Three runners' tales before Twin Cities Marathon

No, it isn't just you.

Making it through 26.2 miles is daunting even for professional runners such as Meghan Peyton, the 2013 U.S. champion at 20 kilometers and one of the country's top competitors at distances from one mile to 20K.

That isn't the only trait Peyton shares with the 11,628 others registered for Sunday's Twin Cities Marathon. Like them, she finds that iconic distance as irresistible as it is forbidding, leading her to again join the masses on the course from Minneapolis to St. Paul.

Sunday's race will be Peyton's third marathon, and the Richfield resident believes the lessons learned in her first two attempts have prepared her to move up from last year's ninth-place finish.

Peyton said Friday she has had to develop a patient approach to running the distance.

The Team USA Minnesota runner also adjusted her training this year, putting in longer workouts than she had in the past. She and the other elite entrants will be chasing $145,000 in prize money, along with the national titles awarded to the men's and women's winners.

"The marathon is still a little scary because it is a long way," Peyton said. "And if you don't run it correctly, like I did last year, it's a long time to suffer. But at the same time, it's a challenge — and I love a challenge.

Peyton, 28, set too fast a pace in her marathon debut at the 2012 Olympic Trials. She got caught up in the competition on the front end, then dropped out at 24 miles as she fell out of contention.

She has continued to excel at multiple distances, finishing in the top 10 at recent U.S. championships at one mile, 10 miles, 5K, 10K, 15K and 20K.

Her strong showing at last year's Twin Cities Marathon inspired her to try again, and she has been putting in workouts as long as 20 miles, incorporating parts of Sunday's course into her routes.

The marathon distance is not at all intimidating to Michael Wardian, who is among the favorites in the men's masters division. The 40-year-old from Arlington, Va., has won three U.S. 50K championships and earned the silver medal at the world 100K championships in 2011.

Wardian also owns another unusual distinction: the Guinness world record for fastest marathon run while pushing a stroller. He set it at a race in Frederick, Md., in 2007 with son Pierce, then 10 months old.

"I tried it again with my younger son, Grant, at a marathon in Tulsa in 2010, and me and another guy pushing a stroller were the first two finishers. He beat me, but I still have the record because he didn't fill out the paperwork."

In April, Wardian won the North Pole Marathon — held on drifting ice floes, with armed guards fending off polar bears, in 22-below temperatures — in 4:07:40. Wardian's personal best at the distance is 2:21:37.

Sergio Reyes won the 2010 Twin Cities Marathon — and the U.S. men's title — on a day he still describes as "magical." He had visions of a second victory last year, but they fizzled when the pace picked up late in the race.

Reyes was among the leaders until he was outkicked over the final mile and finished fourth.

Still, he set a personal record of 2:13:34, and the top seed in the men's field said he feels ready to better that time Sunday — and finish stronger as well.