“Take It Slow”: Julia Beckley Continues Her Virtual Marathon Training Journey

Julia Beckley of Fort Collins, CO, ran her first 5K in 2019 and now is training to run a virtual marathon. We shared the beginning of Julia’s training journey in mid-July, right before she had surgery on her shoulder for osteonecrosis caused by the high doses of steroids she requires for her mast cell and asthma disease processes. We pick up her story as she recovers from the surgery and heads into peak mileage for her November race date.

After the surgery, a friend brought me a card that said “Take It Slow” with a picture of a sloth. Everyone who knows me knows I need that advice—especially now.

I train with the Denver chapter of Achilles International and it was hard to miss their workouts on Monday nights while I recovered. I tried a track workout on my own on a day when it was 95 degrees. I did about two laps—half a mile—before I had to stop. It was discouraging, but I know that my fitness will be fine once I start working out regularly again. My pain is at a moderate level now. It doesn’t bother me in the chair. Take it slow, right?

My goal for the next couple of weeks is to maintain about 20–25 miles a week. Then I plan to get up to 16-mile runs in training, and ideally race a half-marathon, by the end of September. If I can do that, I can start to have other goals for the marathon besides just surviving, and start to work toward those goals.

For me, training is trying to balance what I want to do and what my body can do. I have a genetic bone disorder, hypophosphatasia, that leads to fractures that don’t heal. I had three stress fractures after my first 5K. That’s why I transitioned to being an adaptive athlete.

I’ve been using a borrowed racing chair that doesn’t fit very well. We’ve ordered a new racing chair, which should come within the next four to six weeks—hopefully enough time to train with it and use it for the virtual marathon.

We were planning to run the Virtual TCS New York City Marathon, but because of the surgery I won’t be ready by November 1. It makes more sense for me to run on November 15—that way I can hit the higher miles in training through October, then have a two-week taper. It also gives me more time to plan my course and race-day logistics, and to fundraise for extra chair costs, like shipping and measurement, and for Achilles.

I’ve done one marathon, but it’ll be different doing a virtual one. We’re starting to think about the course. There’s a good 2.2-mile loop in a park that we could do multiple times—that would be easiest for logistics. It could get boring, but we’re worried that with a longer loop it will be harder to have support. We’re trying to balance those two things.

My training partner Bennie (he's third from left in the photo above) is also planning to run the virtual marathon. He has a developmental disability and is best when he’s dealing with what’s right here, right now, so we’re exploring ways to connect him to other people on race day. One idea is to make motivational videos with friends and play them at points along the course. Bennie and I have done lots of runs together—he was part of the first 20-mile run I ever did. He’s a great training partner.

I’ve learned so much from other runners in Achilles, and from my support runner, Lauren Burges. Lauren and I text all the time—it’s awesome to have a friend like her. The running community has been such a great place to show up and be an athlete.