Good Morning El Paso’s Stephanie Valle training for half marathon
The El Paso Marathon is undergoing a transformation.
Organizers announced in September that the 26.2 mile race is now named the Springfoot Marathon.
According to the marathon website, the new brand represents “a reinvigorated mission to organize a first class marathon that promotes health and fitness in the community, brings tourism to the region of El Paso and provides support to local and national non-profit organizations.”
ABC-7 is a sponsor of the 2017 marathon, and is teaming up with organizers to show that anyone can run the distance. Good Morning El Paso anchor Stephanie Valle was paired up with a seasoned marathon runner to train for the half marathon.
Stephanie met with Elena Pustinger on Nov. 1 to begin training.
“Today is our first week of our 16-week plan,” Pustinger, who’s run 5 marathons over nearly a decade, told Stephanie. “So, you’re going to be doing just easy runs. We’re going to be incrementing your miles pretty much to your base.”
In their first run together, Elena led the Good Morning El Paso anchor and mother of two up Resler Drive in Northwest El Paso.
“… There’s not a lot of traffic and you have the path,” Elena said, explaining why she chose the route for their first run. “Also, there’s a little uphill and downhill. I want to see your pace going up and going down.”
“Some people tell me, ‘If you do six miles — which I do — then you can do a half marathon,'” Stephanie told Elena. “It just seems like a lot of miles to run. Is this possible to do?”
“Absolutely. I think you’re in a perfect shape,” Elena said. “Most people who do their first half marathon start from not running. (Or) from walking to running. I think your base is pretty good. I think you’re going to have a lot of fun.”
The Springfoot Marathon, Half Marathon and 5-K is on Feb. 19, 2017.
Follow Stephanie’s progress on Good Morning El Paso and ABC-7 newscasts.
Sign up for the race or get more information on the marathon here. (http://springfootelpaso.org/#content_anchor)
