David Carruthers

I Am Because I Run I Run Because I Am

I am now in week 12 of my 20 week build up to running the Lewis and Clark marathon on Sunday 14th September. Running is a daily event for me now and on rest days my well being and general feel good factor is different, I miss the high from exercise, the freedom, the feeling of competition with myself, the weather and the clock.

My first marathon attempt (Go St Louis April 2008) was all about getting over the finish line and helping some well deserving charities. The race in September is for me. It is about how hard I can push myself and what time I can achieve. I have always been known for setting ambitious goals and this event is no different!! It is my aim to run the marathon in under 03:00:00, yes under 3 hours. My hard training preparations are designed to get me under 3 hours and if I can stay healthy for the next 8 weeks and I get cool weather on race day I am in with a chance of succeeding. The Lewis and Clark course is a relatively flat one, good fast times are attainable, so fingers crossed.

My training schedule is going very well and on target. I ran in a one mile road race on July 4th finishing in a very respectable 05:18:00 and 2nd in my age category. I have reduced my 10K time to 42:19:00 from the first 10K I ran 2 weeks after the St Louis Marathon which was in 49:02:00 So the increased training intensity, mileage and the ST Louis summer humidity and heat are paying dividends.

My physical condition continues to evolve, see above. It just proves that there is always a silver lining to every dark cloud.

So with 8 weeks hard work and around another 500 miles to go before September 14th I am running stronger and I am more focused than ever.


David Carruthers 10th July 2008