Editorial note: Last week we talked about the Abbott World Marathon Majors Series. This week, my friend Starr Davis tells her account of achieving the milestone despite some physical problems she encountered along her journey.
For me, 2018 was the year of comebacks. In October 2017, I began having hip issues. Surgery was recommended to remove a bone spur and repair/replace the labrum. My surgeon and I decided because I had amazing marathons ahead of me, we would postpone surgery until after I finished them. Then, he would be able to repair any additional damage. We werenât sure if this would end my running career. From October through December 2017, I ran the Chicago, Marine Corps, Berlin and Havana marathons, plus a 50K Ultra Marathon.
Starr at the iconic finish line of the Berlin Marathon.
Still postponing surgery, in April 2018, I was able to complete both the Boston and London Marathons. Boston was a challenge as temperatures were in the 30âs with constant rain. I wound up in 11 medical tents with hypothermia symptoms. However, because I had raised $6500 for charity from friends and I knew this was my one opportunity to do Boston, I finished the race.
Six days later, I ran the London marathon. The temperature was in the 80s. Between the contrast in weather and my hip, I wound up walking the marathon from mile 8. But I was totally overjoyed to complete two races in 6 days.
Three weeks later, I had hip surgery. I was truly fortunate that it was not as major as anticipatedâthe labrum wasnât torn but had a bone spur sticking out of it that was labor intensive to remove. Of course, when I woke up, my first question was âwhen can I run?â I had been offered a sponsorship race entry to the NYC Marathon in November, and I really wanted to do it. I was told that running it would be impossible, but I should be able to walk it.
Receiving the coveted Six Starr medal after finishing Tokyo in 2019
Twenty-four weeks after surgery, I was able to walk the NYC marathon. My body had done so much better than I expected. There were hours and hours of therapy and minimal training. I feel so blessed to have been able to have the âperfectâ conditions. I was joking with doctors that Boston was too cold and wet; London was too hot and finally, New York was âjust right.â He has now nicknamed me âGoldilocks.â
I ran the Tokyo Marathon just March 3rd of this year, and it was epic, albeit miserable race conditions. It was 43 degrees with constant rainâbut it was 8 degrees warmer than Boston and rain was coming straight down instead of at an angle.
Letâs focus on the good things. After Tokyo, I became an Abbott World Marathon Majors Six Star Finisher. What does that mean? I am one of 4,989 people in the world who have successfully completed the six major world marathons: Berlin, Chicago, New York, Boston, London and Tokyo. Of these finishers, 1,376 are women and 929 are from the USA. Iâm so over the moon that I was able to successfully complete this, especially as a 50-year old who overcame crazy health challenges.
That stretch of 19 months of running was amazing for meâtheyâve given me the opportunity to meet amazing new people, travel to great locations and most importantly, change my attitude of what can be accomplished. I have changed my eating habits and developed a better relationship with myself. Itâs amazing what running some miles can do for you.
Starr Davis is a lifelong educator who has a passion for helping others grow in their career. She earned the coveted Six-Starr medal in 2019. She lives in South Florida and is a newly retired marathon runner.
Most of my readers may already know about the Abbott World Marathon Majors Series. After all, if you are reading this, most likely you are a runner and may have even completed at least one of the races, if not more. But for those who donât know about it, or just would like to refresh their knowledge on the subject, I am hereby writing this quick blogpost.
The Abbott World Marathon Majors was established in 2006 with the five, highest-profile races in the globe: New York City, Berlin, Boston, London, Chicago, Then, in 2013, the Tokyo Marathon was added. It is a championship-style group of races in which the Marathon World Championship is awarded. Each series consists on seven races, starting and ending with the same race and then moving on to the next one. The series also includes the Olympic Marathon and the IAAF World Championship on the years those take place. The last completed series was the XII, which started in Berlin 2018 and finished in Berlin 2019. Series XIII has been crippled by Boston going virtual, Berlin and New York cancelled, and London hanging by a thread. Not sure what will the World Marathon majors do about it.
