Marathon running - in your genes?

ameliaannakin

I've just come across the below story on today's Daily Mail website...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2308940/Marathon-running-Its-genes-How-fifth-lack-right-make-compete-long-distances.html

I know that the Daily Mail talks a lot of rubbish and I think this is one of them but I was just wondering how many people might be put off running by this?

The reason I ask is that this time last year I would have read this and been determined that I was one of these people - noone in my family runs, apart from my stepdad which is why I started - and at that time I couldn't run for more than three minutes without hyperventilating, however I have been training and this weekend I ran 13 miles and I am signed up to do a marathon in October showing you can do it! Anybody got any other good, positive stories to encourage people to get running who might be put off by an article such as this?

FP4HSharon

There really isn't enough info about the research to comment on it or make it definitive. They just talk about their results, but not the number of people in the study (less than 1000 isn't really a very good sampling for conclusive results), and not how they conducted the research. These things can make a big difference, & I've seen news stories that took one little thing from a study, twisted it, & turned it into a big news story. Then WEEKS later...POSSIBLY a minor retraction somewhere.

On endurance training, most endurance athletes will tell you it is more of a mental thing that anything else. Just having the will power not to stop when you feel like you can't go any more. Yes, preparatory training for a race is necessary, but the mental attitude usually determines whether you finish or not. One of the past major competitors in the 12 day endurance bike race, "Race Across America," was asked what the difference was between a finisher & a DNF (Did Not Finish)...he merely tapped his finger against his head. There are lots of stories of people in survival situations who did things that others said were impossible. Yet they did them.

That said, I think anyone who has the mental attitude to complete a marathon, isn't the kind of person who will let an article like this stop them. It might even challenge them to prove it wrong.

Watch this video, I think it'll sum up what I said better than I did, it's just a couple of minutes long & I think it'll inspire you. ;-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiSwpugVLIM