Marathon motivation: Make your first (or 40th) race the best one yet | Provided by St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital – The Seattle Times

This year, when Terry Dell’s mouth gets dry and his knees ache on his half-marathon run, getting wrapped up in the discomfort could be a temptation. “Every part of me will hurt,” he says. But it’s a pain he can endure — when he remembers why he runs.

For kids with cancer who can’t run alongside him now, but will someday, he says. As a Mill Creek dad of four kids, he runs for anxious, overwhelmed parents of children with cancer. He runs for friends, family and co-workers who believed in Dell — and donated to his favorite charity, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, which treats children with cancer. Families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food.

This will be Dell’s second year of fundraising as a “St. Jude Hero” with the St. Jude Rock ’n’ Roll Seattle Marathon & 1/2 Marathon, which includes a 5K, half-marathon and full-marathon options looping through Seattle neighborhoods. Like other runners, Dell fundraises for months beforehand, making appeals in person and through social media.

When Seattle resident Nicole Hughes’s endurance flags, she thinks about her friends’ kids riding from room to room in red wagons— St. Jude’s playful alternative to the wheelchair. Or the cheerful staff, from janitor to oncologist, who greet every patient and parent with positivity. Hughes has run nine half-marathons (four for St. Jude) but 2019 marks her first Seattle Rock ’n’ Roll run.

Here are some tips for preparing for and running your first (or 40^th) marathon.

App ready, set, go. In the weeks before the race, Hughes uses Lolo to prepare. The app syncs your music to a workout. In training, she runs for two minutes, then walks for one — the same pace she hopes to maintain throughout. “The run/walk approach helps your body rest, so you finish strong,” she says.

Build a fan club. Hughes and Dell use their St. Jude fundraising dashboards to recruit those who will donate and cheer them on (in person, or virtually). Social media has made the pre-run fundraising a little easier, Dell says — it only takes a few minutes to post on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Dell uses Instagram to run a “Thank you Thursday,” to highlight a donor, and “Matching Monday,” to remind followers that companies with matching programs can double donations.

Run with friends. This year, Dell will run alongside another co-worker and a friend — which boosts support and community — as well as up to 15,000 marathon co-competitors. “It takes a lot of people running to reach that $300,000 target, so we’re very much a community.” (St. Jude Heroes aim to raise $300,000 in pledges for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.) On the day of the race, Dell writes the names of donors on his arms, to remind him of his community-based support. Hughes has two friends flying in from Denver, ready to get sweaty for a good cause.

Prep pre-race. The day before the event, Hughes drinks 6-8 ounces of water every 90 minutes, and eats lean protein and veggies at all three meals. “By the end of the day, I’m sloshing from so much water,” she says. “But I feel the best when I’ve done that work.” The morning of the marathon, she eats eggs and light carbs, such as toast. Before taking off, she secures an on-person water bottle in a backpack or belt. “Water is my biggest strategy,” she says.

Countdown. In previous marathons, Hughes counted steps in increments of 100, counting from 0-100, then starting over again. If she gets a bit distracted during her count, she can always start over. “That’s my go-to trick,” she says, for keeping up the pace.

Playlist = mindset. Whether listening to live bands along the route or BYOM (Bring your Own Music), runners will find music boosts performance. “Pick songs that you connect to, that take you someplace inspirational,” Dell says, “Music can keep you in the right mindset.” His own playlist is filled with hard-charging heavy metal and rock favorites.

Enjoy entertainment. The St. Jude Rock ’n’ Roll Marathon is unique in that it has its own playlist: Bands along the route play grunge, indie rock, hard rock and more. “Another good mental distraction to help me keep going,” Hughes says. She’s probably right, as research indicates music can decrease fatigue, improve endurance and lead runners to travel a greater distance.

Remember the why. “Talk to yourself about the kids,” Hughes suggests — she first ran in the 2015 St. Jude Memphis Marathon Weekend, where the course includes the Memphis-based St. Jude hospital campus, with patients (and parents) waving at runners. ”I know that if each of the patients can face something as scary as cancer, I can take one more step and run one more mile,” she says. “When I’m tired and one of the races gets hard, I think about the hard things other people are facing.”

Find your rah-rah song. Hughes has a favorite or “rah-rah” song that amps her speed and stamina, almost like a shot of adrenaline — and she has three remixed versions of the track at the ready for marathon day. Overall, she steps it up to pop hits, featuring performers like Rihanna, Bastille and Panic at the Disco.

Reframe the run. Think of the marathon as your own experience, not as a race to be won, Dell says. After all — everyone who crosses the finish line receives a medal and contributed to a common goal.

Recover smart. Immediately after the marathon wraps up, Dell starts his body’s recovery process in the hospitality tent — open to “heroes” raising $500 and a great reward, he says. There he grazes from the buffet (last year’s offered hot breakfast sandwiches), and uses a foam roller to chase off knots. But before wandering out into the post-race festival at Seattle Center, down electrolytes, carbohydrates and proteins, he suggests.

These tips might inspire others to lace up for the Rock ’n’ Roll, Dell says: “I want a million people to run and donate, but even if one more person runs and one more person donates, I’m happy.”

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food.