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Before the day gets started for many, two professors are already putting in the miles.

, associate provost for academic programs and professor of biomedical and chemical engineering in the , and , associate teaching professor and director of undergraduate studies in chemistry in the , both have been running marathons for years.

For long-distance runners, the 26.2-mile race is one of the most iconic challenges in endurance sports, and March 1 saw the start of the 2026 season of the , with the . On April 20, the second world major will take place when thousands of runners depart the starting line of the in Hopkinton, Massachusetts.

Both French and Hasenwinkel qualified to run the Boston race this year. It will be Hasenwinkel’s first time running Boston, but she ran her first world major in the fall of 2024 in Chicago. She’s also already qualified to run New York City in November.

“I’m excited about all of it,” she says.

French has run the historic Boston course three times. He was qualified and set on running for a fourth time, but after a challenging winter for training, he decided not to compete this year.

“There is no other race like it,” French says. “The entire course is lined with spectators, the entire city comes out for it.”

Between years of experience and countless miles on the road, both professors have picked up practical insights they can share with fellow runners, including those just starting to take on the distance.

How They Got Started

French ran his first marathon in college, after running competitively in both high school and college. He mostly competed in 5Ks and 10Ks, but on the weekends, would run closer to 16 or 18 miles.

“I ran distance, and just really seemed to enjoy the races more the longer they went,” he says.

His first 26.2-mile race was the Vermont City Marathon, which he ran when a friend who had a bib was injured and French competed instead.

“I had a great time, finished in the top 15, really enjoyed the race, the experience and the city,” French says.

Hasenwinkel found her love of running later in life, after the COVID pandemic when her kids were in college.

“I literally started with a couch to 5K program, built up some endurance and kept going,” she says.

Her first race was Syracuse’s Mountain Goat Run, and she found by the end that not only did she enjoy the race experience, her time was competitive for her age group. She signed up for a marathon shortly after, encouraged by her brother, himself a marathoner and triathlete.

She ran her first 26.2-mile race exactly a year later.

“I love the camaraderie of marathons, and you can get that same kind of camaraderie in other races, but there’s something that’s significantly more challenging about a marathon than even a half or a 10-miler,” she says.

What Training Can Look Like

French runs 70 to 80 miles per week, seven days a week, with one or two hard workouts mixed in—a shorter, faster midweek session or hill workout, and a longer, marathon-paced effort on the weekend. He also tries to bike a couple times a week as a low-impact alternative.

Hasenwinkel’s approach has steadily evolved since she ran her first marathon. She now runs five or six days a week, varying her workouts by distance and effort.

Central New York winters add an extra layer of complexity for spring marathon training, they agreed.

“Safety and avoiding injury is the primary factor,” Hasenwinkel says. “If it’s really icy or dangerously cold, I will throw in the towel and go on the treadmill.”

The Biggest Challenges

Ask either professor what the hardest part of marathon training is, and they’ll give you the same answer: time.

French, who has two young children, notes that a 20-mile run can take more than two hours.

“I might have run 20 miles in the morning but my kids still want to go to the zoo or the Museum of Science and Technology. I might want to just sit on the couch!”

Hasenwinkel, who tries to run two marathons a year, agreed. She says sustaining the energy to train, work and show up for family requires deliberate prioritization, including sleep.

Injury is another constant concern, so knowing when to alter your training to avoid them is important.

Hasenwinkel hurt her foot, which set back her training for Boston.

“I want to give myself the grace to just be able to go and do it for fun and not worry about my time,” she says.

��Final Words of Advice

French says if you want to take up running marathons, building gradually and being patient is key.

“You can fake your fitness in shorter races,” he says. “You can not fake your way through a marathon. You need to have done the training, you need to be prepared to run the distance and your desired pace. You need to have practiced your nutrition. A lot can change between mile 13 and mile 26.”

If you do it consistently, you can trust your training on race day.

“I’m a big believer that anybody could do this,” Hasenwinkel says. “I feel like my story is living proof of that. I was much older than the average runner when I started. Be persistent and disciplined about training. Gradually build your mileage and have a plan and really stick to it. ”