An excellent running blog I follow is Run to Win. It’s owner/operator, Blaine Moore, is a professional runner.
His site provides lots of great information about training for a marathon and other distances. It’s a great 
resource for anyone including jogglers.
He’s got a newsletter too, so feel free to sign up. I’m signed up and can verify that you won’t get a bunch of hard-sell SPAM. Instead, he sends useful information and training tips. I’ve gotta figure he’s getting around to selling something, but he hasn’t so far.
Anyway, here is an example from one of his newsletters. He ran a series of interviews from 3 professional runners. Here’s an excerpt from the newsletter.
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I just finished writing up my notes on last week’s cross country clinic, so you get all 20 pages condensed down into the following 5 articles.
Part 1: Injury Prevention & Treatment (Greg Knapton)
http://news.runtowin.com/2008/08/25/xc-clinic-injury-prevention.html
Part 2: Nutrition & Fueling (Karen Hodge Knapton)
http://news.runtowin.com/2008/08/26/xc-clinic-nutrition.html
Part 3: Biomechanics & Proper Footwear (John Rogers)
http://news.runtowin.com/2008/08/27/xc-clinic-biomechanics-shoes.html
Part 4: The Athlete’s Panel (Introductions)
http://news.runtowin.com/2008/08/28/xc-clinic-athletes.html
Part 5: The Athlete’s Panel (Questions & Answers)
http://news.runtowin.com/2008/08/29/xc-clinic-athletes-panel.html
While the first 3 articles provide some good value, the last one is the best and has the most information.
If you have the time, read them all. If not, then skip straight to part 4 if you want to learn a little about the 3 athletes who spoke, and then to part 5 to hear what kind of practical advice and tips you can learn from 3 of the top runners in the country. (To be honest, one of them has retired and is now in law school.)
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There is lots of great free running advice out. Blaine’s website and newsletter are an excellent source of top-notch advice.
Great work Blaine!
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for the mention!
And to clarify, I’m not actually a professional runner, just a very competitive one, heheh. I run a lot of miles in between my full time job and my part time home business and my coaching. Any of those 3 runners from the XC clinic can wipe the floor with me, even the retired one (although I did beat him a few times when he jumped in a race near the end of a law school semester or he ran with his wife…)
And for the record, I do sell through the newsletter. I just don’t do a lot of it and its usually as a P.S. at the end. I’m glad you find some value in it; that’s why I send it out!
I was wondering if an experienced marathon runner could answer my training question. I am running a full marathon one month from today. The longest run I have done so far is 11 miles because I have been too busy. Now, my busy schedule has ended and I have a month (relatively) free to train. Can I still be competitive in the marathon? What is your advice for when and how I should do the long run? Thank you.
@claire – it depends on what you mean by “competitive”. If you’re talking world-class sub-3 hour marathons then it’s not likely.
However, if you are talking about a 4 hour marathon then you should be able to do it. My first marathon I ever did, the longest run I’d ever done previously was a half-marathon (13.1 miles). I completed the half in 1:46 and finished the marathon a month later in 4:02.
I would suggest that you put in about 35 miles, 32 miles, 30 mile, 30 miles for the next month. If you can get long runs of 12 and 15 miles, you should be able to have a decent time.
Note: This would work for me but I’m not certain what will work for you as I don’t know your running history.
Good luck!
What is the best possible advice for me getting in the running profession at the age of 27? is it too late to be sponsored by major companies? please let me know.
@Emeka – the first thing you’ve got to do is enter and win a few races. Then when you get noticed by race organizers or running clubs, you’ll have a better chance of getting connected with a sponsor.
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