The motor cycles are still there and ever growing as well. The noise too.

With more cars on the roads, it is now more risky to ride a motor cycle on the roads of Ho Chi Minh City. There is greater friction between these two modes of transportation. And so the probability of a motor cyclist involved in an accident is higher.


I also notice that there is an unspoken discipline on the roads. The cars will try to keep to one side of the road and the motor cycles on the other side. This is good and will increase the efficiency of the road's throughput and safer for the motor cycles as well. However, the danger arises when the cars decided to make a turn at the junctions and this can be rather dangerous for the motor cyclists.


I also notice the greater growing urban divide of the people. There are a growing group of Vietnamese who are very well off in contrast to the majority who are still in the lower income bracket.


Here's a very nice Cantonese restaurant serving some of the best Cantonese cuisine and seafood you can find anywhere in the world.

People are having a great time eating the finest and freshest food, socializing, drinking and in their best designer wear.

Yet not too far away from this top end restaurant, one can see the wide contrast in the kind of food served and conditions of another less fortunate group of Vietnamese. Road side stalls are plentiful. Some squat, some sit on small stools, some stand and that is how they would have their simple meals.

This is the sad state of affairs in many of the developing countries in Asia. Asia’s economic expansion is celebrated as an example of successful globalization, but it has not been equally distributed among the populations. 

Here are some quick facts from a recent 2010/2011 report on The State of Asian Cities

1. The Asia-Pacific region is leading the reduction of overall poverty in the world.

2. Economic  growth has not benefited all urban dwellers in the region equally. Urban income poverty in Asia is declining more slowly than its rural counterpart. Urban inequality is rising in the Asia-Pacific region.

3. Since  the year 2000, the lives of 172 million slum-dwellers in Asia have been improved through various policies and programmes. 

4. The  Asia-Pacific region remains host to over half of the world’s slum population, and huge sub-regional disparities remain.

5. Most Asian cities are on their way to achieving the target set under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for access to water.

6. Although  Asian cities have made considerable progress in providing access to improved sanitation, many are likely to miss the Millennium sanitation target.

Marathon Training 6 - Lessons from Ryan Hall

Ryan's been running since he was 14 years old. Time has taught him that seeking to please God is the ultimate goal. See how Jesus has changed his life and how he has prepared for the Beijing Olympic games.





On December 16, 2010, Hall announced that he would be running the 2011 Boston Marathon, marking his third consecutive appearance in the race. On April 18, 2011, Hall ran the fastest marathon ever by an American, 2:04.58, to finish fourth. Kenya's Geoffrey Mutai ran 57 seconds under the recognized world record in winning in 2:03:02, and credited Hall with setting - and maintaining - a fast early pace. However, this was not an American record, since the Boston course is not eligible for records owing to its point-to-point layout and its elevation drop of greater than 1 m/km; a strong net tailwind (15-20 miles/hr) contributed to the runners' remarkable 2011 times.

Marathon Training 5 - Organic Sports Drink

Ingredients for Homemade Organic Sports Drinks:

• Pure Organic Fruit Juice (No High Fructose Corn Syrup!)
• Water or Green Tea
• Organic Sea Salt

Directions: Fill your sports bottle with half juice and half water. Add a pinch of organic sea salt, shake, and enjoy!

For more information, check out this page.

Marathon Training 4 - Pre Run body Looseners

Many of us wonder what we should do before we go out for a jog or a run. Shall we do stretching and if so how much. Shall we just go any run without the need to do pre-run exercises. Now the author of the book ChiRunning said this in his book:

" I've never been very big on stretching before runs, out of a healthy fear of pulling a muscle. There is really no need to stretch your muscles if you start off very slowly and warm up your muscles for the first ten minutes of each run.

Do this set of Body Looseners before you head out the door. I call them "looseners" rather than "stretches" because they're meant to loosen your joints, not stretch your muscles.

They actually warm-up exercises, but if you do them religiously before you run, they will work wonders on the fluidity of your stride. If your joints are open and loose, your chi flows through your body unhindered.

Also, your muscles don't have to work as hard to flex joints that are loose. One of my longtime students has gotten so much benefit from these exercises that she now refuses to run unless she's done her Looseners first."

This set of exercises is designed to loosen the main joint systems of the body, which are:
• Ankles
• Knees
• Hips
• Sacrum
• Spine
• Shoulders and neck

These videos will help to illustrate the exercises.

Video 1 shows: Ankle rolls, Knee circles (rolls), and Hip circles.



 Video 2 shows: Pelvic circles, Pelvic rotations, and Spine rolls



Video 3 shows: Spinal twist, shoulders and upper back, and The Grounding Stance.

