Running in pool helps in marathon

In the world of exercise, nothing is quite as mind-numbing as pool running.

For those unfamiliar with it, pool running involves using a flotation belt and pretty much running in place in the deep end of a pool. Elite, collegiate and avid runners often use pool running as a running-specific way to stay in shape while recovering from an injury or as an additional workout. Frankly, it takes extra dedication.

Gerry Englert, 55, of Summerville, may be the latest disciple for the exercise.

Englert injured his hamstring following the Hilton Head Half Marathon on Feb. 9 and had been looking forward to running the 112th Boston Marathon on April 21. At the suggestion of On the Run running store owner Irv Batten, Englert started using pool running to stay in shape as his hamstring healed, hoping that he still could run Boston.

He did pool running twice a week, replacing his weekly "long run" workout with two hours and 20 minutes of pool running.

"It was so boring," Englert admits of his workouts at the busy Jones Recreation Center pool in Mount Pleasant. "Thank God there were things going on around me that I could look at."

He also rode his bicycle and stationary bicycle for time lengths and intensity levels that were comparable to his running workouts. But the hamstring never healed to the point that Englert felt comfortable running. Still, without running a step since Feb. 9, he and his two grown sons headed up to Boston. Englert had no idea what to expect when he entered a corral in the second wave of starters April 21.

"I took my cell phone and told my boys, 'I may make it to four miles or I may make it the whole way,' " says Englert, who typically runs marathons between 3:32 and 3:40.

Despite running Boston twice and 10 other marathons, all Englert wanted to do was finish this one.

He was nervous. For marathoners, a DNF (did not finish) is tantamount to an F in school. Once he started running, his hamstring held him back, but he kept a positive attitude and took one mile at a time. When he approached the line of screaming coeds at Wellesley College near the halfway mark, Englert thought that if his run got ugly right there, he would have to walk only half of the course.

But he never had to. He finished in 4:02:56 and says he ran the whole way. He was more proud of his accomplishment than he would have been setting a personal record.

"At the finish line, I gave more high fives than I had ever done before. ... Cross-training really works."

Reach David Quick at 937-5516 or dquick@postandcourier.com.