Thinking About a Marathon? The 10 Best Beginner Marathons Part 2

Napa Valley Marathon

So, here is the list but I have reservations on some.

Kaiser Permanente Napa Valley Marathon

Escape the city. Unlike its larger, urban counterparts, the Kaiser Permanente Napa Valley Marathon is mostly just you, the road, and wine country. “We’re a rural marathon,” explains David Hill, co-race director. “It’s all out in the country on a two-lane road. There’s not much spectator support, but the scenery is outstanding.”

Unfortunately, this small and interesting marathon has a very strict 6 hour cutoff time. This is not runner or walker friendly and therefore I cannot recommend it for a beginner marathon. And, get this:

If you cannot finish the race within the 6 hour time limit, please do not enter and take an entry spot away from a runner who can finish within the allotted time.

Wow!

Missoula Marathon

Flat terrain isn’t easy to come by in Montana, but the Missoula Marathon carves a pretty smooth route through valley where an old glacial lake used to rest. You’ll breeze past hayfields before finishing up the race to the cheers of spectators in Missoula. Now entering its fifth year, the race places a strong emphasis on community. Look out for the mile markers that have been decorated by local artists.

Jeff Galloway will be Run/Walk/Running this year's Missoula marathon in July.

The Missoula Marathon is runner (6 and 1/2 hour) and walker friendly with a 7 and 1/2 hour time limit (early 5 AM start). A very easy 6 and 1/2 hour limit for the Half Marathon.

This would be a very good first marathon for the beginner or for someone who would like a relaxed travel marathon experience. The Missoula Marathon blog is here.

Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon

The Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon is called the most beautiful urban marathon for a reason. Starting in Minneapolis and ending in St. Paul, the course crosses by lakes, rivers, scenic parkways and mansions. Race-day temperatures start around 40˚F at the start and only go up to the mid-50s, so it’s nice and cool for running.

There is a strict 6 hour time limit for this fairly large urban marathon. I would NOT recommend this marathon for a beginner, as there are other more runner friendly marathons without the logistical hassles of this one.

Stay tuned for part three of the series of beginner marathons.

Part 1 of my review of beginner marathons is here.

Thinking About a Marathon? The 10 Best Beginner Marathons Part 1

View from the Honolulu Marathon: Sunrise greets runners going down Kilauea Avenue in Kaimuki during the Honolulu Marathon

So, here is the list but I have reservations on some.

Zappos.com Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon

Feel the adrenaline rush as you finish off the last 12.8 miles running down The Strip on Las Vegas Boulevard. The course conveniently starts and ends at Mandalay Bay, and live bands and cheerleaders pepper the way. The one caveat: Because of road closure constraints, you now have to finish in less than 5 hours and 30 minutes.

The time limit is a bummer and a limiting factor for first time marathoners who probably should not be running or walking for a time goal. Las Vegas is usually cold in December and previous runners have told me that the course becomes quite boring after you leave the Las Vegas Blvd. strip.

I don't think I will ever run this marathon or even the half.

Honolulu Marathon

Honolulu is the ultimate beginner marathon. Nearly half of the runners are first-timers and, you know, it’s in Hawaii. There’s sun, surf, sand, and an ocean-side celebration at the finish at Kapiolani Park. Plus, there’s no time limit. “No one will pull you off the course no matter how long you are taking,” assures James Barahal, MD, race president.

Perfect for a first time marathoner as there is NO time limit. So, you WILL finish. But, it IS Hawaii and likely to be warm and humid - so prepare.

I will try to place this marathon on my schedule.

Walt Disney World Marathon

Disney pulls out all stops for their race weekend. Spot your favorite characters along the course and run to the tunes of bands stationed along the way. The route takes you past all the major attractions—Main Street USA, Hollywood Boulevard, the Cinderella castle—before finishing by gospel choir in front of Epcot.

There is a time limit but although they advertise and warn about it, the Disney folks are NOT that strict - as I understand. But, unlike the Honolulu, you will have to train and maintain at least a 16 min/mile pace.

There is the Disney Coast to Coast medal if run the Disneyland Half Marathon later in the year. Also, the Disney Goofy Medal for running the Disney World Half Marathon as well as the Disney World Marathon back to back.

This race will be on my schedule in a year or so, although the weather has been brutally cold the past few years - yeah, it is Florida in January. Then, there is tapering during Christmas. But, the wife, really wants that Goofy Medal.

Do You Need a Custom Orthotic? A Close Look

Graphic courtesy of Foot Solutions

Yes and no, I suppose.

Benno M. Nigg has become a leading researcher on orthotics — those shoe inserts that many athletes use to try to prevent injuries. And what he has found is not very reassuring.

For more than 30 years Dr. Nigg, a professor of biomechanics and co-director of the Human Performance Lab at the University of Calgary in Alberta, has asked how orthotics affect motion, stress on joints and muscle activity.

Do they help or harm athletes who use them? And is the huge orthotics industry — from customized shoe inserts costing hundreds of dollars to over-the-counter ones sold at every drugstore — based on science or on wishful thinking?

His overall conclusion: Shoe inserts or orthotics may be helpful as a short-term solution, preventing injuries in some athletes. But it is not clear how to make inserts that work. The idea that they are supposed to correct mechanical-alignment problems does not hold up.

Joseph Hamill, who studies lower-limb biomechanics at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, agrees.

“We have found many of the same results,” said Dr. Hamill, professor of kinesiology and the director of the university’s biomechanics laboratory. “I guess the main thing to note is that, as biomechanists, we really do not know how orthotics work.”

Orthotists say Dr. Nigg’s sweeping statement does not take into account the benefits their patients perceive.

Well, without mine, fitted by Dr. John Pagliano, my feet were a blistered mess when I trained for the Los Angeles Marathon last year.

Now, I am running and walking pain/blister free.

The More You Walk, the Lower Your Diabetes Risk

Flap's LA Roadrunner Walking Group from last year - March 2010

This is good news although it is conventional wisdom.

The more you walk, the lower your risk of diabetes, say Australian researchers.

The scientists tracked 592 middle-aged adults who participated in a study to map diabetes levels across Australia between 2000 and 2005. Participants underwent a health examination at the start of the study and provided details about their eating and lifestyle habits.

The volunteers were also given a pedometer and instructed how to use it.

Follow-up with the participants five years later showed that a higher daily step count was associated with a lower body-mass index (BMI), lower waist-to-hip ratio and better insulin sensitivity, even after adjusting for factors such as diet, smoking and alcohol intake.

These associations were independent of calorie intake and appeared to be largely due to a change in weight, said the researchers at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute in Melbourne.

They calculated that a sedentary person who changed his or her behavior and started walking 10,000 steps every day would achieve a threefold improvement in insulin sensitivity, compared with a similar person who walked 3,000 steps a day, five days a week.

The 10,000 steps per day is a popular guideline, but a more recent recommendation is 3,000 steps per day, five days a week.

An average person walks 2,000 steps per mile.

Let's see I did 9 miles today or 18,000 steps; this week: two days of walking 3 miles (6,000 steps/day) and 3 days of run/walk/run - 3 miles daily training (6,000 steps/day). That is many steps.

By the way, my last physical exam and laboratory studies showed no evidence of diabetes and I would like to keep it that way.

I'll run/lwalk/run via Jeff Galloway or walk until I drop.