When the new Vice President of the New Orleans Hornets isn’t working hard to keep the HIVE live, he’s most likely outdoors running. Recently, Ed Lang competed in the widely popular Boston Marathon and finished with a time just over three hours. The 48 year old that hails from Cincinnati wasn’t always into running. Today, he sheds some insight on running the Boston Marathon and how he got to this point.
Claim Your Journey: When did you start running?
Ed Lang: I started running in my late 30s and it was just to get in shape. There was a period of time in my 30s where I was just working and didn’t really do much exercising. Before, when I was younger and in college, I’d done a lot of cycling. For a short period of time, I was also involved in cycling competitively. As far as running, the most i’d ran was when I played soccer growing up. So, one day I just decided I really need to get back into the mold of working out, but I didn’t really have much time for cycling and just started running on a treadmill. From the treadmill to a few miles outdoors to a friend saying you should try a marathon.
CYJ: Where was your first marathon?
EL: My first marathon was in Nashville, TN. I was living there at the time. The race was called the Country Music Marathon. So, I finished that and thought, well I’m not going to do that again! [laughs] Then, after a while I started to think…I can do better. Let me try to do better on the next one.
CYJ: Does this mean you began running marathons consistently?
EL: I would do a couple of half marathons and maybe one marathon a year. This past year, I’ve actually done three.
CYJ: Three half marathons?
EL: Three full marathons. In October I ran the Chicago marathon, December I ran a trail marathon out in Indiana, and then I ran the Boston Marathon.
CYJ: Tell us a little about the Boston Marathon.
EL: The temperature was great for Boston. I loved it! It’s probably one of the best marathons I’ve run. The crowd was so into it. The whole 26 miles, people are along the side the entire race. There are other marathons i’ve ran and people are there towards the beginning and the end, but in Boston people are cheering you on the entire way and they’re very supportive. Because it’s a competitive race and you have to quality for it, you’re running with people that are moving along with you, rather than weaving between people going different paces and that’s something I really appreciated about the race. When I look at my times from other marathons, I’m usually in the top 20% for my age group, but in Boston I was only in the top 50%. It’s very competitive. For the Boston Marathon, my goal was to get around three hours and thirty minutes. I finished with a time of 03:29:00 and made my goal. My fastest time was in Charlotte Marathon and I ran a 03:26:00 to qualify for the Boston Marathon.
CYJ: How did you train?
EL: Last summer I did some speed work with a group out in Nashville. Since moving to New Orleans, I’ve been running more on my own. I do read books and websites for tips on training and how I can modify it to my routine. I don’t do a lot of mileage, maybe three or four times a week. I do participate in Triathlons to cross train.
CYJ: Do you have a group or running partner to run with in New Orleans? Do you and Hugh (Weber) run together?
EL: It’s funny, I’d only been here for a couple of weeks. I’d asked Hugh where I should run and he suggested that I go out to City Park in New Orleans. So, I went out for a long run and while I’m running I hear someone yell out “Ed!”. I’m like, how does anyone in New Orleans know me, I’ve only been here a week? I pay it no mind and keep running, but then I get to a stop sign. The runner says my name again and this time I turn around. It just happens to be Hugh. [laughs] We didn’t plan this, it just happened.
CYJ: Where do you think you’ll run next?
EL: I’ve run the New York marathon, Boston, and Chicago. They say it’s a five marathon series that includes those three major marathons, but also London and Berlin. So, now i’m thinking about it. I’ve never ran a marathon or a race in another country.
CYJ: Why do you run?
EL: I really enjoy going to a different city that I haven’t been to before and meeting new people. Especially when I’m running in these races…just kind of getting away from things. When I run a marathon, I forget about all things going on and just enjoy the moment.
Do you think he should run the Marathons in London and Berlin? Would you ever run a race outside of the country?
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