Scott Fauble - Inside a Marathon: An All-Access Pass to a Top-10 Finish at NYC, Featuring a new Boston Marathon Chapter

To my teammates, who pushed me to be my best and tolerated my jokes.
Both of which I am equally thankful for.
- Faubs

A huge thanks to Scott Fauble for coming to me with this idea and being willing to share his story. Thanks to Jen Rosario for working so tirelessly on the pictures and the formatting of the book. Thanks to HOKA ONE ONE for their sponsorship of Northern Arizona Elite, without which none of this would be possible. And thanks to all of our fans who create the sense of responsibility we all feel to produce content like what you'll see in the following pages. You guys push us to do better and we truly appreciate it.
- Ben

FOREWORD

By Des Linden

I didnt grow up loving the marathon. I wasnt a kid who woke up Sunday morning itching to watch the Chicago Marathon or New York City Marathon on TV; frankly, I didnt even know they existed. I never had the opportunity to join the crowds on Patriots Day and be inspired by the thousands running toward Boston, and likely would have lacked the desire regardless. I ran track. The track was where racing happened. It was pure guts, speed, and strength. I crossed the line after four-and-a-half minutes of hurt, and every fiber in my body was on fire with the effort.

It was an event that made me feel alive. I had little or no concept of road racing and believed any race over 1500 meters was just a bore.

This is where the movie cuts to 2018 footage of Des Linden winning the Boston Marathon.

Theres a voiceover and I say, So, youre probably wondering how I got here. My venture to the marathon went like this: slowly, and then all at once. Let me explain.

My first real experience with the marathon was as a spectator. I had four teammates at the time who were preparing to debut at the 2006 Chicago Marathon. As a "shorter distance" runner, I did roughly half of their training with them. I had a front row seat for a three-month buildup to a marathon. I watched every day as they piled on mile after mile. I watched as they learned to manage fueling on the run. I was there as they tackled their first 20-mile long run and tallied their highest weekly mileage ever. I noticed when fatigue hit and figured they would probably start to back off or ease up soon. They didnt. They reached entirely new levels of fatigue that I thought would break them. It didnt. I was also there when every single one of them rounded a corner: They were no longer the walking dead on easy days; they were no longer slow on track days. On no one day in particular, it appeared they had all passed through some magical wall and come out the other side as superhuman. Not coincidentally it was just shy of when theyd begin their taper. Holy shit, I thought, these guys are animals, what will they be able to do when theyre rested and race ready?

All throughout the buildup, I stayed content enough running half of their workload, but I also became very intrigued. Would I have what it takes to do this work? Could I push this hard, day after day, or would I break? Or fold?

Finally, their race day rolled around, and my teammates were fit and ready to go. I saw them off to the start line. I could feel the anxious energy and nerves in each of them as they did their final prep to not only run but race farther than theyd ever gone before. I knew I was asking the same questions internally as each of them: Had they done enough work? Would they stick to their race plan? How would their bodies hold up when they reached the final 6.2 miles? More importantly, how would their minds hold up? The beauty of the race is that we finally get an answer to all the difficult questions.

Off they went, starting as mere distance runners covering mile by mile and taking the scenic route through the city of Chicago. As a spectator, the time just flew by, I could only assume the runners were not having this same time sensation. Before I knew it, they were cresting the top of Roosevelt Road, heading into the finishing stretch on Columbus Drive, and finally crossing the finish line. They arrived in varied states, physically and emotionally. Finally, there were no longer questions to ask but results on a page that would stand as their answer for everyone to see. A mark that said, This is how good I was today. They all had different feelings about their answers, but they all had one certain thing in common: They started as runners and were now marathoners. I knew right then, at that finish line, that I had to do this. I was hooked.

I signed myself up for my first marathon. I put myself through the exact same ringer Id seen my teammates work through. I had the ups and downs of any marathon segment. I loved it and I hated it, sometimes all in the same day. I survived it and toed the line at the 2007 Boston Marathon. On race morning there was heavy rain and a strong headwind. At the time it was considered arguably the worst conditions in Boston Marathon history. Tough conditions tend to cause a doom and gloom attitude and feel with the athletes, but if it was present, I was oblivious to it. I had the absolute time of my life as I trekked from Hopkinton to Boston; two hours and 44 minutes later I had run down the coveted title of Marathoner. I was in love.

I had no idea how far the marathon would take me, but I knew from the very first race that it was a puzzle and a challenge I wanted to master. Ill always love the beauty and speed of a race like the 1500, and the sheer talent it takes for an athlete to reach empty after a massive four-minute effort; its sexy as hell. Over time Ive learned the marathon can be sexy, too, in a George Clooney kind of way.

Its going to take years of work and youre rewarded by life experience. It takes patience, persistence, and an earned confidence. When you really hit your stride, its very likely youll be rocking a few gray hairs. The marathon may not make you feel alive in that fun 1500 way, but the marathon absolutely has the ability to change your life.

CHAPTER 1

Jerry Thought He Wasn't Fast Enough

BEN

Scott Fauble first showed up on my radar in February of 2015. Here is our original email exchange: