{"id":64077,"date":"2025-12-22T09:50:34","date_gmt":"2025-12-22T14:50:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/?p=64077"},"modified":"2025-12-22T09:50:35","modified_gmt":"2025-12-22T14:50:35","slug":"pfitzinger-running","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/pfitzinger-running\/","title":{"rendered":"Want to Start Running in 2026? A Big Red Olympian Has Tips!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The author of Advanced Marathoning<\/em> offers insights into going the distance\u2014or just getting off the couch<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Beth Saulnier<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

At the 1984 and 1988 Olympic marathons, the top American finisher was an athlete who\u2019d previously run for the Big Red. An alum of the cross country and track teams who was a three-time Ivy champion, Pete Pfitzinger \u201979, MBA \u201982, went on to an impressive running career. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a marathoner, he came in first at the 1984 U.S. Olympic trials, twice won the San Francisco race\u2014boasting a personal best time of 2:11:43<\/em><\/em>\u2014and placed third in NYC in 1987.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1984, <\/em>Track & Field News ranked Pfitzinger the top American marathoner. <\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

\"Pete<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He went back to school to earn a master\u2019s in exercise physiology from UMass in his late 30s, and for a decade wrote a column on training for <\/em>Running Times.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In July 2025, the fitness publisher Human Kinetics released the fourth edition of Pfitzinger\u2019s coauthored book,<\/em> Advanced Marathoning<\/a>. Zooming with him at his home in New Zealand, <\/em>Cornellians tapped the CALS grad for advice for fellow alums who want to tackle the 26.2 mile race\u2014or may just be thinking about getting off the couch in the new year.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you always been a runner?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I started in eighth or ninth grade. I went out for the track team and enjoyed it. And the more of the right kinds of training I did, the better I got\u2014but I was also learning, how does the body really work? How do you improve?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The<\/figure>
\n

Can anyone be a runner?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Running a marathon, probably not\u2014because it\u2019s such a long distance, and some people will just get injured too often; for whatever reason, their makeup is such that they\u2019re not able to handle that kind of distance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But yes, almost anyone can try running, and I would encourage it. It\u2019s a wonderful thing, and running and walking is a great way to exercise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s a good way to get started?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You run for a couple of minutes, then walk for a minute, then run for a couple minutes; as you get fitter, you can fool around with those proportions.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you achieve the goal of running for a mile, it\u2019s very motivating. And then maybe the next goal is a mile and a half, then two miles. Running is hard work; if you can do two miles after a few months, that\u2019s a wonderful accomplishment. It\u2019s bite-size chunks that are reasonable, based on what you\u2019ve done or haven\u2019t done before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If someone is just getting started, would you recommend working on increasing distance or speed?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, neither aggressively so. One of the key principles is that the body adapts well to small increments, and isn\u2019t very good at assimilating larger increases. One of the mistakes that runners\u2014particularly beginners\u2014often make is they get a bit of early success, and then they take the reins off and try to do too much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And make sure you have the right shoes. Go to a specialty running store where they can advise you. You may not need to do that every time, but when you\u2019re early in your running, get that advice, because it can make a big difference as to whether or not you get injured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Running is hard work; if you can do two miles after a few months, that\u2019s a wonderful accomplishment.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

What about training for a race?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A 5K is a great entry point. It\u2019s 3.1 miles, and there\u2019s a lot of races available; many other people will be relative novices, so you\u2019re not likely to come in last.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, don\u2019t say, \u201cI\u2019ve never run before and I\u2019m going to do a 5K next week,\u201d because that\u2019s unlikely to go well. But if there\u2019s a 5K three to six months in the future, that\u2019s a nice block of time you can get your head around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Running can be a solitary sport; do you see advantages in training as a group or with friends?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Absolutely\u2014one, for the mutual motivation and camaraderie that comes from doing something together, particularly something difficult, and often in bad weather. But probably the more important aspect is the learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Running seems like the simplest thing in the world\u2014and in a way, it is\u2014but there\u2019s a lot of things you can learn from each other. If you run with more experienced people, they\u2019re going to know about warming up, doing flexibility exercises, what to do if your shins start to hurt\u2014a whole range of factors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"Pete<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Pete<\/figure>\n
Racing for the Big Red, and leading the pack at the 1984 Olympic trials.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

