I want to run a marathon in December...bad timing?

[TXRuz]

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Hi everyone!

So I'm wanting to train for the Las Vegas marathon in December 2012...I'm not a dental student yet, but I got interviews to all of the dental schools in Texas. So if I get offered a seat for 2012, do you think training and attending a marathon would greatly interfere with exam schedules? Are dental schools generally flexible as far as taking exams early? The marathons are usually on a Sunday, so I would have to be gone atleast on the Friday before the race and the Monday after.

Thoughts? I really want to do this race as my husband is already getting excited to train for it too. But before we spend big bucks in registering and reserving hotel rooms I'd like to know if it's workable with school or not. Thanks in advance for your opinion!! 🙂

 

[omaralt]

wait until you get into dental school and then see the exam schedule; as long as you dont have an exam on that day i dont see why you couldnt just skip those days; however December is the end of the semester so classes maybe more important or you may have exams. so ya not very good timing 🙂

 

[uva09]

Ah, some of these thread topics never cease to amaze...

So, just to clarify... You are not in dental school. You do not know which dental school, if any, you will be attending next year. And as such you have absolutely no idea what your personal or dental school schedule (let alone an exam schedule) will be like. Even if you knew where you were going, there is no guarantee you would have access to a relevant, solidified exam schedule this far in advance. And you are seeking advice from online forum members who all go to different dental schools with wildly different schedules and preparation philosophies.

Dental Schools are going to be flexible under extenuating circumstances. But you will be laughed at if you tell them you need to alter your schedule over a casual race in another state. It seems fairly ridiculous to need to take a 4-day vacation (yes, personal vacation - that's would it would be considered) for a marathon race. I'm sure there are hundreds of marathons in Texas and whichever school you go to will most assuredly have some type of distance race right by the school at some point during the year.

First year of dental school can be brutal and a shock to the average student. Make sure you have your priorities in line so that you don't risk jeopardizing your academic record early on during exam season.

 

[J89]

Although all the comments posted above are valid, you should know that running a marathon in dental school is absolutely possible. Our circumstances are a little different, I ran a marathon in November (actually a year ago this weekend) and I was in my 2nd year of dental school. Nonetheless, I had an exam the day after and I ran the marathon in another state - not even a neighboring state. I asked to take the exam early and just as UVA09 mentioned, they laughed at me. I managed a B on the exam and earned some mad street cred within my class. If you really want to run a marathon in December 2012 then by all means go for it!

 

[bigstix808]

Although all the comments posted above are valid, you should know that running a marathon in dental school is absolutely possible. Our circumstances are a little different, I ran a marathon in November (actually a year ago this weekend) and I was in my 2nd year of dental school. Nonetheless, I had an exam the day after and I ran the marathon in another state - not even a neighboring state. I asked to take the exam early and just as UVA09 mentioned, they laughed at me. I managed a B on the exam and earned some mad street cred within my class. If you really want to run a marathon in December 2012 then by all means go for it!

i took up endurance sports the summer before i started dschool. i have since done a quite a few 5k's (for local charity and such), a few 10k's around the area that were just fun, sprint and olympic distance tri's, a century bike ride, and just did my 1st marathon 2 weeks ago (in my 3rd yr).

there are a multitude of students that have also done the local 1/2 IRONMAN (which i plan on doing next year) and tons of cyclist that ride/race year round.

time management is key!!

short answer though, sure you can run a marathon in dschool - and i bet vegas in dec is awesome weather too!!!

 

[tinman831]

What exactly are you trying to accomplish? Are you trying to run competitively? In that case, you can probably forget it. Runners train full time for marathons so you won't have any success in a marathon if you need to commit your time to dental school. If you are running just for fun, almost any ambulatory person can finish a marathon. It's not too bad, it just requires willpower and determination. You can walk three miles (a leisurely pace) an hour and finish in about 8 hours. Back when I was in dental school, every year, we had a group out running the marathon so it is definitely possible. But lets not jump ahead of ourselves here. Get into dental school first, and get a taste of what it is like. You may feel like you don't have time for training, or you might feel like you have plenty of time.

 

[dentalWorks]

Ah, some of these thread topics never cease to amaze...

So, just to clarify... You are not in dental school. You do not know which dental school, if any, you will be attending next year. And as such you have absolutely no idea what your personal or dental school schedule (let alone an exam schedule) will be like. Even if you knew where you were going, there is no guarantee you would have access to a relevant, solidified exam schedule this far in advance. And you are seeking advice from online forum members who all go to different dental schools with wildly different schedules and preparation philosophies.

Dental Schools are going to be flexible under extenuating circumstances. But you will be laughed at if you tell them you need to alter your schedule over a casual race in another state. It seems fairly ridiculous to need to take a 4-day vacation (yes, personal vacation - that's would it would be considered) for a marathon race. I'm sure there are hundreds of marathons in Texas and whichever school you go to will most assuredly have some type of distance race right by the school at some point during the year.

First year of dental school can be brutal and a shock to the average student. Make sure you have your priorities in line so that you don't risk jeopardizing your academic record early on during exam season.

lol, I like this post, even tho its a little too sarcastic for my taste.

To OP... how about you train for your marathon anyways, and hope for the best? If you could attend it, great, if you couldn't, what the hey, at least you'll be healthier than the majority of your dental class.

God knows, regular exercise is (IMO) a must for a professional student

 

[whoaaitzkyle]

Hi everyone!

So I'm wanting to train for the Las Vegas marathon in December 2012...I'm not a dental student yet, but I got interviews to all of the dental schools in Texas. So if I get offered a seat for 2012, do you think training and attending a marathon would greatly interfere with exam schedules? Are dental schools generally flexible as far as taking exams early? The marathons are usually on a Sunday, so I would have to be gone atleast on the Friday before the race and the Monday after.

Thoughts? I really want to do this race as my husband is already getting excited to train for it too. But before we spend big bucks in registering and reserving hotel rooms I'd like to know if it's workable with school or not. Thanks in advance for your opinion!! 🙂

Training for a marathon is very ambituous while in dental school. I'm a D3 and just finished running the Nike Run in SF with some of my classmates and we had a prosth and endo competency that wed and thurs. You'll have enough time to train, but honestly, first year is pretty tough especially just adjusting to the workload. I wouldn't plan on taking a 4 day vacation or assume your school will make any special accommodations for any recreational activity though. Best of luck.