Let's do the math...

The only way to accomplish your goal is to take the first step. Even just thinking about completing a half-marathon or marathon is a start. It will be interesting to see the final 2010 statistics, but the most recent data shows:

• 397 Marathons took place in the US, up 6.7% from the prior year
• 9.9% growth in the number of marathon finishers
• Average marathon time: 4 hours 35 minutes 42 seconds
• Nearly 468,000 total finishers

So let's do the math...468,000 finishers / 310,923,350 estimated people in the US = 0.15% of the population completed a marathon last year.

Not many things are going to put you in an elite group of 0.15% of the country's population, so relish in that fact!

Within this elite group I'm sure you'd find a plethora of training regimens, injuries, stories, and journeys. Besides completing a marathon, those 468,000 finishers have another thing in common. They all took the first step (and an average 42,000 during the race).

What's holding you back? Take the first step and start thinking about completing a half-marathon or marathon.