Benji Durden

Benji,

During your peak training years what did you do for employment?

jorvack wrote:

Benji,

During your peak training years what did you do for employment?

I was being paid by Nike and making money racing and doing clinics; so basically my job was running. Before I hit the big time I worked in the shoe store world. Before that I was a grad student. I tried student teaching and decided teaching wasn't going to work for me. The education world is too stressful.

Benji;

You and many runners in the 70s and early 80s ran marathons several marathons a year whereas today the top runners do one or two a year at most. If you were competing at the top level today would you run fewer marathons or do things the same way? Do you think it's a mistake to run too many or does it help to race the marathon more frequently?

Thanks for sharing your experience.

Benji

Thanks for sharing all this - good stuff.

For those of you outside the Boulder area, you should know that Benji has spoiled us with good race timing for years. I am consistently reminded how much we are spoiled whenever I travel to a non Benji-Amie race. Benji-Amie results are posted immediately post race (and in longer races, sometimes even while the race is going on) (the BB is the exception, but then again, that is 40K people). It seems with other races we are often waiting hours. I really realized how much we are spoiled when on a recent vacation I jumped in a race. We all wore bib numbers, but I think it was just to identify who paid for the race - because we were handed a card post race with our position on it. We were then to fill that out, and drop it in the correct age division box so the race could be scored.

All that said, Benji I will still give you some hard times about the two seconds you give all of us. :)

Something I would like to hear you weigh in on is how you feel cancer has changed your perspective and approach to runner.

Thanks Benji.

George

Dan Moriarity wrote:

Benji;

You and many runners in the 70s and early 80s ran marathons several marathons a year whereas today the top runners do one or two a year at most. If you were competing at the top level today would you run fewer marathons or do things the same way? Do you think it's a mistake to run too many or does it help to race the marathon more frequently?

Thanks for sharing your experience.

For me, frequent racing from 10K up was an important part of the program. I don't think I could have run as fast as I did without running frequent marathons per year. Below are all the marathons I've started as races. There were a few more that I started as runs with friends etc which I don't count. If I had it to do over, I would have skipped the ones I didn't finish (they weren't of much help except for lessons learned). Otherwise I would run them all again. I don't think frequent marathoning is a bad thing despite what the current wisdom suggests. Of course I was very sturdy and had very few injuries. Some runners like Greg Meyer came at the marathon form a different direction and have a different view point (there is another thread on his feelings on the subject). As I said in that thread, we are both right for some runners and wrong for some runners. The hard part is determining which is which. Runners that don't race often usually are able to simulate in training what I needed to get in races. I could never make myself run as hard in training as I could when the gun went off. One final note. The marathon requires a bit of luck to get good performances. Assuming your body gets stronger from racing marathons, running them frequently increases the chances of hitting one with the right conditions.

