The winding Jedediah Smith Memorial Trail, better known as the American River Bike Trail, has long been the domain of cross country and track teams alongside the usual cyclists and pedestrians.  

The last few months, however, saw a small cadre of young women take to the asphalt, training to run a marathon.  

If all went as planned, teacher Patricia Jacobsen, junior Molly Tash, and sophomore Marina Serrano ran the Big Sur International Marathon on April 26, as the Tash’s and Serrano’s mothers looked on.  (Results were not available at press time.)  

Those 26 miles along scenic Highway 1 from Big Sur to Carmel were the culmination of months of effort and injuries.  

But, not long ago, these fit athletes weren’t so committed. 

“I used to hate running,” Jacobsen said.  “It was always last on my list.  At the gym, I’d run two miles maximum, but only if I forgot my bathing suit.” 

A year later, Jacobsen says she “looks forward to those two-and-a-half to three hours of the day when [she wants] to think about something and there are no distractions.”  

Why the dramatic turnaround?  

“Louie and his sister run marathons,” Jacobsen said, referring to her boyfriend.  “They had just run the Big Sur Half-Marathon [November, 2008], and I came away inspired to try it.” 

That month, Jacobsen mentioned to her students the possibility of running a marathon.  

Tash and Serrano expressed interest and started running in their spare time to prepare for a rigorous six-month training regimen, which Jacobsen described as just “enough training to [finish] a marathon.”  

Tash started running as a freshman to cross-train for volleyball and soccer.  

“It was never anything serious,” she said.  “I’d just grab my iPod and run for a couple of miles.”  

Since December, however, Tash has thrown herself into running with a passion, completing the Shamrock’n Half Marathon in Sacramento on March 15 in a respectable 2:04:46.  

Additionally, Tash runs 4-8 miles daily at school during her free elective and 12-18 miles on weekends.  

Similarly, Serrano has morphed into a serious distance runner.  

“Running wasn’t like something I did in my free time,” she said.  “At first, it was really hard, but after a while it was more of a hobby.”    

After Winter Break, the three began running together in a series of short, medium, and long distances.   

In training, Jacobsen said she first emphasized form, knowing that, over extended distances, everything is secondary to maintaining good posture to avoid injury.  

“We consulted [Danny Dreyer’s] ‘Chi Running’ and Runner’sWorld.com for tips,” Jacobsen said.  The three also asked Tash’s cousin and marathoner Emily Tash and Board member Christina Kaufman, a triathlete, for advice.  

Fears of injury proved well-founded when Serrano was forced to temporarily stop training in March due to shin splints.  

After form, they focused on endurance; “slow-and-steady” is a tried-and-true philosophy in distance running.  

Marathoners never initially set the bar high.  They’re discouraged from running the full distance of 26.2 miles to avoid injury before the race.  

Instead, most work up from short to medium and long distances.  

“In the first week, ‘short’ was three miles, ‘medium’ four, and ‘long’ five,” Jacobsen said.  “But it gradually built up.”  

Soon, “long” runs covered as many as 18 miles.

Time, despite its lower priority, was still important.  For safety concerns, if a participant fails to reach the 22-mile mark within five hours, he or she is asked to step off the course.  

Tash now averages 9.5 minutes per mile, with Serrano and Jacobsen trailing comfortably at around 10 minutes.  

If those paces held, all finished well within the 13:40 minimum finish pace.  

Next year, Jacobsen will advise a new running club that could participate in future events.  

Tash plans to sign up, as does Serrano; both are now enthusiastic runners. 

“There are things you look forward to, especially on long runs,” Serrano said.  “I think about funny stories, cheesy pick-up lines, anything.  It takes your mind off stress and school.”