Marathon Training 3 - Cadence Training

If you watch elite runners run, the common denominator among all of them is how fast they can turn their feet over in a minute, ie their run cadence.  Most elite runners can maintain 200 steps (or more) per minute which is a cadence of 100 foot strikes or more.   So in order for you to run faster you must invest time in cadence running.

When running, you either “plod” or ”float” and the difference is how quick your cadence is.  Most runners plod which means a longer contact your feet have with the ground.  If you watch the elite runners they practically float.  Their feet contact the ground very lightly and push off very quickly.   They don’t use the traditional running shoes but wear racing flats (or sometimes called running flats) which are less bulky, smaller and helps with running on the forefoot making you run faster with a quicker cadence.  The less time you contact the ground the less chance for injury.

Measure Your Running Cadence

How do you measure your running cadence?  Running cadence is usually measured by counting how many times your right (or left) foot strikes the ground in one minute.  There is a magic number for cadence.  On average a runner should run at a cadence of about 85-95 on a flat course, 60-65 on uphills and 100+ on downhills.   If your cadence is below 85 on a flat course, you are possibly over-striding and should to work on increasing your leg turnover and shortening your stride.  When you over-stride, you put your foot too far out of the center of gravity and it reduces your momentum.  You should focus more on maximizing your cadence and your body will naturally produce the most optimal stride and turnover rate.  If your cadence surpasses 95, you might want to consider training with Usain or Priscilla.

Try Cadence Running

Run a set of 8 x 400m on the track:

Run the first two at 90 cadence.

Next two at 92 cadence.

Next two at 95 cadence.

Last two at 100 cadence.

After you get comfortable with running short distances faster you can increase the distance to 800m and then slowly graduate to a more difficult cadence training.  Try to run 20 minutes at 90 cadence, 20 minutes at 92 cadence and 20 minutes at 95 cadence.  Overall, the faster your feet turnover the faster your pace will be.

A good article to read : The Once and Future Way to Run

Marathon Training 2 - Chi Running

Before I start training for the marathon, I want to know what is the best form of running that will ensure that my training and running is injury free, safe for the body.

Alberto Salazar, for a while the world’s dominant marathoner and now the coach of some of America’s top distance runners, describes in mythical-questing terms as the “one best way” — not the fastest, necessarily, but the best: an injury-proof, evolution-tested way to place one foot on the ground and pick it up before the other comes down. Left, right, repeat; that’s all running really is, a movement so natural that babies learn it the first time they rise to their feet. Yet sometime between childhood and adulthood — and between the dawn of our species and today — most of us lose the knack.

I did some research and came across this natural form of running called Chi Running. I invite you to see the video below to learn more about this injury free and safe form of running. The style is superb too.


A quick look into "What is Chi Running?" The pioneer of natural running form, ultra runner Danny Dreyer and his wife Katherine founded Chi Running in 1999. Take a look to see what it's grown into today.





The Chi Running style is what I would recommend for your marathon training. It will minimize injuries during training and more importantly during the race itself. Watch the video below for the hows and the benefits of this form of running.

The video below illustrates how to adopt this form of running technique in your marathon training routine. You may find it awkward initially but this is the natural form of running and with some practice, it should be second nature to you sooner or later. 

Here's another one to make sure that your strides are done correctly. Just go slow and easy, get the from right as this is the most important. 

ChiRunning® basic posture is demonstrated in this video below. Taught by ChiRunning®instructor Steve Mackel, this video will help everyone interested in ChiRunning® 

More Chi Running basics in the video below, just to be sure we got the idea.. Happy practicing and happy marathon training. You may wish to read more about it here. 


Happy marathon training !!


Oh, one last thing, if you like to have a free pdf copy of the book Chi Running below, please email me and I'll forward you a copy. 

Click here for a preview of the book. 


And a beautiful video of the recent New York City Marathon 2011
Since 1976, MTA Bridges and Tunnels' Verrazano-Narrows Bridge has been the starting point for the New York City Marathon. MTA congratulates the over 47,000 participants in this year's marathon.

Camera: J.P. Chan, Adele Pham
Production Assistant: Elise Shin
Music: Timo Chen
HeadCam: Dana Coyle (Finishing time: 4:42:23)

The Face of 7 Billion People

The above picture shows the Face of 7 Billion People.  The earth’s seven billion are depicted by 7,000 human figures, each representing a million people. Go to this site to zoom in on this face and you can also find out the main types of Language, Religion, Nationality, Race, Livelihood etc in our world today.

With world population projected now just above 7 billion which was reached this year on Oct. 31, there is renewed interest in our collective impact on the Earth. This is prompting some to wonder: are there too many people in the world?

