Kaitlin Henderson, 22, is a senior psychology major pursuing a minor in criminal justice. Originally from Mansfield, Ohio, she participated in track and cross country during high school. Before this weekend, that was the last time she had done high capacity running. Until she decided to run a marathon. This summer, she began to train for the Chicago Marathon and embarked on a 16-week journey that culminated with her completion of the race this past Sunday.
Are there any tricks or tips you have for someone who may want to start running and training, but isn’t sure where to start?
I started training for the marathon during the first week of July. My greatest tip is to do research! There are a lot of really great resources like runnersworld.com that offer training programs and nutritional advice. It was a great place to start and even offered plans based on the marathon time you want to achieve.
What type of mental strength does it take to run a marathon? What did you do to push through the difficult moments of the race?
Personally, I think everyone is capable of running a marathon, but it does take a lot of mental motivation and determination to train and complete the race. However, I think having a good support system of people who believed in me helped the most. They kept me focused on my goals and encouraged me to train on days I felt like skipping. So I’d say that surrounding yourself with positive people who are encouraging of your goal to complete the marathon is super important.
The race definitely gets difficult toward the end because your body is so foreign to the conditions you are putting it through, even with training. To push through this I tried to focus on how amazing it was that so many people showed up to support everyone who was running. It is such an amazing atmosphere to be a part of and there really is nothing else like it. I think the energy of everyone there really kept me going!