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20 economist sunsuntribune jrjegreati on saturday deo3 2005 you may think theyre crazy but more and more people are hitting the marathon trail by mike hayakawa staff writer ome do it just for fun believe it or not others try it to attain or maintain a high degree of fitness some take to the paved course to meet a personal challenge in some instances people want to gain a bit of fame in the end though its all in the name of running a 262mile course what makes this distance sacred among die running fraterni ty is it represents a complete marathon race there are more marathon races than ever before and the number of competitors has definitely increased said john de finney founder of the markham centaurs running club and a veteran of 30 marathons gaining his marathon baptism in 1978 in sudbury the 55yearold markham resident attributes the sports profile to its benefits many people going into marathons today are doing so for the health benefits as well as for the challenge said mr de finney mr de finney prefers shorter races but continues to be intrigued by marathons because of the exhil aration and challenge of training and the ambience excitement and camaraderie on the day of the event its one of the few events where every competitor is cheering for want help to get going longdistance running couises are offered at several stores specializing in running apparel including four york region running room outlets unionville 9054796253 newmarket 9058988110 richmond hill 905- 7647255 andvaughan 905-417- 6860 and running free in markham 708 dennison st 9054777871 newcomers would best be served by attending these classes because of their highly structured nature said john de finney founder and past president of the markham centaurs running club just be aware they usual ly have a registration fee another option is clubs including the markham centaurs 9052943668 or newmarket huskies track club 9058364916 mr de finney suggests experienced runners might feel more comfortable taking this route since they can train with others at the same pace each other to do well he said helen thompson 67 can vouch for that she received encourage ment from runners and spectators during her first event this years scotiabank waterfront marathon in toronto taking up running last year to keep fit after retiring the ballantrae resident completed the course with her 30yearold son ian in five and a half hours she raised 1000 in pledges for the rose of sharon sendees for young mothers in york region what got me through the maradion were the people who made pledges for me she said that was the real motivator rhonda burke was searching for a challenge five years ago after 15 years as an aurora fitness instructor the 42yearold modier of three joined a group of runners who regu larly trained by running 30k as a warmup i didnt realize what i was get ting into it was a whole new world for someone like me who was a stayathome mom she recalled she said she was lucky to meet and train under hugh cameron who was coaching a group of elite marathon runners before creating the newmarket huskies track club ms burke has run three marathons with her best result a 340 three years ago in kitchener qualifying her for the prestigious boston marathon boston was the most amaz ing experience not being a com petitive athlete to run in this race is the closest experience to feeling like its an olympic event it took your breath away because of the amount of spectators you were like a celebrity she said its like the mount everest of running said jerry kooymans a 50yearold markham resident who has run five marathons mr kooymans ran his last marathon in 1981 after recovering from groin surgery he hoped to represent canada at an olympics but has found fulfillment running shorter races and setting canadi an masters age group records in the mile and half maradions these races are just as fun to do and you might not get hurt and they are just as healthy he said running 262 miles might seem like a long distance in fact it is what it takes suggested ms thompson is time commitment and for newcomers lessons from experts enrolled in a learnto runclass at the running room a unionville sporting goods store ms thompson progressed from doing 5kilometre events last year to a 10k half marathon and a full marathon in september ms thompson credited much of her success to her coach ray lim and others in her class from the staff to the runners everyone was supportive and the comraderie is fantastic she said ms burke also believes a sup port group is critical if one hopes to complete a maradion if not for coaching and die group she was in her appearance at the boston marathon two years ago wouldnt have been a reality running with a group is safer to do and you tend to go faster but i had success because i had a fabulous coach i had more coaching than talent ms burke and others say com pleting a maradion takes plenty of physical and mental preparation to be successful you need to do a lot of mileage its hours and hours of running she said having participated in four marathons john fisher believes the secret is begin preparing early assuming you are in good physical shape you need about 20 weeks of lead time the 46-year- old markham resident said each week you increase your mileage and increase your long runs most need to run 50 miles a week leading up to a marathon why do it aerobically fit individuals reduce their risk of heart disease and strokes diabetes some types of cancer osteoporosis as well as other degenerative diseases markham marathonerjohn definney said in addition running is a social sport and is a great stress reliever and for the time spent running gives you the best aerobic workout of any activity its easy to do and it requires little train ing and preparation and equipment is cheap you can run in any climate at any time of day yorkregioncom