Abbott Laboratories is the title sponsor for the World Marathon Majors Series
The 12 Abbott World Marathon Major Series have been won 11 times by a Kenyan and one by an Ethiopian on the menâs side, and 8 times by a Kenyan, three by a German and one by and Ethiopian on a Womenâs side. The current champions are Eliud Kipchoge and his compatriot Brigid Kosegi on the female side. Five runners have won more than one series, with Kipchoge leading the way with four.
But 99.9% of the runners will never, ever get close to scoring a single point on the Abbott World Marathon Major rankings, so what is it in it for them? Abbott has developed a successful marketing campaign in which by crossing the line of any of their runs, you earn what is known as âa starâ. Once you complete all six, then you earn the âThe Six-Star Medalâ, a commemorative piece to memorialize your cumulative achievement. It is one of the most coveted medals in the sport, since it is something you canât purchase, and it requires an immense investment of time, effort, and money.
Obtaining the Six-Star medal is not about just having the resources to travel to all six destinations or being physically able to complete six marathons. Marathoning has become so popular in the last decade and the Abbott World Marathon Major Series has become so big, that securing a spot in the races is usually the first obstacle for may runners. For Boston you need to qualify and only the faster times get to the starting line, unless you raise funds for charity, which has challenges of its own. London is extremely popular and hitting that lottery could be as difficult as hitting the Power Ball. For New York, Tokyo and Chicago, there are usually over 100 wanna-runs for each spot available. It is said the âeasiestâ lottery to hit is Berlin, but if that is the perception, more and more runners will gravitate towards that one, making it tougher to hit a spot.
Having earned the Six-Star medal usually makes you a celebrity in your local running community. Fellow runners want to take pictures with you and your medals. It is a cool think to have in your hand. A friend of mine got hers and brought it to our local running store. You feel like you are holding an Olympic medal. It is that cool.
Next week I will post the experience of an actual Six-Star Medal member, Starr Davis, who overcame a series of physical obstacles to earn her medal. Hopefully, you will earn yours, soon and tell us all about it.
For more information on the Abbott World Marathon Majors Series, visit their website by clicking here.
These are the six World Marathon Majors. How many Stars do you have so far?
Book Author: Martin Dugard Review by Coach Adolfo Salgueiro
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As soon as I heard about the author of this book, I knew the name sounded familiar. I checked my book log and yes, back in 2004 I read his New York Times bestseller âInto Africaâ, about the epic adventures of Explorer Dr. David Livingstone and his search for the source of the Nile back in 1866, and Henry Morton Stanleyâs quest to find him after two years of silence. This was his first of multiple NYT bestsellers. A great book, but this is not what this post is all about.
The author is a well-known writer; accomplished, lifelong runner and successful high school coach. According to the book, he has run a 2:41 marathon and in Athlinks.com you can see a 3:05 in New York back in 1993. He run in High school, college and kept alive his love for the sport despite a few hiatuses here and there when life got on the way. He has also participated in triathlons, adventure racing, Spartans and multiple other competitions.
The book is structured in nine sections, each one with three, four or five small essays touching on an experience, a thought, a goal or just rambling about whatever. Each essay is no more than five or six pages so even if you are not an avid reader, you can go through the book with ease and really enjoy it.
From running with the bulls in Pamplona, to high school running meetings and from adventure racing to getting back into shape or breaking a personal best; there is a chapter here for everyone. As an accomplish writer, Dugard has many amazing running quotes in this book. If you have followed my Instagram feed, @foultips, you have appreciated my love running quotes. I lifted more than a handful of the from this book, which you will find at the bottom of this writing.
I highly recommend âTo Be a Runnerâ. It is worth the time and the money. My only suggestion is to read just one chapter a day, takin your time to enjoy it, digest it and feel empathy for the thought conveyed. I made the mistake of reading it during the quarantine, so I rushed through it and did not get the most out of it. So it is back in the âto readâ pile for a second round.
The Miami Marathon and Half Marathon were run last Sunday, February 9th, in Downtown and its surrounding areas. Despite more than a few personal bumps in the road during last year, I was able to keep my streak alive and completed my 9th consecutive Miami half in an irrelevant time. But I still had one of the best days of my running life, as the two runners I trained for the full marathon not only set, but crushed, their PRs by 10 ½ and 11 minutes.
