FIVE marathons in FIVE weeks

hYes. You read the title right. FIVE marathons in FIVE weeks. That is what loving Hubs is in progress of completing. Maybe I should re-title my blog "Ramblings of a running addict married to a running MANIAC!!". (In all seriousness though, hubs is my hero!). Right now I am blogging from our hotel in Cleveland as hubs prepares for marathon four in Cleveland.

I plan on posting race reports for all five of the marathons (3 of which I will have run-2 as a full and one as a half), but this blog entry is just preamble about who does such crazy things?!

Well apparently, it is not that uncommon to run back to back marathons as you may think. When hubs first mentioned his plan to me, I was a little worried. Some running experts don't recommend running more than one or at most two marathons per year due to the huge physical strain it can put on your body. But it can and has been done. Lets look at some examples.

1. Terry Fox
When I first expressed my concern to hubs, he mentioned that Terry Fox ran a marathon every day for over three months. He's right. Terry Fox is the most amazing Canadian runner ever. Rephrase. He is the most amazing runner ever. He is the very definition of hero. Here is an excerpt from The Terry Fox Foundation website in case you are not familiar with Terry's incredible story:

While in hospital, Terry was so overcome by the suffering of other cancer patients, many of them young children, that he decided to run across Canada to raise money for cancer research.
He would call his journey the Marathon of Hope.
After 18 months and running over 5,000 kilometres (3,107 miles) to prepare, Terry started his run in St. John’s, Newfoundland on April 12, 1980 with little fanfare. Although it was difficult to garner attention in the beginning, enthusiasm soon grew, and the money collected along his route began to mount. He ran 42 kilometres (26 miles) a day through Canada's Atlantic provinces, Quebec and Ontario.
It was a journey that Canadians never forgot.
However, on September 1st, after 143 days and 5,373 kilometres (3,339 miles), Terry was forced to stop running outside of Thunder Bay, Ontario because cancer had appeared in his lungs. An entire nation was stunned and saddened. Terry passed away on June 28, 1981 at age 22.

I remember seeing Terry run right behind our farm house in Millbrook Ontario on highway 115 (near Peterborough, Ontario) when I was a child. Many Canadians celebrate Terry's memory with a walk/run event in the fall.



2. Ultras
People run distances further than marathons. These are referred to as ultramarathons or ultras for short. There are 50K, 100K and even 100 mile ultra events. In fact, I know a few runners that are completing a 100 mile race the same weekend I run the Ottawa marathon. They will likely be running for almost 20 hours or more!! Perhaps the most interesting story I have stumbled across regarding ultra marathon, was the story of a 13 year old girl who completed her first 50 miler with her mom, its very touching.


3. Other crazies
While researching if it would be safe for hubs to run multiple marathons, I came across an interesting site called marathon maniacs. Apparently there are other runners out there that are addicted just as addicted (even more so) to running marathons. In fact they even have criteria to be considered part of their maniac club:

BRONZE LEVEL
1. Back to Back Marathons (two marathons in consecutive weekends, races can be run on either Saturday or Sunday).
2. 2 Marathons in 3 weeks (2 Marathons within a 16 day time frame).
3. 3 Marathons in 3 months (3 Marathons within a 90 day time frame).

SILVER LEVEL
1. 3 Marathons in 3 weeks ( 3 Marathons within a 16 day time frame ).
2. 6 Marathons in 6 months (6 marathons in 6 consecutive calendar months).
3. 8 - 11 Marathons within 1 calendar year.

GOLD LEVEL
1. 4 Marathons within a 6-week time span (or 37 days).
2. 12 - 18 Marathons within 1 calendar year.
3. 4 Marathons in 4 different US states, Countries or Canadian Provinces (any combination) within an 8-week time span (or 51 days).

IRIDIUM LEVEL
1. 4 Marathons in 4 consecutive weeks (or 23 days).
2. 19 - 25 Marathons within 1 calendar year.
3. 2 Marathons in 2 days (or 48 hours) must finish both races!
4. 9 Marathons in 9 different US states, Countries, or Canadian Provinces (any combination) in 1 calendar year.

RUTHENIUM LEVEL
1. 26 - 30 Marathons within 1 calendar year.
2. 4 Marathons on back to back weekends (within a 9 day window).
3. 3 Marathons in 3 separate US states, Countries, or Canadian Provinces (any combination) within a 9-day time span.
4. 13 Marathons in 13 different US states, Countries, or Canadian Provinces (any combination) in one calendar year.

OSMIUM LEVEL
1. 31 - 37 Marathons in 1 calendar year.
2. 16 Marathon in 16 different US states, Countries, or Canadian Provinces (any combination) in 1 calendar year.
3. 6 Marathons in 3 weeks (or 16 days). With proper planning and rest this can be done!

PALLADIUM LEVEL
1. 38 - 44 Marathons in one calendar year.
2. 20 Marathons in 20 US states, Countries, or Canadian Provinces (any combination) in 1 calendar year.
3. 13 Marathons in 12 weeks ( 79 days ).

TITANIUM LEVEL
1. 52 Marathons or more in one calendar year.
2. 30 Marathons in 30 US states, Countries, or Canadian Provinces (any combination) in 1 calendar year.
3. 20 Countries in one calendar year.

There is also an award given to the male and female that runs the most number of marathons every year. Are you a candidate?

Stay tuned for the 5 marathon race reports. First up: Nashville Country Music Marathon. Thanks for reading!