Tommy Owens comments on "Are Humans Meant to Run Long Distances"

Owens weighs in on the the importance of marathon training with his response to Tara Parker-Pope's post, with

"As a running coach for 20 years, I concur that training gradually over a long period of time is the surest and safest way to get to the start and finish line injury free, while feeling excited and fresh. At Team in Training (www.teamintraining.org) we [understand] the importance of training for at least four to five months, and we usually recommend a combination of run/ walk to help our people build their strength, stamina, and endurance, and mitigate the risk of injury. Proper pacing is a significant key to healthy enjoyable training. Our clinics on proper gear,nutrition and hydration, and running form also helps a great deal. Having a training program with easy days, recovery days, along with a gradual increase in mileage, certainly adds to the health, safety, and enjoyment for all our people."

For the full post, see: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/26/are-humans-meant-to-run-long-distances/?apage=6#comments