74/12 nt dnf Peach Bowl Atlanta, GA

75/12 2:36:19 19th Peach Bowl Atlanta, GA

76/03 2:37:30 7th Florida Relays Gainseville, FL

76/10 2:20:23 2nd National AAU Championships Crowley, LA

76/12 nt dnf Peach Bowl Atlanta, GA

77/02 2:19:04 1st Carolina Columbia, SC

77/04 2:24:39 27th Boston Boston, MA

77/07/17 2:22:47 1st Arvert Arvert, France

77/09 nt dnf Nike-OTC Eugene, OR

77/12 2:25:59 6th Charlotte Charlotte, NC

78/04 2:15:04 11th Boston Boston, MA

78/09 2:18:40 13th Nike-OTC Eugene, OR

78/10 2:18:16 1st Pittsburg Pittsburg, PA

78/12 2:18:04 2nd Honolulu Honolulu, HI

79/05/19 2:17:10 2nd Amsterdam Amsterdam, Holland

79/09 2:13:47 6th Nike-OTC Eugene, OR

79/10 2:13:49 5th New York City New York, NY

79/12 nt dnf Honolulu Honolulu, HI

80/04/21 2:17:46 6th Boston Boston, MA

80/05/24 2:10:41 2nd Olympic Trials Buffalo, NY

80/09/07 nt dnf Nike-OTC Eugene, OR

80/12/07 2:13:25 12th Fukuoka Fukuoka, Japan

81/01/17 2:12:34 1st Orange Bowl Miami, FL

81/02 2:13:07 4th Tokyo Tokyo, Japan

81/05 2:32:45 9th Amsterdam International Amsterdam, Holland

81/08 2:18:27 3rd Sports Festival Syracuse, NY

81/09/13 2:12:12 1st Nike-OTC Eugene, OR

82/01 2:11:11 1st Houston Houston, TX

82/05/30 2:13:22 1st Montreal Montreal, Canada

82/09/12 2:12:52 3rd Nike-OTC Eugene, OR

82/10/24 2:16:09 18th New York City New York, NY

83/01/16 2:12:20 2nd Houston Houston, TX

83/04/18 2:09:58 3rd Boston Boston, MA

83/08/14 2:20:38 39th World Championships Helsinki, Finland

83/10/02 2:15:16 1st Toronto Toronto, Canada

84/01/15 nt dnf Houston Houston, TX

84/05/26 nt dnf Olympic Trials Buffalo, NY

84/10/14 2:19:46 13th Beijing Beijing, China

85/07/21 nt dnf San Fransisco San Fransisco, CA

85/10/14 2:34:26 55th Beijing Beijing, China

85/12/08 2:19:51 17th California International Sacramento, CA

86/01/19 2:18:21 20th Houston Houston, TX

86/07/06 nt dnf Goodwill Games Moscow, USSR

86/10/12 2:22:04 27th Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN

87/01/18 nt dnf Houston Houston, TX

87/04/05 2:27:14 8th Stamford Classic Stamford, CT

87/12/06 nt dnf California International Sacramento, CA

87/12/13 2:31:01 8th Honolulu Honolulu, HI

88/01/17 nt dnf Houston Houston, TX

88/04/24 2:45:17 75th Olympic Trials Jersey City, NJ

89/01/15 2:29:04 28th Houston Houston, TX

89/10/08 2:28:11 36th Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN

91/01/20 nt dnf Houston Houston, TX

91/11/28 2:28:53 1st Atlanta Atlanta, GA

91/12/14 2:32:48 17th O/1st M Rocket City Huntsville, AL

95/11/23 nt dnf Atlanta Atlanta, GA

Well first let me say that we only score the pro part of the Bolder Boulder. I can't take credit or blame for the 40K part of the race.

My cancer was a wake up call that got me back to my roots so to speak. The summer of 2003 when I learned I had cancer, I had let running fall pretty far down on my list of priories. I was running around 19:30 for 5K off of about 25-35 miles per week. The cancer made me reassess my life (and Amie reassess hers as well) and we decided to make some changes. We stopped eating red meat (there is reason to believe red meat grown with hormones makes prostate and breast cancer more likely). We made other dietary changes as well for similar reasons.

After I recovered from the surgery, we began slowly building back our running. My goal was to get back to where I could regularly run 2:00 or more 2-3 times per week simply because I like to run. Amie also likes to run, so this wasn't a conflict. We didn't do this for competitive reasons, it was just to enjoy the "zen of running". It helped us cope with the increasing stressfulness of the world around us.

A funny thing happened. We both lost weight (though Amie lost most of hers from worrying about me) and though I was training slower than I had pre-surgery (9:30-10:00 vs 7:30-8:30), more miles (80+ per week vs 30 per week) made me faster. Lastt year back I ran 17:59 for 5K. This year my pace has picked up some so that I'm averaging closer to 9:00 over a week's runs and I've now run a 17:30 (on the track) and am preparing to run a marathon for the first time since 1995.

Neither Amie or I have missed a day's run of since October of 2003 and we have had several long streaks of doubles. It is fun to run again. The racing is fun too, but of less importance. I don't get to race that often since I'm usually working the finish line most weekends.

To sum up this long-winded ramble, I now run more than I used to, I double almost every day. I don't skip days (we'll get up at 4:00 am to get in a run before we go to time a race) and train more for mental health than racing goals.

Benji:

I am glad that cancer did not win the battle. It is grand that you are alive and well now. I lost my mother, at age 58 to cancer, and it opened me up to just how important people are in our lives. I also began to reassess the things we cherish in life. Why does cancer take the lives of good people? Is there life without living well? It seems to me that running, at its purest form, without obsession to win, can be a means of connecting to life force. In running we experience many elements of human existence in each stride. There is also a great deal of camaraderie involved in running if we open ourselves to it.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us.

Sincerely, Tinman

Superb thread.

Thanks Benji.

thanks for sharing so much with us Benji.

What marathon are you running?

