Melinda Hinson Neely - Heart and Sole: How 26 Ran A Marathon

REGIONAL PRAISE FOR HEART AND SOLE

Anyone who THINKS they WANT to complete a marathon CAN COMPLETE a marathon.and a book like Heart and Sole is just the type of cheerleading and practical information a person needs to cross off another goal in their life. Once the decision is made to take on the marathon challenge, the only thing left is how painful or joyful the journey will be. Melinda has created a wonderful source of informationand inspiration.

Lori Otter

First Lady of Idaho

Having managed the City of Trees marathon and half marathon for over a decade now, I agree with what Melinda advocates in her book. Men and women of all ages, shapes, sizes, and speeds can run 26 miles. By nicely sharing the stories of individuals across all walks of life, Heart and Sole proves that anyone can take that leap of faithand go for it.

Jeffrey V. Ulmer

Executive Director, City Of Trees Marathon Association Inc.

President, BlueCircleSports.com

From choosing a race, to dressing for a race, to training your body and mind for the feat, Hinson Neely has created an entertaining and inspiring guidebook for all who aspire to hit the ground running. The sometimes elusive and often daunting 26.2 mile distance no longer feels so far out of reach.

Andrija Barker

Five-time fastest Idahoan female

Women's Fitness Celebration (5K) champion, 2012

One and only marathon - 2:54

Half-marathon - 1:17

Copyright 2013 Melinda Hinson Neely

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.

Attribution You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work).

Noncommercial You may not use this work for commercial purposes.

No Derivative Works You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work.

Inquiries about additional permissions should be directed to:

Cover Design by Sarah Tregay, DesignWorks, Inc .

Edited by Iris Sutcliffe

PRINT ISBN 978-1-62015-115-0

EPUB ISBN 978-1-62015-105-1

For further information regarding permissions, please contact
.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013931998

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This book would simply not be complete without the motivating stories of the first-time marathoners I followed. The individuals whose journeys I covered in depth continue to inspire me with their amazing accomplishments: Bobbi Welch, Lindsay Heuser, Stephan Cox, Tricia Minnick, and Anne Lacasse. I truly appreciate your willingness to share your experiences with me.

Though I only shared snapshots of the others, their first-time efforts were no less inspiring. These women and men are: Molly Baker, Harold Brandner, Sherry Boehning, Pam French, Allie Gabriel, Caitlin Grams, Sara G, Jen Green, Angie Hotz, Stuart Kerber, Erika Kilcher, Teri Masters, Heather Montgomery, Elise Nelson, Rebecca Paige, Carla Reinisch, Ginesa Schleuse, Erin Vandenberg, Rebecca Walker, Amy Williamson, Gina Wright and Jennifer Zelcer.

Before this project got started, four women kindly shared my book opportunity with individuals aspiring to run their first marathons. Without their help, I might not have ever found such remarkable people. I appreciate these ladies for posting information about Heart and Sole on their blogs: Beth Risdon, author of Shut Up + Run, Caitlin Boyle of Healthy Tipping Point, Jody Goldenfield, who writes at Truth2BeingFit, and Kelly Bruneman at Healthy Living with Kelly.

I am very grateful for two important individuals who helped me understand the dynamics of running form, shoes and injuries, especially in light of the changing trends in running soles. The contribution of Daniel E. Lieberman, Ph.D., Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, and Jeffrey Shilt M.D., Medical Director, Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery, Saint Alphonsus Health System in Boise, ID, was invaluable.

I thank my wonderful editor, Iris Sutcliffe, who is an amazing runner in her own right. Not only did I learn about AP style with her help, but I learned a thing or two about minimalist shoes, too.

Thanks to my team at Booktrope, my publisher who continues to believe in my writing. And a special nod to Katherine Sears for her gracious welcome to the company, despite that order of sweet potato fries when we first met.

I send a heartfelt thank you to running buddies who have logged many miles with me over the years. These include Cam Donovan, Marcia Head, Jodi Whittaker, and Chris Zimmer. Your encouragement and conversation have made the miles and the marathons much more enjoyable! I am blessed to have these running buddies as special friends for life, even if I can no longer talk them into running with me.

Last, but certainly not least, I appreciate my family for continuing to support my running habit. Though I often remind them I could have worse addictions, I truly value their encouragement and patience, from day one of training until the finish line (and again and again).

PROLOGUE

You don't have to be a star athlete to run. You don't have to be skinny or fast, or have long legs and a flat chest. And thank goodness you don't have to wear sports bras and briefs like the really good runners wear.

Despite this, many of you have no desire to participate in this sport, let alone run a marathon.

Why?

Why We Don't Run

Most of us simply can't understand why so many people love to run.

For starters, running is boring. Sure, music might help a little, but what's so interesting about putting one foot in front of the other for miles on end?

Running is too hard, especially if the hills are steep or if it's raining. Why suffer through the pain?

Running is not nearly as entertaining or enjoyable as playing tennis with friends. If we're going to sweat, we'd rather improve our backhand while we're at it.

Running brings back childhood memories we'd really like to forget.

Besides, we aren't good at running. We're not fast and never will be. Heck, some of us don't even have enough athleticism to play ping-pong.

How do we really feel about it? Running is a mild form of self-inflicted torture.

Why We Get Started

A lot of us start running to lose weight or to get back in shape after taking a far too lengthy hiatus from doing anything healthy.

We're also trying desperately to slow down the aging process.

Another bonus? Running is convenient. We can run virtually anywhere, and it doesn't take many miles or minutes to feel pretty darn good. Those feel-good endorphins really know how to brighten the day, a welcome boost regardless of your mood.

Running is cheap, especially compared to sports that require expensive equipment, court fees or membership dues.

And, we confess, our friends bribed us, and it worked.

Once We're Hooked

We turn into running fanatics. We run in the heat, cold, and rain. We run at home, when traveling for work, and on vacation. Running is not only a great way to get to know a new city, but it also introduces to us a whole new set of friends in our own hometown.

Hitting the snooze button makes us feel so guilty and downright awful that we can't bear the misery of not running.

We run when we're sick and injured.

We run to solve problems, escape, and be happy; after all, running is much cheaper than therapy.

We're able to maintain our weight, stay sane, handle stress, and build self-esteemall thanks to running. There aren't too many things in life that can make that claim.