Over the 18-week course of the Carolina Godiva Track Club's Marathon Training Program, we'll follow the progress of three runners. Every two or three weeks, we'll check in with Thomas Markham, who is training for a marathon in November, and Jen Kates and Nicole Roberge, who are training for half-marathons yet-to-be-determined. Follow their progress on the Get Out! Get Fit! blog: http://blogs.newsobserver.com/joemiller.

THOMAS MARKHAM

AGE: 28

LIVES IN: Durham

RUNNING HISTORY: Ran cross-country and track at Durham Academy and at Washington & Lee University in Virginia, but has not run races since then.

CURRENT RUNNING SITUATION: 10 miles a week.

FARTHEST RUN: 14 miles.

EVENT TRAINING FOR: Either the Richmond Marathon or the Outer Banks Marathon.

MOTIVATION? "I'd like to get back into shape and the marathon seems like a good goal to set for that purpose." Eventually, he'd like to try a longer run.

BIGGEST CONCERN: Injuries.

MARATHON GOAL: "No time goal. Finishing the race running the whole way will be good enough."

JEN KATES

AGE: 28

LIVES IN: Durham.

RUNNING HISTORY: "I briefly ran cross country in high school without much success. ... it was more of a social thing to me than anything. I've run/walked a couple of 5ks without any real training, but that's all." Is also training for a triathlon in October.

CURRENT RUNNING SITUATION: Six to 10 miles a week.

FARTHEST RUN: "About four miles, but that was an accident. A friend of mine and I were running and walking on the Cary greenway and we lost track of our mileage. On purpose, I've run no more than 3 miles at once."

EVENT TRAINING FOR: Either the OBX half-marathon or Battleship North Carolina half-marathon.

MOTIVATION? "It seems like such a great mental and physical challenge for me - so how can I refuse? Plus, my mom has MS (multiple sclerosis), so it's my goal to try to do as many physical challenges as I can in my life since my mom isn't able to." And "to lose a few pounds."

BIGGEST CONCERN: Injuries.

MARATHON GOAL: "Although it would be nice to finish it in under 3 hours, my ultimate goal is simply to finish."

NICOLE ROBERGE

AGE: 31

LIVES IN: Durham

RUNNING HISTORY: Ran in high school. "I was quite slow, but it was a big social club and 10 percent of the school did it, so I did it." Started running again in mid-20s to train for climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, then stopped running after the climb."

CURRENT RUNNING SITUATION: Ten miles a week.

FARTHEST RUN: 10K (6.2 miles).

EVENT TRAINING FOR: A half-marathon to be determined.

MOTIVATION: "I would like to run so that I am physically fit enough to be able to get out there and play as hard as I want, when I want."

BIGGEST CONCERN: Being able to maintain training schedule while traveling for work.

HALF-MARATHON GOAL: "To finish without stopping. .... As the training program progresses, though, and I get a better sense of my fitness level closer to the race, I'll probably create a time goal for myself.