While there is no consensus on the planet's carrying capacity, we do know that population will continue to grow. According to projections from the U.N. Population Division, world population will likely reach 10 billion before the turn of the century.

Overall, people are living longer, healthier lives, and many couples are choosing to have fewer children. But we are faced with the largest ever group of potential parents. And great disparities exist between countries. While many wealthy and middle-income nations are concerned with low fertility rates and ageing citizens, the world's poorest nations struggle to meet the needs of young and rapidly growing populations.

One particular concern is about the future of adolescents and youth: how can we ensure that younger generations inherit a world worth living in?

The world's 1.8 billion young people aged 10 to 24 constitute more than a quarter of the world's population. Just below 90 percent live in developing countries. As parents of the next generation, their choices will help determine future population trends.

During most of our lifetime, we have seen the world population nearly triple and have experienced the consequences, both positive and negative. Discussing numbers with economists and policy makers and hearing the dreams and needs of adolescents and youth have brought the picture into sharp focus. In the world's poorest nations, about 60 percent of people are under the age of 25.

The challenge is before us .... how to invest in the lives of our young ??

Marathon Training 1 - Before You Start toTrain for a Marathon

I am thinking of starting to train for a marathon after having been inspired by this article. Here, Barbara Hannah Grufferman said " Like many people over 50, I was worried about running, because I had heard that running, or even strenuous walking, can hurt our joints. Research shows, however, that it won't, if done right. After 30 years of following his own program, Jeff has never had an injury. The reason is simple: it calls for slow, gentle running, with scheduled walk breaks. Distance, not speed, is the goal. It's easy on the joints, and yet gives a high performance cardio work out. People pass me all the time when I am running, but that's okay with me. They'll be the ones looking for an orthopedic surgeon someday."


You may also be inspired. But before you start marathon training you need to ask yourself a few questions.

And you need to give yourself some honest answers too, otherwise your marathon plans may end in tatters.

But don’t worry too much.

Thousands of people compete in marathons for the first time each year – most of them successfully.

10 questions you should ask yourself before starting marathon training?

1. Why do you want to run the marathon?

There are so many great reasons for running a marathon, such as

• ·        improved fitness
• ·        a sense of achievement
• ·        the amazing experience of race day; or
• ·        raising money for charity
• ·        to name but a few.

Are you clear about your own motivation – because there will be times when you’ll need plenty of it.

2. Who are you trying to impress?

Many people are filled with admiration for people who have completed marathons – and rightly so. Are you taking up marathon running to gain the approval of others – either for your athletic feats or because of the amounts of money you plan to raise for charity? Or are you running for your own self-satisfaction?

3. What’s your level of fitness like now?

Many people run a marathon having started their training at a very low level of fitness. But it’s very tough. If you have a heart or respiratory condition or chronic muscular or skeletal injuries, taking up marathon training and distance running could be one of the poorer decisions you will ever make. Running should make you fitter, but it won’t make everyone healthier.

4. Do you like running?

Let’s be honest – some people really don’t enjoy running. Are you one of them? Do you really think that doing a lot of running (and you will be doing a lot of running) will suddenly made you start liking it.

5. Are you just reacting to being unfit?

Many people get frustrated at the onset of poor fitness and overreact by saying “Right – I’m going to run a marathon to get fit!” There are plenty of other ways of getting fit that don’t involve the rigours of marathon running. Would another form of exercise suit you better?

6. How busy is your lifestyle?

Are you likely to be able to find regular times to train for your marathon race? Do you travel away from home a lot for work or find that you are only at home in the dark? Can you identify a time of the day or week when you can get some good quality running under your belt?

7.Where will marathon training fit into your priorities?

If you have a job, friends and family, there will be times when your training seems a long way down your list of priorities. What are your priorities in life? Are you clear where your marathon training fits in with these other demands?

8. What time commitments could you give up?

Marathon training is likely to take up many hours a week over many weeks. Do you need to give up other hobbies or leisure time to fit in all that training? And are you prepared to do so?

9. Do you have a track record of completing goals?

Training for a marathon is a huge commitment and it can be pretty tough at times. Are you used to achieving goals, or do you give up easily? If it’s the latter maybe you should start with a less ambitious target, like a 10k race or a half marathon. After all, you could always run a marathon next year.

10. What will you do if you achieve your goal?

If you achieve marathon success, will you give up running altogether? Or do you see this as being the first of many marathons?

Do you still want to take up marathon running?

Answering these questions will give you a good idea of whether you have a good chance of being successful in taking on the demands of preparing yourself mentally and physically for running a marathon.

And for more questions before you start training, read this article.