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We spoke to the creator of the viral no-training marathon video

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I've never run a marathon.

I don't plan on running a marathon. It's not on my wish list. I don't feel a twinge of envy when I see the 26.2 bumper sticker proudly displayed on the back of the car in front of me at the stoplight. Personally, I'm fine. Still, I love breathtaking feats of human endurance, though other People reach them.

So I was intrigued when a friend sent me a TikTok showing two women arriving at the 2024 Chicago Marathon with, as the text superimposed on the video explains, “no workout, no breakfast, no sleep, none.” Headphones, no battery and no sense.”

I sat rapt for over five minutes, watching Jaryn Garner and Paula Hughes check in mile after mile, their legs giving out but somehow still smiling, laughing and joking well into the back half of the marathon.

@pjpaula044 my legs are still buzzing 😂 #chicagomarathon #chicago #marathon #pov #firsttiktok #runner #athlete #nike #@Jaryn Garner ♬ Original sound – pjpaula04

The biggest headline from this year's Chicago Marathon was Ruth Chepngetich's dizzyingly fast new women's record of 2:09:56. However, the TikTok is also pretty good and I wanted to know more about why it was created.

I reached out to Garner, one of the masterminds behind the video (in which she's the one holding the phone camera and wearing the hat), to learn more about the backstory and to ask the ever-present internet question: Is what you claim in the video true? And if it's true, how did it feel afterwards?

This is what a marathon looks like with minimal training

OUTSIDE: How did it actually feel to run one of the country's most famous marathons completely unprepared? How did this come about and what was the process like?
GARNER: There was no real inspiration. The company I work for (TOGETHXR, a lifestyle brand founded by professional athletes Alex Morgan, Chloe Kim, Simone Manuel and Sue Bird) had four bib numbers for the Chicago Marathon and asked about six weeks in advance anyone would be interested. No one jumped at the idea of ​​this, Paula said [Hughes, the other woman you can see running in the video] turned to me and said, “So are we running the marathon?”…I really felt like it was a joke until it was a month later and I just kept thinking: Wow, we really do that.

We all got informational emails and Nike started sending us stuff for the marathon and then things got really serious. Beforehand, we had a Nike trainer give us a few tips (which we tried to the best of our ability) and we started running about once or twice a week, but nothing went beyond two to three miles. So not enough at all.

Your basic fitness seems… high! It doesn't seem like you can just jump off the couch and run a marathon. What does your training plan look like, marathon training? aside? Are you into distance running? Tell me a little about your backstory.
None of us are runners in the slightest. We are both former D1 athletes. Paula rowed at Syracuse University and I played basketball at the University of Virginia and finished my career at St. Joseph's University. That being said, we both hate distance running, and while we're not real homebodies, the idea of ​​running even a mile is ridiculous to both of us.

The video's caption (“My legs are still buzzing”) suggests post-race pain. Can you describe what the day and week after the race was like for your body?
The moment we crossed the finish line, we went back to a tent provided by Nike to celebrate and recover for about 20 minutes and took photos. After I got up, left the tent, and made my way to get picked up, I felt probably the worst pain I've ever felt in my lower body. I moved at a snail's pace and every step hurt from my feet all the way up to my hips. I had definitely never experienced that before. The very next day I found it difficult to walk and even crawled a little to get around.

The worst thing for me was my feet. It wasn't until nine days later that I was able to walk 100 percent pain-free, and about five days later my legs were 100 percent back.


Seriously, you need to train before your marathon

As entertaining as my conversation with Garner was, I would be remiss if I didn't talk about the very real dangers of running 26 miles without training, which builds circulatory, respiratory, muscular and mental fitness over time.

If you read the comments on the viral video, you'll see many upvoted commenters highlighting, among other health concerns, the danger of rhabdomyolysis, a condition in which muscle tissue leaks into the bloodstream after overexertion. (You can read a more detailed explanation of the dangers of running a marathon without training here.)

To get some perspective on this topic, I also reached out to my friend Kaylyn Christopher, a former NCAA All-American distance runner for West Virginia University, Boston Marathon qualifier, and current men's cross country coach Women at Fairmont State University share their perspective. She had already seen the video and said she thought it was “a brave thing to do!”

However, Christopher notes that marathons typically require focused preparation. In addition to putting in the miles to ensure your body is physically fit, you also need to consider other factors such as: B. Nutrition and hydration. Most marathon runners spend a lot of time refining their system during their training runs.

“Do you carry a portable bottle?” Is it just filled with water or maybe electrolytes? Or practice reaching for cups at water stations? Do you carry salt tablets? What about gels? Do they work with your digestive system?” says Christopher. “These are things that marathon runners try to answer through trial and error during training.”

Among her own athletes, she says, a lack of training more often leads to problems like IT band problems and shin splints.

Garner himself noted the same thing in our conversation. I asked her what she would say to people who were inspired to emulate her performance. She told me she wanted to be aware of health concerns. At the same time, she said that commenters pointed out how “we helped them feel better about their upcoming marathon, inspired them to sign up for a marathon or just start training, and that was probably more rewarding, than getting that medal at the end.”

Watch the video. Run the marathon. Just take some time to train beforehand.

This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

We spoke to the creator of the viral no-training marathon video
The author (Photo: Ryleigh Nucilli)

Despite her feelings about marathons, Ryleigh Nucilli actually ran college track and cross-country at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. When she's not writing, walking dogs, or dealing with a toddler, she's lucky enough to log a few miles a week.

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