Meet Rhonda Johns: 4:29:54

Meet Rhonda Johns: 4:29:54
Cumberland runner sets, achieves marathon goal

Results

By Kevin Spradlin
TriStateRunnur.com

SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va., Oct. 2 – The story of Rhonda Johns and her build-up to the Freedom’s Run Marathon on Saturday isn’t unique.

It’s inspiring and special, just the same.

Johns, who currently works at a gym in Allegany County and, like many, struggles to balance time for family, friends, work and training, set a reasonable goal. She trained for it. And she achieved it. Not many among the 564 finishers can say they followed through on all three elements as thoroughly – and successfully – as Johns.

The 24-year-old Cumberland resident set her sights on Freedom’s Run in Shepherdstown, W.Va., more than four and one-half months before race day. She registered – thus, at least financially, providing the motivation necessary to begin training.

She quickly learned that more valuable motivation was necessary as the months passed and tolerable late spring days turned into insufferably hot and humid training runs regardless of what time of day she began.

By early August – more than 10 weeks into her training cycle – Johns had regularly adapted to a five-day training week that included a weekly run on a low-traffic country road with rolling hills, a favorite thoroughfare with area runners. By this time, Johns had reviewed the Freedom’s Run course layout – which includes many hills on rolling country roads.

Johns decided it was time to step it up. Instead of only incorporating hills into her regular training runs, she sought help from others and, for a few weeks before her taper began, ran hills-only workouts at Rocky Gap State Park and New Germany State Park, among other places. In repetitive sets, Johns began to focus her legs on and body on maintaining proper form – without losing much in the way of speed – on hills short and steep, long and gradual and everything in between.

She ran the Run for the Plunge 15K course, modified. She ran Breakneck Road – which sounds difficult enough one way, but running four miles our from Rocky Gap State Park was one thing – running back another four miles was much more difficult a task.

At points, Johns was reduced to walking – whether on the occasional steep and long hill or on trail so steep (and sideways) she had to cling to the earth with four points of contact to keep from skidding 30 feet below to the road.

And it was hot – every one of those days.

Almost like a second religion, Johns stuck to the general guidance of her marathon plan set forth in The Non-Runners Marathon Trainer by David Whitsett, Forrest Dolgener and Tanjala Kole.

She modified when necessary, of course, but Johns otherwise stuck to the plan that generated from a course at the University of Northern Iowa.

This was her second marathon. Six years ago, Johns – then a high school senior – completed the 26.2-mile distance with Team in Training in Anchorage, Alaska in the Mayor’s Marathon.

Then, Johns placed 837th out of 1,156 finishers – beating 27.6 percent of the field with a time of 6 hours, 38 minutes and 43 seconds.

On Saturday, she placed 288th among 564 official finishers with a time of 4 hours, 29 minutes and 54 seconds. She beat 48.9 percent of the field.

“I didn’t train correctly, and I was all busy with my senior year and this and that,” Johns said two months into her 2010 marathon training cycle about her Alaska experience. “But that’s about it. So I know it’s in me to cover the distance. I’m looking to ‘redeem’ myself and do this.”

The day before Freedom’s Run and the 20-minute bus ride from Shepherd University to the start line, Johns was, as usual, outwardly timid and quietly confident.

No matter what happened, Rhonda realized the success was not to be found in 26.2 miles the next day but in the five months leading up to it.

“It’s been a pretty great training journey,” she said.

And on Saturday, she might have realized the journey is just beginning. After scheduled time off, Rhonda already is planning to run a spring marathon.

Good luck, marathoner.