While most students try to finish the semester without getting too distracted by thoughts of Santa Claus, Christmas lights and the month of freedom ahead of them, some have a larger task – running the White Rock Marathon.Junior nursing major Madeline Bowles will run the entire 26.2 mile race, while Jennifer Salim, a junior communication studies major, and a group of about 15 members from Chi Omega will participate in the 13.1 mile half marathon.

Junior nursing major Katie Calandro organized the effort for Chi Omega and said she hopes the race can become a tradition.

“We are usually pretty active in intramurals, and girls are always playing in the different sports and doing well,” Calandro said. “So, I thought this would be another outlet in which we could make a team and do something together.”

Alli Fredrick, a senior Spanish major and Chi Omega member, signed up to maintain her fitness.

“I wanted to get back in shape after spending the whole summer in Spain,” Fredrick said. “I wanted to run in Spain, but it just didn’t work out.”

Bowles said completing a marathon has been on her list of achievements, but the race also has family ties.

“It’s a big goal to accomplish, and I am running it with Team in Training, which supports the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society,” she said. “My grandma had leukemia, and (my running) helps raise money for research.”

Bowles said her training group runs three to five miles each weekday and completes longer distances Saturdays, ranging from eight to 22 miles. Once the 22-mile plateau is reached, Bowles said, training slows down in order to peak at the proper time.

This Saturday, eight days prior to the race, the distance will be four miles, she said.

The training regimen for a half marathon is similar but only increases by one or two miles during the week and one mile for the longer weekend runs for the race, Salim said.

“(In September), when I started, I’d run three to four miles during the week and then five miles on the weekends,” Salim said. “Then, I’d run four and five miles during the week and six on the weekend. Now I’m running 11 miles on the weekend.”

Fredrick said she runs four times a week and does cardiovascular training on an Elliptical machine, StairMaster or bike the remaining days. Salim said she also sometimes goes to a spin class.

This is the first marathon for Bowles, Salim and Fredrick, so the objective is simple: finish the race. Bowles has made it a point to run – not walk – the whole length.

“It’s just kind of a mental thing, if I walk, I feel like I haven’t run a marathon,” Bowles said. “If I walk, then I realize how much pain I’m in, and that makes it harder.”

One of the biggest obstacles for a college student is finding enough time to train, Salim said.

“It is more time-consuming than I realized,” she said. “If this goes well, I’d do the half again, but while I’m in college, I’d never do the full.”

There is less ambiguity with Bowles, as she said she knows she will eventually run a second marathon.

“It’s addicting, and afterward, you’re like ‘Oh my gosh, I’ve accomplished so much,'” Bowles said.