ONE STEP AT A TIME

It takes a special kind of athlete to weather the physical and mental challenges of a half or a full marathon. It takes even more dedication to continue to train through a long North Dakota winter.

Three local women who are planning to run in The Fargo Marathon races on May 10 share how they keep their lives balanced during training and keep their minds focused on marathon day.

A Blend of Passion and Discipline

Shanna Gratton Demke is a Software Implementer Specialist at Intelligent InSites in Fargo who recently moved to West Fargo with her husband Will. She caught the running bug in 2010 when she ran the TC 1 Mile Race in Minneapolis as a team-building exercise with colleagues from her previous workplace. “That started kind of a love affair with summer early morning runs and race days,” she said.

Gratton Demke, who will run the half marathon for the North Dakota Leadership Seminar GoFar Charity team, is already in the thick of training. She took a few months off and then ramped up training at the end of last year, with a goal of running a 5K in 35 minutes or less.

“That puts me at a good base to be able to ramp up training in mid-January,” she said. “Besides running, I’ll do spin and yoga for cardio and injury prevention. As soon as things warm up in the spring, I’m hitting all the West Fargo walking/biking trails I can. Being outside is really where I like to run the most.”

North Dakota’s extreme weather – and longer periods of darkness – make outdoor running risky in winter, so runners must be creative and flexible.

“Once October passes, I do an occasional run outside, but it’s finding an indoor substitute that is challenging,” said Gratton Demke. “As long as I can do other high-cardio activities, winter training is usually pretty smooth.”

Shelly Johnson and Charlie Sayers are training partners, personal trainers and group fitness instructors at Xtreme Measures in Fargo. (Sayers also works as a fitness instructor at Fargo’s Snap Fitness.) Their work affords them an indoor space and a variety of fitness activities to shake up their training routine.

“I teach group fitness classes five times a week, so at least I get those runs in during the week,” said Johnson, a resident of West Fargo. “Ideally, I wanted to get in three shorter runs and a long run on the weekend.”

Last year the pair increased the length of their runs as their training progressed and they plan to do the same this year. They try to run outside as much as possible, regardless of the weather.

“We trained mostly in the Fargo, Moorhead, West Fargo area,” Sayers said. “Most of the long runs were done on the weekend with a gradual increase in miles, from 12 to 22. I’m pretty sure we saw nearly every street, bike path and gas station bathroom in the F-M area while training!”

Sayers and Johnson admit winter running can be difficult, but say summer poses its own challenges in North Dakota.

“The heat in the summer elevates your heart rate, so you need to take it slower, and make sure you have lots of water with you,” said Johnson. “Winter running is better for me as far as temp, but you do need to watch the terrain with ice, snow, non-shoveled sidewalks and that darn wind!”

“Summer or winter, in this area, you’re going to have to deal with extreme weather regardless,” agreed Sayers. “We ran 18 miles in nearly 100 degrees this summer, and I’ve run long runs in negative weather as well.”

Developing Mental Toughness

The changing terrain and conditions help develop the mental toughness and focus a marathon runner needs.

“Once you get to race day, it takes some determination and a lot of heart, but the training up to race day takes a lot of physical and mental toughness,” said Sayers. “Without the cheers of a crowd, or the adrenaline of the race, it can make some of those long runs pretty miserable. We tried to find different training routes to keep our minds fresh, and to allow us to focus on things other than just the pain of training.”

Sayers, who balances her training and work at Xtreme Measures with a day job as a closing agent at Northern Title and a home life in Fargo with her husband Garth, certainly knows a few things about focus.

“At times, especially in the thick of the really long runs, it seems that from the moment you get done running your long run the week before, to the minute you are done with the next long run, running was all I thought about,” she said. She’s currently debating whether to run a full or half marathon in Fargo this spring.

Finding a Balance

Both Sayers and Gratton Demke report that running can be so addictive that their husbands sometimes have to remind them to take a step back.

Johnson, who started running with a 5K running group in 2008, and plans to run the full marathon in Fargo this year, can identify with this all-consuming passion. “I didn’t go out on the town for months,” she laughed. “You are either running, recovering or preparing for your next long run.”

To strike a balance, she’s found a way to integrate training into her social calendar.

“I always train with my best friends, so we do get to socialize for hours on end on weekends,” said Johnson. “I found I missed them so much when the marathon was over.”

All three women were empathetic that the challenges of training can be just as rewarding as crossing the finish line on race day.

“Training is a part-time job,” said Johnson, “But during the race, remember to take it a mile at a time and enjoy! I’m not a fast runner at all but I sure do like to chat with my best friends beside me and even dance a little!”

“You’re going to have great training runs, you are going to have horrible training runs,” she continued. “Just keep doing it -- it will be worth it in the end.” [AWM]