So naturally, there's no way to avoid the pain. The best runners can do is to start training long before the event.

For some Harvard athletes who have been running for several years, training isn't all that hard.

"[Training] was a lot easier than track," says Hurley, who ran track and cross-country until this year. "I could do it on my own schedule."

Sheppard-Sawyer admits that although she had been running pretty regularly, she actually spent the week prior to the race in the Caribbean.

Nevertheless, being on a team does not prepare you for the rigors of a marathon.

"Even if you're in okay shape it's a demanding experience," says Hurley.

Those students who did not have collegiate athletic training needed to engage in more rigorous programs.

Thomas and Yuki M. Bowman '98, after deciding in December to run in this year's marathon, followed a 16-week training program from a book.

In that program, Thomas says, she began with runs as short as seven miles, eventually working her way up to much longer distances.

"[The first run] was kind of disturbing," she says. The only way to have the confidence to do it, she adds, is to take the training "a week at a time."

Glass says that training was an exercise in "self-discipline," as it was not one of her favorite activities.

"You know, I hate running," she says.

Man or Machine?

Getting your body in shape also means taking care of yourself, runners say, in a number of different ways.

The key components of a successful training program are getting enough sleep and eating right.