How does one make the leap to marathoning?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s all progressive. It\u2019s a long way\u2014over twice as far\u2014from a 10K to the half marathon, so you want to let your body get used to the 10K for a while.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then, of course, it\u2019s a big leap from the half up to the marathon. A half marathon is 13 miles; if you want to do a marathon, you need to do some training runs of about 15, 16, 17 miles. When you get up to where you can maybe do 20, 21 miles, that\u2019s when you can reasonably handle a marathon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s all about doing it logically and incrementally, and giving your body the chance to adapt to this challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a person is reasonably active, how far in advance should they plan to run a marathon?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a general rule, if you\u2019ve done a 5K, give yourself a full year to get up there\u2014with the caveat that you might find, \u201cI\u2019m only ever going to be able to get to the half, because my body can\u2019t handle all this pounding.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Avoiding injuries is key. But if someone has gotten injured running a 10K, that doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s a permanent state of affairs; you can learn things to reduce the likelihood of injury. And if you can run week after week, the body gradually adapts and can handle more distance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

It\u2019s all about doing it logically and incrementally, and giving your body the chance to adapt to this challenge.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Could you explain what you mean about injuries? Are they related to overuse, rather than an acute injury like tripping on the sidewalk?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes. With running, your legs and hips withstand several times your body weight with every step, and it\u2019s very repetitive. So you\u2019re doing thousands of steps that are the same, again and again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Little injuries are going to happen, and they take anywhere from a week to a few weeks to get better. That\u2019s just part of running\u2014but knowledge can help you get over them more quickly and prevent them from happening again. You want to avoid the more serious injuries that can take a couple of months before you\u2019re back running.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe you\u2019re running on sidewalks, which are a very hard surface, and the body\u2019s not going to handle that as well. Maybe your shoes aren\u2019t quite right. Maybe you\u2019re not giving yourself a chance to warm up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are a lot of relatively minor factors that you can learn to avoid. I think back to where I was running 130, 140 miles a week without getting injured\u2014but years earlier, I was running 50 miles a week and getting minor injuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Little injuries are going to happen, and they take anywhere from a week to a few weeks to get better. That\u2019s just part of running\u2014but knowledge can help you get over them more quickly and prevent them from happening again.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Is it important not to just soldier through the pain?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Absolutely. Pain is the body\u2019s signal to \u201cstop doing this.\u201d Now, if you have a muscle that\u2019s a bit sore, sometimes that eases as you get going. But if running is painful, that\u2019s no good. You can make a small injury that might have taken two or three days to get better into something that takes several weeks to heal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If someone is thinking about running their first marathon, are there races that are more entry level?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are at least 500 U.S. marathons every year. Other than the big ones\u2014New York, Boston, or Chicago\u2014pretty much all are going to be lower key and more accessible, in that you don\u2019t have to enter a lottery to get in. You don\u2019t want a particularly hilly one, and you want one where the weather is likely to be good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What constitutes good weather for marathoning?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s in the 40s and 50s. When it gets up into the 60s, that\u2019s great for spectating, but it\u2019s warm for running.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Pete
Nearing the finish line at the 1984 Olympic trials.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why is the 60s too warm?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When your body\u2019s creating the energy for running, there\u2019s a lot of heat produced. So you\u2019re getting warm, you\u2019re sweating, and it\u2019s dehydrating. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If it gets up into the 60s or 70s\u2014or worse yet, the 80s\u2014you can get to where you\u2019re hotter and hotter, and you can\u2019t maintain your pace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve been in races where it was 68 or 70, and people were slowing down because they couldn\u2019t handle it. And if it\u2019s humid, it\u2019s that much worse: your sweat doesn\u2019t cool you, it just rolls off.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Could you talk a little bit about your book?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The title, Advanced Marathoning<\/em>, sounds more exclusive than it really is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are a variety of books written for beginning marathon runners\u2014and if you get to the semi-elite or elite levels, there tends to be more individualized coaching. So this book is for people who\u2019ve run a few marathons. They want to get better at it, and they\u2019re motivated to learn more about topics like physiology, recovery, and diet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve read that each year, a little over a million people around the world finish a marathon. This isn\u2019t for the beginners, so maybe chop off a third\u2014and it\u2019s not for the elites, so chop off a couple percent at the top. It\u2019s for those in the middle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Each year, a little over a million people around the world finish a marathon.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

And finally: what do you love about running?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The freedom, the sense of flowing along and of mastery\u2014that you\u2019re able to do this across all weather conditions. I can remember being in Cooperstown, NY, and it was cold and it snowed all night. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And I went out and ran 20 miles on Christmas morning in this one-car track: 10 miles out, 10 miles back. Just idyllic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Top: Illustration by Ashley Osburn \/ Cornell University; all other images provided.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Published December 22, 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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