Distance running is a sport that has been around for millennia. As time has gone on, the sport has only grown in popularity as people from various athletic backgrounds have been picking it up. In fact, according to RunRepeat, there has been a “65% increase in running and jogging activities” since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Freshman Izzy Martin and sophomore Julie Jirik are two University of Idaho students who have immersed themselves in the world of distance running. While they only started running together this year, the two have been active runners for much longer.
“I believe I started running in seventh grade,” Martin said. “I started running with my mom in the foothills, because we had those pretty close to our house. We would go on two-mile runs, and for me that was pretty long. We worked up to longer distances. I joined the cross country team in eighth grade, and from there I just kept enjoying it!”
Jirik noted that she began to run in with her dad in elementary school. From there, she joined the cross country and track teams, where she ran the long distance events. Here at UI, Jirik doesn’t run for a team, but for fun.
Distance running, while typically seen as a “low-cost” sport due to the lack of equipment such as balls or nets, still requires some personal investments.
“Number one, you’ve got to have some good shoes,” Jirik said. “When you run a lot, you have to switch them out, so usually I use about two pairs of shoes a year. My favorites are Brooks Adrenaline. They’re good stability shoes. If you talk to somebody on the cross country team, they’ll have different shoes for different workouts, but I just have my Brooks.”
Martin also wears Brooks. During her long runs, she uses a running belt, which she packs with water and snacks. To loosen up, Martin uses a foam roller and a mini massager. Finally, she uses a Garmin Forerunner 55, a smartwatch geared towards athletes, and Strava, a social media app also designed for athletes, to track her runs.
“I like Strava because I am able to see other people’s workouts and cheer them on,” Martin said. “I also get a little endorphin boost when other people see my activities and give me Kudos, which is the Strava equivalent of an Instagram ‘like.’ I also like to use Strava because you can log a lot of activities, such as running, skiing and biking. Strava also helps you track your splits, which are your fastest times. Strava tells you your fastest mile, 5K, 10K and more. It’s all really motivating because it helps you push towards that next goal. Finally, there are Local Legends, which are the fastest logged activities in a certain area. It’s really fun to see yourself on the leaderboards!”
Jirik noted that different temperatures call for different gear. She uses hats, long-sleeved shirts, vests and coats for cold and rainy weather. For warmer weather, she uses T-shirts, shorts and sunglasses.
“You’ll also want to drink something with electrolytes when it’s warm out,” Jirik said. “I like to use Nuun because I feel like it tastes okay. I also have a CamelBak running vest that I wear in the summer when it’s really hot.”
Many runners cross-train by involving themselves with other fitness activities.
“If you don’t cross-train, you’re going to get injured,” Martin said. “This is because your body needs to build strength in other ways besides continuously pounding on the ground while running. Running is a really high-impact sport. This is why I also weightlift in the gym; it helps build my muscles and strengthen my bones so that, hopefully, I’ll be protected from future injuries. Many runners also often cross-train by biking.”
Besides lifting, Martin also enjoys yoga and acroyoga, Pilates and skiing.
“I like to incorporate other activities into my exercise routine because this allows me to find balance,” Jirik stated. She also emphasized the importance of strength training as it relates to injury prevention, and she explained that activities like stretching and yoga are important for reducing soreness and staying loose and mobile.
“I’m also in this class that meets three times a week to train via circuit workouts. It’s called Total Body Conditioning. Once a week, I swim because I feel like that’s a good, low impact activity. I also love to hike, play pickleball, rock climb and play tennis, but those aren’t regular activities, they’re just hobbies.”
All these activities, in addition to school and work, add up to quite the busy day. The runners also manage to fit relaxation into their schedules, though.
Martin explained that, to relax her mind while running, she listens to worship music and prays. Before and after her runs, she reads the Bible, further quieting her mind. When time allows, Martin likes to relax with a fun TV show and some tasty food. Finally, she noted that she prioritizes getting eight hours of sleep, as to give her body the rest it needs.
