Area men building up Four Miler of their own

By Bryan McKenzie

Published: September 28, 2008

On Saturday, at 8:30 a.m., a bunch of guys will gather at the University of Virginia track to prove that what women have done, men can do in a similar, if not more competitive, manner.

The men are training for the fourth annual Charlottesville Men’s Four Miler, a Dec. 6 footrace based on the highly successful Women’s Four Miler held over Labor Day weekend. The men’s version has been building slowly; its December race draws hundreds compared with the women’s thousands.

‘Not in competition’

“It hasn’t taken off quite like the women’s race, but it hasn’t been around as long. That’s OK. We’re really not in competition with them,” said Bill Duxbury, of the sponsoring Charlottesville Track Club.

Yeah, right. Men compete in any activity that doesn’t involve a mop and broom.

“It’s really not about competition,” Mr. Duxbury insisted. “The idea of the race isn’t to develop competitive runners but to get out those guys who haven’t made exercise a part of their adult lives. Some of the runners do go on to race in the 10-Miler or in marathons, but it’s about getting men to make exercise a habit.”

Similar goals create similar results. Like the women’s race, the men’s Four Miler brings out runners from the rank to the ranked. Whereas proceeds from the women’s race finance breast cancer research, the men’s race helps pay for programs that support prostate cancer patients.

The race idea germinated at the UVa Medical Center’s urology department, where doctors noticed they treated men for ailments that could have been addressed with simple exercise earlier in life. The race idea spread. Mark Lorenzoni, track coach to the Blue Ridge, devised a 10-week training program to take men “from zero to hero” for the race.

The program is much like those he designed for the women’s race, new marathon runners and the Charlottesville 10-Miler.

“It starts men out at a half-mile. That’s it. Sometimes we start out just walking,” Mr. Duxbury said. “For some guys it’s hard to not try and do more than they’re supposed to, but the idea is to build up to running four miles.”

Motivations vary

Motivations for running the race vary from man to man.

“For some, the last time they ran was in ninth grade and they maybe enjoyed their 20s a little too much,” Mr. Duxbury said. “Others had a girlfriend or wife train for the Women’s Four Miler and now he wants to do it. Then there’s some who have run before, but gave it up after an injury or just got too busy.”

Motivation may be different, but the result should be the same.

“We want guys to be out there on Dec. 6 and suddenly realize that they not only got themselves in shape, but they just ran four miles, did it in a race and crossed the finish line,” Mr. Duxbury said. “Hopefully, that will be such a good feeling that they’ll want to do it again.”