Jhon H, 49, trained very hard to bring his PR down to 3:36:42, an 11-minute improvement from his best previous result, set in this same race back in 2018 (3:47:42). His main issue in his previous marathons had always been the last few miles. Cramping, exhaustion and doubts were creeping in as the dreaded wall approached. So, we set a different program for him. We used the Hansons Brothers method so he could be stronger at the end. After working diligently on his program, he got stronger as he progressed and not only had a negative split but his last 10K were the fastest in the entire race. As he turns 50 next year, I am sure a 3:25 BQ is perfectly achievable.
Yolmer G (42) also set a massive PR with a 3:43:36. Despite an irregular last month of training when life got on the way, not only he improved 10:30 from his New York 2019 finish (3:54:06), but he also bettered his register from his first marathon, which was this same Miami, just last year by 32:55 (4:16:31). And his best race is yet to come. A BQ of 3:15 for his age group is attainable.
As a coach, you canât ask for better than these two athletes, which in the process have also become close friends. I canât wait to see what is next for them. I look forward to working with them.
If you want to take your running to the next level, make sure to contact me via foultips.running@gmail.com to asses your goals and get going.
âI ended up with a massive new PR and a finish time of 3:36:42. I was so full of emotion as I crossed the finish line that I could not contain my tears of joy and accomplishment.â
On November 18, 2019, I started training with coach [Adolfo] Salgueiro. I approached him expressing my desire to train with the goal of increasing my running speed and try to qualify to the Boston Marathon. His response was, âyes, we can increase your speed, absolutely. But we don’t have much time to train because the Miami marathon is very close.â He prepared a 12-week training plan with the Hansons Method, which I had never heard of before. I was skeptical because I was accustomed to running at a 9:00 to 9:30 minute/mile pace, and I said to myself, “I will not be able to reach that speed because I am too old and my knee will not respond.â
When I received my training plan for the first 4 weeks, I saw the speed metrics that Coach Salgueiro prepared for me, and immediately my self-doubt kicked in and said this was too fast for my ability. But I also decided to do my best to meet Coachâs speed targets for me, to trust the Coach and embrace the training program that he designed for me.
Tuesdays soon became my favorite training day because I did track, with speed goals from 7:30 pace to 8:00 pace. Since I donât have access to a track where I live, I improvised a 400-meter training loop in a local parking lot. Coach was always aware of my training, monitoring my progress through Strava, and he was very willing to correct me and happy to answer any questions so I could reach my full training potential. With this plan, my long-distance runs were set for two consecutive days, teaching me to run on tired legs and keeping me on pace for the marathon. I found this new training style perfect for me.
But with just 2 weeks before the marathon (February 9, 2020), I had a problem with the back of my left knee. I donât know what it was, but it was painful, and it prevented me from continuing with my training. I felt frustrated and defeated. I talked to Coach, and he suggested resting days with care at home, raising my knee, putting ice on it and using the foam roller. We also talked about what other options I might have and whether I should postpone running the marathon. After more than a week of rest, ice and rolling, I tried running again, a mere five days before the marathon. Thank God I felt no pain! I felt strong, and so we continued to plan for my marathon.
On the day of the marathon, Coach gave me his final training instructions: take it slow at the start, do not weave around runners, and if you feel strong enough keep on going, pick up the pace. Since I wanted to try to do negative splits to conserve my energy at the start and to comply with Coachâs race plan, I was especially thankful for my friend Ray, who traveled from Minnesota to Miami to be able to run the marathon with me. Ray helped me a lot in the first 8 miles, monitoring my pacing, keeping me focused on not going out too fast, and staying confident. Together, we did so, and it was a fantastic experience for me because all the hard work that I put in following Coachâs training worked just as it was designed to do.
Taking Coach’s instructions and conserving my energy for the last miles of the marathon was exactly the right race plan for me. And to my great surprise and delight, I ended up with a massive new PR and a finish time of 3:36:42. I was so full of emotion as I crossed the finish line that I could not contain my tears of joy and accomplishment. Yay! I fully trusted coach Salgueiro, and now I can’t wait to train with him again to help me attain that now much closer BQ time.
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