“For me, when it comes to running, it doesn’t matter how busy I am, I need to get my run in — it’s kind of non-negotiable… because it helps me release stress [and] stay mentally well and focused in school,” Jirik said. “I always run in the morning because, while you never know how the rest of the day is going to go, you always have your morning. I am also able to balance everything because staying active is part of my wellness routine, which I prioritize.”
“I always run in the morning because, while you never know how the rest of the day is going to go, you always have your morning.”
Distance running is a fluid thing; there is no one distance or amount of time that qualifies a run as a “long run.” This leads to runners coming up with their own definitions of “long runs.”
Jirik mentioned that, for her, anything above seven miles, or fifty minutes, is considered “long distance.” She noted, though, that to some who may be new to running, even just a mile could be considered long.
“For me, I’d say five miles or more is ‘long-distance,’” Martin said. “That’s when my mindset shifts when I’m running and I decide to have a certain pace, run with a certain mindset and fuel a certain way. I think that maybe, though, as my distances get longer, five will not seem as long.”
The distances started to get longer for Martin as she trained for her first half marathon, the Snake River Canyon Half Marathon, which she ran with Jirik and some mutual friends.
“I’ve wanted to run a half marathon for a couple years now because it felt like an attainable goal that my body could handle, but there was also a real challenge to it,” Martin said, reflecting on the race. “[The Snake River Canyon Half Marathon] also seemed like it was in a pretty good location near the Snake River, where it’s flat, so I didn’t have to train for a hilly half marathon. I feel like that would’ve been a step beyond what I wanted to do.”
To run the race, the women had to train. Martin chose to follow a training plan.
“I got my training plan for the half marathon from the Marathon Handbook website,” Martin said. “The plan has, for each week, one speed workout, one tempo run, one distance run, one long run, one cross-training workout, one gym workout and one rest day. However, I have not stuck to it exactly, so I have been doing, for each week, about one speed workout, one distance run, one long run and either a gym workout or a cross-training workout.”
As this was their first half marathon, the runners didn’t know what to expect from themselves.
“I feel like normally, with races I’ve ran before, I can gauge my pace better, but this is new to me,” Jirik said. “I also think it would be different if I was just running by myself, but since I’m running with the group, I think our goal is just to finish. I definitely think we can. We also don’t want to stop and walk. I feel like that’s pretty low-hanging fruit, but for the first one, we just want to get out there and do it.”
Martin agreed with Jirik, explaining that her goal was also just to finish.
Running, while known to be physically difficult, also tends to be mentally difficult. However, these two tough runners have some experience overcoming mental challenges such as a lack of motivation.
“One thing that motivates me is the mental freedom I experience from being out there and having a quiet time to myself,” Martin said. “Another thing that motivates me is being able to be so proud of what my body can do. I think pushing my body in that way is something that has always been a natural inclination for me, and even though it’s hard, it’s almost like something in me needs to do it. I also think the community of people I’ve met here at UI has also made running motivating because we’re not on this journey alone anymore. I know for my early morning run I just have to get up and do it, because there are other people out there.”
“I think pushing my body in that way is something that has always been a natural inclination for me, and even though it’s hard, it’s almost like something in me needs to do it.”
Motivation also intertwines with runners’ training plans. Jirik explained that, while she runs even when she is not particularly motivated, encouragement from peers always helps. And, as the half marathon training cycle started around the beginning of the year, a time when self-improvement is at an all-time high, there was plenty of encouragement to be found. On top of the encouragement from others, the continuously-improving weather was also encouraging.
Jirik was also motivated to run because of the newfound structure the plan added to her workouts.
“I was thinking, how do you run without training, run without purpose?” Jirik said. “I think it’s great to be able to run without training, or for a purpose, but I feel like having the structure of a training plan can be really helpful.”
Finally, the runners are motivated by the joy and peace the sport brings to their lives.
“I feel like [running] really helps my mental health; it helps me start my day off good and feeling strong,” Jirik said. “I love getting outside and exploring nature. My favorite thing is running with people and being able to catch up with friends!”