Gaming My Way to a 40 Minute PR Marathon

One of the things that has drawn me to the concept of gamification is the power of using game mechanics to enable personal transformation. I am fascinated by the process of leveling up and becoming better - of making things that used to be impossible possible. This is also one of the reasons that I love running.

Recently I've been making an effort to combine my nascent gamification research with my passion for running. I'd been training for the Seattle Rock and Roll Marathon which was run on June 23rd since January and as my understanding of gamification grew so did my desire to incorporate the concepts into my training plans.

I started by identifying a clear goal - I wanted to run the Marathon in less than 4 hours. I felt this was a much more respectable time than my previous best at the same race in 2010 of 4:09.

I put together a training plan with the help of some online resources - daily and weekly missions. Having the training plan gave me a way to keep track of "points" which were the miles in my training plan.

2012 RNR Marathon Training Plan

I used a GPS running app for my Android phone called RunKeeper to help me keep score. I got faster and I began to feel like maybe my goal wasn't challenging enough. I began to think about a 3:45 Marathon - which would be a huge PR of over 30 minutes. A giant leap for any runner.
 

My wife and I running the 2011 race

Along the way I added some missions - additional races that would help me gauge my fitness and progress toward my goal. I ran a half marathon on Cinco de Mayo in 1:33 and that was when it was clear that I was not only going to run a sub 3:45 marathon but I had the capacity to do even better. My training had transformed me from a below average marathoner to someone who had a shot at a time in the top 10% of marathoners. I considered that I might even finish in less than 3:30.

I also included some fun missions. While attending the GSummit I ran across the Golden Gate Bridge one morning. I love trail running and used the hills of the beautiful Issaquah Alps in the Puget Sound to make myself stronger. Waking up at 5:00 AM to run felt like less of a chore.

When race day came I ran a 3:27 on a challenging and hilly Seattle course. I took 118th place out of 3092 Marathoners (96th percentile), with a better time than the Ultramarathon man himself, Dean Karnazes - although I don't think he was trying his hardest.

What did I learn about gamification? Applying the mechanics of clear goals, a points system, and achievements I felt more motivated and engaged in my training than ever before.

One of the most cherished accomplishments for a distance runner is to qualify for the Boston Marathon. For my age group that means a 3:10 time. After dropping 40 minutes dropping another 17 may not seem a big deal but as I've gotten better incremental improvements are harder and harder to earn. So I have a plan to use even more game mechanics to supercharge my training in the next few months. In a coming blog post I'll outline my BQ plan with enhanced gamification.