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Here's how Godiva's 6-to-26.2 plan works: Every Saturday, the marathoners gather for a group run, typically on a rolling, natural surface trail in the Durham area. Last Saturday, the first-time marathoners ran 6 miles. This Saturday they'll run 7 and come Sept. 1, they'll be up to 10. By gradually increasing those Saturday training runs, they should be up to 20 miles by Nov. 10.

Meanwhile, during the week, they'll be training on their own, doing various prescribed workouts. Typically, after Saturday's long run, the rest of the week will unfold like this:

Sunday: Cross-training. A bike ride, perhaps, or a swim. Something to keep the body active but work different muscles.

Monday: Rest.

Tuesday-Thursday: Shorter runs, generally between four and 10 miles.

Friday: Rest, for Saturday's long run.

The program is overseen by more experienced Godiva club members -- the club numbers more than 450 -- who offer advice and, on Saturdays, act as "pacers" to keep the runners in line. That's one part of the program Heiko Rath liked when he trained with Godiva last fall for the Outer Banks Marathon: "the sound advice from others, and the encouragement."

More important, though, may be the dynamic of training with others.

"I enjoyed bonding with the people in my pace group, going through the preparation for the event," says Rath, who finished last year's blustery OBX marathon in less than four hours. "It is easier to do the long runs in a group versus running by myself."

Markham agrees. "It keeps your mind off how you're feeling. A little bit." He also has a more visceral reason for running in a pack.

"It keeps you going. You don't want to embarrass yourself."

Who runs and why

Godiva's Marathon Training Program attracts a mix of runners. Last week's kickoff meeting was dominated by 20-somethings and baby boomers. Some had run competitively in high school and were getting back into it, others, such as Rath, were recent converts. There were more women than men. ("Men do not readily join any kind of beginner classes," Schultz observed.)

There seemed to be one commonality, which Jen Katz, a 28-year-old Durham runner training for a half-marathon, expressed: "Mostly, I'm concerned about injuries."

A valid concern, says Leone, the UNC physician who runs 50 to 60 miles a week. One reason he said he likes the Godiva program is that it does a couple of things to make marathon training easier on the body.

One, the long runs are on a more joint-friendly natural surface with hills. "With a variation of terrain, you don't have the same repetitive motion injury you get on pavement."

Two, the once-a-week interval workouts -- working short sprints into longer stretches -- work different leg muscles and help build aerobic capacity.

Still, to the nonrunner, the question remains: Why?

Some take a big-picture approach. "Long term, I'm running for my health," says 31-year-old Nicole Roberge, who is training for a yet-to-be-determined half-marathon. "I would like to be able to maintain a routine throughout my life so I can keep doing fun things" -- like climbing Africa's 19,340-foot Mount Kilimanjaro, which she did a few years ago -- "for a long time."

Jen Kates, who ran cross country in high school and plays in the Durham open women's soccer league, cites a heightened appreciation for being active. "My mom has multiple sclerosis, so it's my goal to do as many physical challenges as I can in my life since my mom isn't able to."

For Leone, his daily run is a time of escape. "I have a clearing out of my head. I'm more focused." Then he adds what what many distance runners get but likely sounds plain crazy to anyone for whom dashing to catch an elevator is a breath-taking ordeal.

"It has a calming effect."

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