Marathon legend to speak in Charleston

Running a marathon is a sure-fire way of getting in shape. And an increasingly popular one.

In 1976, the United States had only 25,000 finishers in marathon. Last year, 425,000 finished the 26.2-mile race, a 3 percent increase over 2007.

And the great recession of 2009 likely won't hurt those numbers.

Just one example: The largest marathon in the world, the 40th New York City Marathon, grew from 38,096 finishers in '08 to 43,475 this year.

But running a marathon isn't a walk in the park. To newbies, training can be as puzzling as it is taxing. That's part of the lure.

Throughout the three decades of the marathon boom, one man probably has had more influence on helping people who are preparing for the often grueling endurance event than any other: runner, coach and writer Hal Higdon.

Google "marathon training," and the 78-year-old's name still pops up early and often.

Higdon comes to Charleston this week to give talks to the Charleston Running Club on Thursday night and at the Kiawah Island Marathon and Half Marathon pre-race expo

Friday and post-race dinner Saturday night.

His visit coincides with the publication of his first novel, not surprisingly titled "Marathon," about the 72 hours leading up to a major marathon. But he doesn't seem interested in pushing it on people, noting, "I probably won't talk much about the novel.

"When I give a talk, I like to read the audience. I have instinct about what to talk about, and I'd like to focus on the fact that you have two really great races in Charleston, the Cooper River Bridge Run and Kiawah, and the training that should go along with those events," Higdon said in a phone interview last week.

Higdon and wife Rose are on a meandering winter migration from their Chicago home to their refuge near Jacksonville Beach, Fla. They stopped in Memphis, Tenn., for the St. Jude Memphis Marathon last weekend before working their way down to Charleston for the Kiawah Marathon and to visit friend Joanne Milkereit, a dietitian who co-authored "The Runner's Cookbook" with Higdon in 1979.

"It's a nice way to hippity-hop down to Florida. It's part play and part work," said Higdon, noting that stops between included Nashville and Dollywood, Tenn., and Asheville, N.C., where he spoke to the running club there.

In the half-hour call, I can tell Higdon still has a playful, youthful outlook on life, which I think is a common trait in many seasoned runners. And Higdon certainly is seasoned.

He's been running since the mid-1940s (And no, his knees have not disintegrated!). Like many lifelong, committed runners, he ran high school and college track and cross country. He ran his first Boston Marathon in 1959, when only 150 people signed up. In 1972, he set a now-former masters record of 14:59 for the 5K. Over his lifetime, Higdon has completed 111 marathons, and his last was Disney in '02. Today, he still runs two or three times a week in addition to biking, swimming and lifting weights, and running races, and has his sights on the half-marathon in February.

Higdon demonstrates that running can be a lifelong endeavor.

Yet his major contributions have been as a running writer and coach.

He has written for Runner's World before it was even called Runner's World, submitting an article to the second edition of its precursor, The Distance Running News, in 1966. He has written 35 books, including some not about running. (His children's book, "The Horse That Played Center Field," was turned into an animated TV special by ABC.)

Higdon was tapped by the Boston Athletic Association to write the book "Boston: A Century of Running," commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Boston Marathon.

Higdon's "Marathon: The Ultimate Training Guide" has sold 250,000 copies.

Among that, his annual clinic before the Chicago Marathon and the 8 million views his Web site in the last decade, Higdon (I think conservatively) estimates that 500,000 people have used his training program.

Higdon said the marathon is popular and attractive because, "You can't fake it.

"Running a marathon is not just the doing of it. It's the preparing for it. ... In doing so, you remake not only your body, but your mind," he said. "It's a mind-challenging event that can change your life."

Hal Higdon in Charleston

Writer, runner and coach Hal Higdon will make several appearances this week. His first stop will be at the Charleston Running Club's monthly meeting at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the UBS Center, 900 Island Park Drive, on Daniel Island. He will give a talk and sign books. The event is free and open to the public. Higdon also will be at the Kiawah Island Marathon, signing books and meeting people at the pre-race expo Friday.

Reach David Quick at dquick@postandcourier.com. Also see his Running Charleston blog at postandcourier.com/running_blog.