Vision Not a Factor for Legally Blind Marathon Winner
by
Clarence Schadegg
Marla Runyan, a person who
lives with legal blindness, took first place in the October 2006
Twin Cities marathon. Her finishing time was two hours, thirty-two
minutes and seventeen seconds. Her husband, Matt and 13 month-old
daughter, Anna met her at the finish line. Runyan is a long-distance
runner who represented the United States at the 2000 Olympics in
Sydney, Australia and again in Athens, Greece in 2004.
The day before the TC Marathon, the author had a chance to interview
her for Access Press.
What inspired you to
enter the Olympics after you had won five gold metals in the Paralympics? “I no longer participate in the
Paralympics because I felt that my vision wasn’t really a factor
in my performance as a runner. My goal became to make the Olympic
team. So, from 1996 to 2000, that was where my focus and training
was.”
What inspired you in
your pursuit of the Olympics? “The Olympic
dream became a huge motivator for me at that time, From 1988 to 2000…it
was a combination of things, enjoying the sport and that dream of
running in the Olympics.”
What did it mean to
you to represent the United States in two Olympics? “I
did make the Olympic team in 2000 in the fifteen hundred meters.
I finished eighth in the Olympic final which is the highest finish
so far for an American woman in the fifteen hundred meters.”
How much running should
someone do to prepare for a marathon? “For
me personally, you need to be running ninety to one hundred miles
a week.”
What is your weekly training schedule?
• Sunday, twenty-two mile run
• Monday, twelve to thirteen miles at an easy pace, plus weight
lifting
• Tuesday, 10 to 12 miles
• Wednesday: an interval session of repeat miles, or 1000 meters
repeats running much faster than marathon goal pace
• Thursday, 12 mile run plus weight lifting
• Friday: 10 to 12 miles, easy pace
• Saturday, a Tempo run of 2 or 3 mile repeats, or 8 or 10 mile
continuous running. Runyan defines a tempo as a threshold effort while
running slightly faster than goal marathon pace. “If your goal
marathon pace is 5.40 per mile, you might run a threshold at 5.20 per
mile. That would be a Saturday session. And then a long run the next
day. That is how it goes in a very general way.”
Because of legal blindness,
do you have any concerns about following the correct course? “I
have enough vision that I run completely alone. I do get nervous
when the roads turn, or when there’s a turn approaching. What
tends to happen with my vision is that I don’t see things until
I’m right there. So I can’t anticipate what’s ahead.
I can’t look down the road and know a turn is approaching in
twenty-five meters or what not. So that’s where it gets challenging.
In this particular marathon, they will provide a lead bicyclist for
both the men and women. This signifies the leader. If I’m leading
the race, or if I’m in the lead pack of women, then I’ll
be able to key off of the bike in front of us. So that’s something
else I’ll consider. The only other things I can do are course
tours, running part of the course ahead of time. But it’s nearly
impossible to memorize a twenty-six mile course on your first time
out.”
How many people run
in the Twin Cities marathon? “I think
this marathon is somewhere between ten and twenty thousand. There
are approximately 100 elite runners. We’re not in the masses
of people. We’re escorted to the front of the starting area.
That’s how they do it in every major marathon.”
How do you stay hydrated? “They have fluid stations every
two miles, and they have both water and Powerade. They [also] have
an elite athlete’s fluid station where you can grab your own
personal bottle of whatever fluid you have prepared…and five
miles is the first one. I decided this year not to have elite fluids,
mainly because it is so difficult for me to see and locate my bottle
on the table.”
How do you keep from
getting injured, either while you practice or in a race? “As a trained runner, you don’t have the
typical [problems] that a lot of people who are just learning to
run. We definitely have injuries. My greatest challenges have been
my hip and my low back, in part because I had a baby last year. But
also it’s been a problem even before that. I’m not sure
why, it could be muscle weakness somewhere. I have disc degeneration
in my spine.”
Besides a daily running
routine, what else do you do to keep fit? “If
you’re a professional runner, you have to be diligent about
keeping your body together as you go about your training. It’s
at least two to three appointments a week. I do it in a gym, a weight-room
routine. And it is a combination of using your own body weight, machine
weights, and free weights. Definitely do that at least twice a week,
about an hour to an hour and a half (and usually after my running
is done for the day). But still the primary training is running.”
Is there a substitute
for the practice in long distance running? “No
other exercise will match the intensity of running. There’s
really nothing that will get your heart rate up, get your respiration
elevated enough to simulate going out for a twelve-mile run.”
What support did you
get from your family? “I give them so
much credit for even the fact that I’m an athlete…As
soon as my vision was diagnosed, they could have said, “You’re
not going to ride your bike. You’re not going to play soccer.
You’re not going to do this because you might fall down and
get hurt. They didn’t do that. I think they just saw me as
an athlete. They saw how I moved. And they saw how I played on the
field.” ![]()
For more about Marla
Runyan, you can access her Web site at www.marlarunyan.com
