10 Road Runners to Take Part in New York City Marathon

This Sunday, one of the most famous sporting events in the world will take place in New York—the New York City Marathon. While many people only aspire to someday run in the marathon, 10 members of Columbia's Road Runner's Club will actually accomplish that feat this weekend.

The Columbia Road Runner's Club is the official running club of Columbia University and is open to runners of all skill levels. According to Co-President Anna Murray, "The club is just about having a place for people who really enjoy running, or want to get into running, to come and find other people to run with."

The club's 30 to 40 active members range from those who are competing this weekend to those who are just looking to stay active.

"One of the things that I really like about the club ... and this is true about running as a sport, is that it can be as competitive or as laid-back as you want it to be," Murray said.

While the club is helpful to serious runners training for races, it also focuses on creating a community for runners on campus. There are scheduled group runs almost every day of the week that range in distance from three to eight miles and in pace from a 7:30 mile to a nine-minute mile. Members are also encouraged to form their own runs for which they set the time, pace, and distance.

"One of the nice functions of having Road Runners and having group runs is that they really act as a springboard to meet running buddies," Murray said.

The club also has pasta parties once a semester to encourage team bonding. When speaking about the social aspect of the club, Murray said, "The running club is a really open and accepting place, and we are really welcoming to people who are star runners and people who have never run before and want to start."

Besides having a group of people to run with, the major benefit of being in Road Runners is access to New York Road Runners races. Many of these races take place in Central Park, but there are also several races that occur all over the city and in every borough. The races consist of various distances, including one mile, 5K, half-marathons, and full marathons.

Road Runners participates in a race almost every weekend, and while competition is not required, members are encouraged to take advantage of access to these races. They provide a great racing experience because, according to Murray, "they are very professional-looking and well organized."

For just 15 dollars a semester, members are able to participate in as many races as they like. That is quite a deal considering the average NYRR race costs anywhere from $25 to $35 dollars a person, while the marathon costs about $170 to enter. Though the races tend to be more about individual competition and achieving personal-bests, the club runs as a Columbia team and is supportive of all members in every race.

As mentioned, one of the most anticipated races in the world of running will be taking place this weekend. Ten members of the Columbia Road Runners will be participating Sunday after months of rigorous training.

"Marathon training is like a part-time job," Murray said. "It's pretty intense. They run anywhere from four times a week to six times a week, depending on their training style."

One of the most important aspects of marathon training, or, as Murray calls it, "the bread and butter," is the long run on the weekend. While it depends on the runner, this long run can be anywhere from 15 to 22 miles, which would take about one-and-a-half to two-and-a-half hours. The stamina built up from these long runs will be of utmost importance in the race on Sunday, which begins on Staten Island at the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and ends at Tavern on the Green in Central Park.