Hi there,
Do you love marathon running as much as I do?
Thank you for stopping by and visiting Marathon-Training-Tips.com. I am Paul Koks, living together with my girlfriend in The Netherlands. I am working as an internet consultant and my biggest passion is running.
Besides working on Marathon-Training-Tips.com I like to share my online marketing knowledge via Online-Metrics.com.
This is where it all started…
My Youth
Ever since I was born, I have a strong passion for nature and sports. My passion for running and then especially marathon running was not yet there in my youth hood.
At the age of six I started playing soccer. I enjoyed many years of soccer until I reached 18 and decided to move to another city for studying.
During my study time you could often find me in the bar together with friends. Besides that I often played tennis.
Marathon Running Bet
In summer 2004, my last year at University, it was a late night in the bar. We had a few beers and that moment the turnaround point came. One of my good friends challenged me to run a marathon in October that year. Until then I never thought about running marathons, even not about running in general. I think I said ”I am in” without hesitating for a moment. It sounded like a ridiculous plan.
Preparation For My First Race: The Marathon
The next day after I woke up I realized that I had four months to go before I had to run this 26.2 miles race. From others I heard it was not a smart idea since a human body needs at least one to two years of training to prepare for such an effort.
Well, with that in mind weeks of running and reading about running, especially marathons, followed. Luckily I was not alone, because one good friend of mine had planned to participate as well.
During these months I spent so much time practicing and reading about this sport, that slowly this bet turned into a passion. Especially when I was running longer distances, I felt so happy from inside.
Marathon Race Day
On October 10th, 2004 I hoped that these hard months of training would help me get through this very long distance of 26.2 miles.
After a good first half and a very tough second one, I finally made it to the finish line. Then I was sure that this ridiculous bet about marathon running became my passion. Although I was very tired, I felt so intensely happy during and after the race.
Note: I would always recommend to take a more careful approach. In my case I was luckily not injured after this short way to the marathon. You can find a lot of tips about marathon training on other pages of this website.
Amsterdam Marathon, 2009
Years of training and racing followed. I slowly became more experienced in running longer distances. Then I challenged myself to run a marathon under three hours, something many marathon runners dream about.
Running in general brings a lot of good to me, but this is something I just wanted to give a try. 18 weeks of marathon preparation followed. I based my training schedule on the book Advanced Marathoning, written by Pete Pfitzinger and Scott Douglas.
Everything went well during this preparation, including race day. I finished just under three hours and realized again that running a marathon is both a physical as well as mental challenge.
I really hope I can enjoy this wonderful sport in all the years that come. It keeps you young and makes you happy.
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