TONY LOYD, Little Canada; Age: 56; Marathons run: 13

I ran everywhere I went as a small child. I ran in junior high, but didn't enjoy school competition, so I stopped running. In 2001 I was at a workshop in Colorado and a co-worker was going for a run. I asked her if I could join her. That April I signed up for my first 5K. I was smitten. That September, at age 43, I completed the Quad Cities Marathon in just over 4 hours. At the end of that race, I told my wife, "Well, I finished. I checked a marathon off my bucket list. I'm done." In 2002, I ran four marathons; in 2003, I ran three — two of them fast enough to qualify for Boston. In 2005, I ran Boston. I finished dehydrated and exhausted and ended up in the medical tent with an IV. As I was lying on the gurney, I thought to myself, "Didn't I start doing this for my health?" So I stopped running marathons, for a while.

In 2012, I decided to try another marathon and signed up for New York. And, since I was training, what the heck, I signed up for the Twin Cities as well. I ran the Twin Cities in a Boston qualifying time but I didn't go; if I had, I would have been there for the bombings. That year, the NYC marathon was canceled due to Hurricane Sandy. I, along with thousands of other runners, ended up volunteering there. I returned to New York in 2013. It was quite an emotional experience, in the wake of the Boston bombings and the cancellation of the previous year's NYC race. It brings a tear to my eye right now just to think of that feeling.

Lessons learned: Along the way, I learned a few truths that I always pass along to beginning runners. I've shared them online at http://bit.ly/12truths; here are my top three.

1. Play. That is the essence of running. If your running is not play, then you're probably not doing it right. That is not to say that running is always FUN! There will be times when you feel like your head is going to explode and you will not be having fun. But you know, I remember as a child coming in from play completely exhausted, but I was as happy as I could be because I had been playing.

2. Know why you are running. Is it for fitness, stress relief, or just because it seems cool? Pick a goal to start. Make it measurable. Would you like to run your first 5K (3.1 mile) race three months from now? Your goal probably will change, but if you don't know why you're doing this, you'll not sustain the effort for the long run (pun intended).

3. Pick one training plan and stick with it. Consistency is as important as anything else. â–¡