Some of Bowdoin's most avid athletes are not competing on varsity teams. Instead, they are busy training for and running marathons.
Rachel Munzig '10 has run a handful of 5Ks, participated in the San Francisco half marathon the past two summers, ran a full marathon in Philadelphia last fall and completed the Maine Marathon on October 4 in Portland. She has never participated in a varsity sport at Bowdoin.
"I played team sports pretty competitively my whole life until I got to Bowdoin, which is when I think running became an even bigger part of who I am," said Munzig. "I never enjoyed the competitiveness of running and am much happier just doing it on my own time and at my own pace."
According to Munzig, she has always loved running because it offers her a chance to clear her mind and is something she does "for [herself] that is [her] own." Munzig said that being in a family full of marathon runners motivates her to compete as well.
"My mom has run 13 marathons and my sister has run two, so I've kind of always been surrounded by runners and always wanted to run a marathon myself," Munzig said.
Munzig describes her training program for the marathons as a "cram" program loosely based off of programs she found online.
"For the Maine Marathon, my first long run was seven [miles], then 10, then 15, then 20, then the race. I gave myself more time to train for the Philadelphia run," she said.
Munzig said the conditions for the Maine Marathon were ideal.
"Running the Maine Marathon was pretty amazing," said Munzig. "The weather was great, and half of the race was winding through these beautiful neighborhoods with the fall leaves everywhere and families on the street cheering you on."
Birgitta Polson '09 ran the Maine Half Marathon, and she has completed the Camden 10K and Beach to Beacon races three times each. She said the Maine Half Marathon held particular significance for her because it was her first half marathon and marked her running comeback after a serious injury.
"I had retrocalcaneal bursitis, which is a heel injury and the first legitimate running injury I had ever had," said Polson. "I couldn't really run for about four months, which was a huge bummer and helped me appreciate running so much more."
Polson said she trained for the race by following a nine-week program that she got off of runnersworld.com, which included running four times a week in conjunction with cross-training for a total of up to 33 miles of running a week.
"After all that training, I finished the half marathon in one hour and 45 minutes, so an average of eight-minute miles, which was my goal," said Polson. "I just ran and had fun and that was it. And I didn't really feel any pain until I stopped, and then I had trouble walking for a while."
Amelia Lanier '10, who ran track and cross country in high school, and Molly Randall '10, who competed in cross country, track and lacrosse in high school, decided to run the Maine Half Marathon last spring and trained separately throughout the summer.
"To me, the most incredible part about running marathons is having a goal and setting out to accomplish it," said Randall. "It gives you this goal that is so personal and different from just working to get the ball in the back of the net."
"Finishing a marathon is definitely empowering," added Lanier.
Lanier and Randall said they found the Maine Marathon course, which loops around Black Cove Bay, "perfect," and they hope to complete a half marathon in the spring and a full marathon at some point in the future.
Elisa Gutierrez '10 plans to join Randall and Lanier in the half marathon this spring before running the Chicago Marathon for the second time on October 12, 2009. This year, Gutierrez "ran-walked" the Chicago Marathon with her family, including her dad, three sisters and two brothers.
Gutierrez, who ran cross country and track in high school, said her father has always been a big runner and inspired the rest of the family to "slowly come around" to doing the marathon together. She said that training for and completing the Chicago marathon was meaningful because her entire family worked toward the goal together and was able to run in their home city of Chicago.
"It's really great to be able to say that I did it, and it was great running with my family and in Chicago," Gutierrez said. "My mom insisted that we all start the race holding hands."
According to Gutierrez, the race started and ended in Grant Park and passed through many distinct neighborhoods, giving the experience a strong cultural feel that other courses might not have.
"Chicago is a really great city to run a marathon in, because so many groups come together," said Gutierrez. "There were millions of people watching us and cheering?it was a great feeling."
Cory Elowe '10 ran his first marathon in his home state of Maine after reading Dean Karnazes' book, "Ultra Marathon Man". He was so inspired by the book that he ran alongside the author when Karnazes ventured to Portland during his "50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days" tour.
"The marathon was right before cross-country regionals my senior year [of high school], so my coach wasn't too happy with me," said Elowe, who joined cross country is sophomore year of high school to stay in shape for lacrosse. "That experience is what really got me hooked on long-distance."
Since that day, running has become a huge focus of Elowe's life, and he runs daily, using marathon-length runs as training for ultramarathons (courses longer than 26 miles). Among other races, Elowe has completed the Pineland Farms 50K Challenge in New Gloucester, Maine, in May of this year, and he ran a 50-mile course around Simpson's Point on October 18.
Elowe's hardest training week before the Simpson's Point run included running a minimum of 12 miles Monday through Wednesday and runs of up to 35 miles on both Friday and Saturday. He would take Sunday off. According to Elowe, he tapered his training so that he was only running 50 miles a week just before the race.
"The course took about seven-and-a-half hours and was hard but a total blast," said Elowe of the Simpson's Point run. "Only 10 of us finished, but I met a lot of people throughout the race and had a really enjoyable time."
According to Elowe, ultramarathon running has a specific appeal to him because it provides a special outlet for his introverted nature.
"Running, especially ultramarathons, is a way for me to let out my introverted side," he said. "It's also about enjoying the experience, pushing your own physical limits, and enduring the ups and downs of doubt and pain during the run."
For Elowe, as for the other runners, running has become more than a way to stay fit. It has become a crucial component of life that he cannot imagine doing without.
"Running satisfies an addiction, it helps keep me healthy, gives me energy and vitality and helps me concentrate while also helping me to cope emotionally," said Elowe. "I've realized over time that I absolutely need running."