Prepping for A Fall Marathon
A marketing graduate of Lehigh University, Jennifer Heiner formerly served as the marketing director of a running company in New Jersey. When she is not collaborating with the company founders on upcoming projects, Jennifer Heiner is an active runner herself. Currently working for one of the New York City Metro area’s biggest and best running companies, Jennifer Heiner shares below some of the important buzz words and things to keep in mind when training for your next half or full marathon.
Since joining a New Jersey running company as retail director in 2019, Jennifer Heiner has assisted with aspects of business development and overseen daily operations at the company’s four stores. Jennifer Heiner balances her professional responsibilities with membership in the New York Road Runners (NYRR) recreational running club. As part of its mission to support New Yorkers in cultivating healthy habits, NYRR offers Virtual Group Training to provide community-based motivation and guidance. Suitable for beginners and experienced runners alike, the program is guided by a professional coach and offers access to an online community of supportive runners. Each week, participants receive access to two structured workouts that are varied in their difficulty and terrain. After completing the workout, runners upload their workouts to gain precise, personalized feedback from coaches. In addition to running workouts, participants receive resources aimed at maintaining physical and mental health. An online forum invites runners to connect with coaches and fellow runners, ask questions, and share their experiences.
New York Road Runners recently posted in their team forum on Strava some tech-tips to help runners get ready for race day.
Top Ten Technology Tips
For those of you racing virtually, you may need some minor tech prep before heading out to run 26.2 miles. Below is a list of key dos and don’ts to help you prepare for your race! Make sure you practice some of these before race day for a stress-free marathon!
1. Confirm that you’re registered for the Virtual TCS New York City Marathon in both your NYRR profile and on the Strava challenges page.
2. Make sure your GPS watch or phone is fully charged. We don’t want you running out of battery mid-race.
3. Upload your run to the Strava account linked to your NYRR profile. If you have a few accounts, double check you are linked to the correct one.
4. Don’t run on the treadmill or track! Indoor running and tight turns (like on a track) don’t register the distance properly over GPS.
5. “Tagged” runs with friends also do not count. You must upload your own GPS file.
6. Before you start, turn on your tracking device, acquire a GPS signal, and make sure you’re recording your activity.
7. As you run, check periodically that your device is recording your distance.
8. Run a little longer than the 26.2 miles distance. This ensures your race gets registered as the full marathon distance.
9. Make sure you save your activity on Strava and set your sport type to “run,” “handcycle,” or “wheelchair.” Saving the activity as “virtual run” is not eligible.
10. Your race has been properly counted if you receive the digital badge in your Strava trophy case and your name is listed on the Strava challenge leaderboard. Race results will be available on NYRR Race Results and in your NYRR dashboard by Wednesday, November 15. NOTE: Marathon Challenge runners will not have their results included on the NYRR race results website, but it will be on the dashboard.
For more information, check out their FAQs page at https://www.nyrr.org/tcsnycmarathon/pages/2023-virtual-tcs-new-york-city-marathon-guide/faqs.