Great, Great thread about/from Benji Durden. Back in the early 90's I had the great experience of having Benji Durden provide coaching for myself for several years. Benji was like clockwork with weekly workouts via phone or fax and always available for discussion about running or whatever. I recall when I first started having some success with running in highschool and early college in the early 80's, I must have checked out every running speciality store in NE Ohio looking for the cool Nike racing shoes Benji was wearing. Certainly one of the best guys ever in the sport not only as a runner, but as a person. Cheers, Mr. Benji Durden.

almost your age wrote:

thanks for sharing so much with us Benji.

What marathon are you running?

Huntsville, December 10th. It was the last one I finished, so I thought it wold be a good one to make my return. It was There first one Amie ran many years ago, so it has meaning for her as well.

I was a friend of Katy Schilly Laetsch. I was wondering if you knew here wear abouts as of today, December 2005.

Let me know if you still run into her.

Gary bastien

decathlon event, 1978-1985

garybastien@msn.com

Thanks Benji

Benji Durden wrote:

Huntsville, December 10th. It was the last one I finished, so I thought it wold be a good one to make my return. It was There first one Amie ran many years ago, so it has meaning for her as well.

Best of luck to you Saturday. A well deserved come-back no doubt. Weather looks look.

Say Hi to the Hill boys and remind Kevin not set a half marathon PR.

Keith

Benji, I know you are busy preparing and running/recovering for the marathon in Huntsville. However, when you have time, could you post some training logs of yours? Seeing your early times and your later marathons gives me, and other runners that aren't yet running 2:teens low motivation and hope for getting down there.Thanks in advance.

epberlin wrote:

I believe that this is from the RW article. Rubio posted this in Mervs about 2 years ago.

Sunday 12 miles, double sweats, 74 min

Mon: 9 miles

Tues: AM: 7 mile warmup, 2 miles stride straights/jog turns, 1 x 1k in 2:54, 6

mile cooldown. PM: 9 miles

Wed: 8 easy

Thur: AM: 22 in 2:30, full sweats PM: 9 miles

Fri: 7 easy

Sat: 10k road race in 30:04, 5 mile cooldown

Yup, he ran 31 miles on Thursday and then ran a 30:04 10K on Saturday. So his big days were BIG, and he ran <10 on his easy days.

Congratulation ABOUT YOUR ARTICLE ON RUNNING TIMES, since i started running in 1977 you have been one the guys that i liked and cheered for. I live in sacramento for 16 years and i was surprise reading the article saying that you are from here, until your folks left to Georgia. Made me proud of this city. Best wishes for you, and best of the luck!! Cesar Dos Santos

Also thanks for all the wonderful stories.!!Thanks again.

Beji,

I hope this message has you doing well. I moved to Georgia in 1990 and your name comes up here and now still. You must of really made an impression on these folks! I just got into competitive running (setting a schedule, chasing PR\'s etc) the last 4 years. I work with Hugh Torro who I believe raced against you in the 70\'s. Do you remember Hugh? He is teaching at an Elementary school (PE) and coaching cross country at Clayton State College and University. best of luck in your running and I will tell Hugh you are still cranking out 70-80 mile weeks with an occasional 100...Wow!

Mike

Excuse me, is this the same Mike Caldwell, husband of Laura Caldwell? of Racing South fame? I lived in FWB in the early 80s after I moved to the US in '79... My 2nd 10km road race ever was the Racing South run in Tallahassee and the first time I ever broke 40, it was such a great experience. I was in my 20s then, now in my 40s and still racing, but your magazine and the runners that were amazing then inspired me and motivated me to run well, those were the days of Linda Mclennan( wonder what she is doing now)? andHerb Wills and Brenda Webb.. and of course Benji Durden :o) I still have the Avon paper cup he autographed for me from the 10km race in Atlanta, again back in the day. Thanks Mike to you for really introducing me to running through your great publication if indeed it is you... Best to you and Laura!

Mike Caldwell wrote:

Beji,

I hope this message has you doing well. I moved to Georgia in 1990 and your name comes up here and now still. You must of really made an impression on these folks! I just got into competitive running (setting a schedule, chasing PR's etc) the last 4 years. I work with Hugh Torro who I believe raced against you in the 70's. Do you remember Hugh? He is teaching at an Elementary school (PE) and coaching cross country at Clayton State College and University. best of luck in your running and I will tell Hugh you are still cranking out 70-80 mile weeks with an occasional 100...Wow!

Mike