Author Archives: Mari Zagarins

Training for a marathon requires sacrifice. What, did you just fall out of your chair in surprise? I know, I know, that’s about as obvious as saying that Popeye requires spinach, but let me offer a little perspective. In her … Continue reading →

I just finally checked out Christopher McDougall’s Born to Run, the bestseller that inspired ultra-marathoners, the grocery store checkout lady, and Matthew McConnaughey to wear toe shoes. McDougall argues that cushioned sneakers increase their wearers’ risk of injury more than … Continue reading →

My first 18-mile training run was supposed to be a 19-miler, but my legs quit at the end like angry minimum-wage employees (suddenly, and with an outburst of cussing and threats). Afterwards, sprawled out on the couch and covered in … Continue reading →

Disclaimer: As I’ve mentioned before, I have trouble with boundaries. I never know whether the information I’m sharing falls into the Too Much, Not Enough or, in most cases, the Much Too Much category. But if you’re into things that … Continue reading →

With the exception of camp counselors and Human Resources directors, nobody loves 1980s sports movie training montage sequences quite like I do. To prepare for the SATs, I watched Rocky and then ran up the five steps leading up to … Continue reading →

After my 2/20 post about GU energy gels, I received a big box of promotional GU products to try out from a company called Outside PR.* You may recall that the tone of that post was dubious at best. Afterwards, … Continue reading →

Several times in the last several years, I’ve hosted friends from faraway places who have wanted to sign up for gym memberships or Zumba classes during their brief visits. Each time this happens, I try (unsuccessfully) to talk them out … Continue reading →

Two months ago when I signed up for the Vermont City Marathon, I scheduled a March checkup with a physical therapist. I was worried about how my knees and joints would be feeling midway through the training process, and even … Continue reading →

A disclaimer: notice that this list of annoying things that runners do only contains three items. It was supposed to be a top-10 list, but then I ran out of things to rant about. So really the overarching message of … Continue reading →

In the past I’ve been accused of crossing boundaries, so I’ll leave my #1 reason out of this post. If the word fartlek doesn’t make you giggle, you may forever remain in the dark. Fartlek is actually a Swedish word … Continue reading →