Cottonwood woman runs in the 26.2 mile marathon

Paige Jones of Cottonwood had a goal to complete a full marathon before she turns 40 in February. Her goal was recently accomplished when she completed the California International Marathon - a 26.2 mile race.

Jones' goal started simply as a desire to get back in shape.

"I started running at age 36 when my fourth child turned 6 months old," she explained.

Jones improved her running and continued to progress with her time and her distance. During this time, she says she developed a love for running.

"I had always been into health and fitness and even taught aerobics classes in my 20s, but I never was a long distance runner" said Jones.

Over the past year, Jones kept running consistently - four to five days a week. She was consistently completing six to seven miles each day. Jones started inserting longer runs of 10 or more miles into her training routine as time and her busy household permitted.

"I registered myself for runs throughout the year to accomplish small goals building up to the marathon scheduled at the end of 2008," said Jones.

Some of the organized running events Jones completed as part of her marathon preparation included a 10 mile running event in Redding in March, another 10 mile event in Medford, Ore., in April, a half marathon in Ashland in August, and finally an 18 mile event at Whiskeytown Lake in October.

Including organized running events in your marathon training gives you the opportunity to run in crowds and to work on some of those pre-race jitters, she said.

In December, Jones completed the California International Marathon, a race of 26.2 miles. Jones started in the town of Folsom and ran through Orangevale, Citrus Heights, Fair Oaks, Carmichael, and ended at the state capitol in Sacramento.

Jones said she is very goal oriented and likes to have specific goals in place. Three days after the marathon, Jones told herself "I could do that again." Jones plans on improving her time and completing some "runs for fun" events in 2009.

According to California International Marathon organizers, 6,000 people ran the 2008 marathon and 60 percent of the participants were from out of the area, including people from all 50 states and from 17 countries. Runners from Kenya, Ethiopia, the Ukraine, Russia, and the United States participated side by side, running along the historic and original gold miner's route.

In the current economic climate, running and/or walking are inexpensive ways to get fit. More and more, people are donning their athletic shoes and getting themselves moving.

The full marathon course is 26.2 miles and the half marathon is 13.1 miles. Most marathon events also have additional distances available such as short fun runs, kids runs, 10K (kilometers), to name a few. For those not up to the full marathon, many events include a marathon relay where participants run between 5 miles and 7 miles each to make up the 26.2 miles. This is a great way to get the marathon experience if you are not ready for the entire distance. Some marathons also have a special wheelchair division for wheelchair athletes. Marathons often include a pasta feed, health expo and other fun events making marathons a weekend of fun for the whole family.

Some marathons are primarily focused on runners but allow walkers, while others support walkers and cater to their unique needs. Examples of walker-friendly marathons are the Portland Marathon in October and the Eugene Marathon in May. The Portland marathon has been called the "walker friendliest marathon" because their course stays open for 8 hours, allowing walkers equal recognition at the end of their event. Marathon courses often include live music and various entertainers along the way to ease mental fatigue.

Marathons close to home include the California International Marathon in the Sacramento area each December and the Redding Marathon held in January.

The marathon buzz is growing in the North State and, according to marathonguide.com, 40.4 percent of all marathon finishers for 2008 were female, the largest percentage ever.

Jones says the local running club, called SWEAT, is a great place to get more information on running. SWEAT holds numerous running events and members participate in training runs and social activities. More information about SWEAT can be found at www.sweatrc.com.