Interesting post on runnersworld.com, about something that has long bothered me:

Mileage Inflation: Where Will It End?

Pretty much anyone can "run" a marathon on virtually no training. Most marathon courses are open for at least 8 hours. I can walk 6 kilometers an hour, and I have done it, hiking, for many hours on hiking trails with a backpack. Once, well before my recent running times, I hiked 55 kilometers in 11 hours. So my point is that it is not a big deal to walk at a speed of 6 km/hr on the road, no obstacle, no climbing, no backpack, and with an aid station in every two miles for only 7 hours. Because this way you finish a marathon in about 7 hours, well before the course is closing.

Certainly, the fact, that you move a certain a way that you call "running" doesn't impress me, if your "running" is not faster that my walking. In the international rules of the road running races there is no requirement about the technique. You just move any way you want - just get to the finish line as fast as you can.

If you've been reading this blog, you may remember that I made a firm decision before I started to prepare for my marathon - I wanted to do it in 4 hours. I still think that that should be the requirement for some real accomplishment. In fact, no that I've done it, I think that it isn't that big of deal until you qualify for Boston. Now that is something.

I'm running another 5K in less than two weeks. My dream would be to break 20 minutes, but I'll be satisfied with 20:30 for now. And I'm telling you: running a sub-20 5K is *much* harder than running a marathon in 5-6 hours. You probably also need more training for the former (even in terms of mileage).