How do you get a name like WA DE? Easy - For your first marathon, a good piece of advice is to write your name on your shirt. That way, everyone who sees you will cheer you on by name, really helping with the mental challenge of 26.2 miles. Of course, if your artwork isn't as good as your running, you might run into some unforeseen problems like this...

Whether you get your name right or not, when 900,000+ spectators cheer you on for 5 hours you just feel like Superman - especially if you're used to sitting in a cubicle all day listening to nothing but conference calls. That's me - I work for a giant bank by day, hang out with my family by night, and running is my escape.

I'm not some super-fast olympic athlete, and I'm not a real dietician or nutritionist. But, I've got a few races under my belt. I'm just a.... regular runner.

Not long ago, my friend Steve asked for some advice as he tackles his first marathon, and I thought it would be fun to train for a race and blog about it. So, here goes. Let me know what you think!