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by Grace Sly

BAM! The sound of the gun startled STA junior Heather Cigas as she waited for her teammates by the bathrooms of Shawnee Mission Park. Looking toward the sound of the shot, she saw a crowd of runners lunging forward past the starting line.

Frantically, Cigas and her group sprinted toward the trail, passing by the slower participants, and began the 13.1 mile trek around the park.

Cigas, joined by STA seniors Sarah Schwartz and Sarah Vickery, junior Cecilia Butler and sophomores Caroline Angles and Anna Bauman, ran these 13.1 miles as part of the sixth annual Pilgrim Pacer Half-Marathon on Nov. 10.

“We all thought it was a cool thing to do,” Bauman said. “Especially after cross country season.”

All of the STA runners were participants of the JV cross country team this past fall.

“We thought it would be easier to run right after cross country season because we are already in shape,” Cigas said. “When [cross country] ended, we kept on training.”

Training included running four days a week, about five miles each day. On the Monday before the Pacer, the girls ran 11 miles, from St. Teresa’s to Rockhurst High School and back. This gave them some confidence for the upcoming event.

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“I’m kind of a little scared for the actual marathon but we’ve been training for a while so we should be good.” said Cigas the Thursday before the Pacer.

Her goal for the half marathon wasn’t for a time or rank but to complete it as the athletes had never run the distance in training.

A pasta party was planned for the night before and homemade t-shirts were painted at Cigas’ house.

“[Cigas, Butler and I] made t-shirts that said ‘Currently Doing It’ (in reference to the Nike Corporation logo ‘Just Do It.’),” Bauman said. “It took a long time but was worth it because we all had awesome matching shirts.”

These shirts stood out in a crowd of over three hundred runners participating in either the marathon (26.2 miles), half-marathon (13.1 miles), 10-kilometer (6.2 miles), or 5-kilometer (3.1 miles).

The cross country team paced themselves, preserving energy for the long treck. As they passed the first water station, a group fans made of parents and friends cheered them on with homemade signs.

According to Bauman, she, Cigas, Schwartz, Vickery, Butler and Angles chatted while they ran to keep energy high and spirits strong.

Towards the end of the race, the exhaustion began to affect a few of the runners who slowed. The group split as two of the other girls rushed ahead.

However, before reaching the end of the track, the six students realigned and crossed the finish line.Together.

According to Pilgrim Pacer Run Results page, every STA participant finished in 2 hours, 25 minutes and 38 seconds.

After crossing the finish line, the girls were handed large bronze medals from race worker reading “Pilgrim Pacer Half-Marathon” in celebration of their participation.

Pumpkin pie was handed out to grateful runners, and according to Bauman, a feeling of relief and accomplishment filled the air as the girls sprawled across the ground.

A delicious ending to a great race.

When all was said and done, Angles reflected on her experience, “It was difficult but fun,” she said. “The last three miles were painful, but after I ran across the finish line, I felt great.”

Bauman felt she had learned perseverance by participating in the run. She learned that through hard work, one can achieve anything.

Cigas agreed, adding, “I was laughing when I crossed. I was so proud of us and, honestly, couldn’t wait for the pie.”

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How to Train for a Half- Marathon

According to Runner’s World, the first step is to decide to run one. This may is easier said than done. Persistence is key.

12- Week Program:

Mondays– reserved for rest days and important for recovery and injury prevention.

Tuesdays– run at comfortable pace short distance (about 2-3 miles) and focus on finishing, not speed; by week five increase to 4 miles

Wednesdays– run longer and harder than previous day (4 miles increased to 6 by week 9)

Thursdays– run shorter distance, about same as Tuesday

Fridays– Rest day: “relaxing” exercise; elliptical or cycling

Saturdays– 3-4 miles at increased speed

Sundays– long run and focus should be on completing the distance, not speed. 4 miles for week one increased to 7 miles by week five and, 12 miles by week 10, and finally 13.1 miles on the final week 12.

Weeks 1 through 3 should be relatively low-impact and at a comfortable pace and effort should be toward finishing the distance, not time. Weeks 4-16 should have increased distance (Sunday’s run should increase at least a mile every week) and a few timed runs (but not an extensive amount).

Remember:

Drink water– hydration is a key component to keep the body healthy and able to exert as much energy as possible without causing injury to the body.

Rest days are important- days of little or no exercise are important because they allow energy storage and repairs damaged muscle tissues. According to active.com, runners should schedule rest days at least three times a week (preferably every other day.)

Warm ups– warm ups (short exercises before an athletic events) help prevent injury and should be performed before any run. Warm ups reduces chance of injury and allows oxygen into muscles, preventing shortness of breath.

Stretching– stretching helps loosen and lengthen muscles. Stretches should be performed after a short 5-10 minute warm up as stretching “cold” muscles can lead to tearing and strains.

Carb load– it is suggested runners eat mainly carbs the night before a race (includes pasta, bread, rice) for energy boosts but food consumption should be minimal (it takes 36 hours for food to be processed enough for usage in a race).

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