• I did 2024 okay •
[2 MIN READ]
Last week’s ZY Newsletter feature, “Elsewhere on the Web” (“Rumination 2”), got my attention because I wanted to compare notes with my experience last spring 2024. Then, I did two marathons in a row for the second time in my 14-year running career, those were to be Jersey City and Gettysburg, two weeks apart. The first time, they were 3 months apart.
Two big things for me were to rest in between the races and temper my expectations for the second. The referenced article, “The Double-Down: A Runner’s Guide to Conquering Two Marathons in One Season,” tackled both of those and added 2 more.
The article also suggested Setting the Stage by determining which race would be the peak one. Without even considering that a real strategy, I had already decided Jersey City would be a Boston-qualifying goal race. The point of the second was primarily to be moral support for a friend doing her second marathon and the pace would be compatible with an easier-than-BQ race. I also had the option to let Friend pick up the pace if I flagged. We ended up tracking together well.
Finally, the author suggested the need to be flexible and to listen to the body carefully during the second. While I made no specific plan for that, my previous racing provided the necessary tools for doing so.
My takeaway is that I didn’t do half bad based on the advice of the article’s author. Frankly, it was a fun effort last year and it was a fun article to read for comparison’s sake. I don’t know that I’ll ever double up again, but it’s hard to say never. I got myself into the dilemma of running the 2 races in the first place because I’ve been such a sucker for social running and couldn’t say no when 2 people asked.
Come to think of it, the more people I’ve made running friends, the greater the likelihood more than one race could happen again. Those 2 races became 3 in 27 days (with the last the Dirty German 25K) because I couldn’t say no. This suggests another item for the list of 4 from the article: Pick your races strategically. I did without realizing it because marathon conditioning for a 25K race, even a trail race, is a wonderful thing and I ended up winning an AG-first award.
Experience has been a good teacher.
–CtCloser (Calvinthe) “Negative Split or Positive Splat” #dothedue
FINE PRINT ¶Text by Calvin Wang (Wäng), CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. ¶Cross-published: Facebook Shawmont Running Club (ZY Weekly Newsletter 9/20/25), Shawmont Running Club website, Ruminations by CtCloser. ¶This website posting: Rumination with added caption
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