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Chastain's Goal: Just Finish the Race

Women's Soccer Star Trains for New York Marathon

  • By JEN MURPHY

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The Athlete
Brandi Chastain, the women's soccer star perhaps best remembered for her iconic World Cup celebration when she tore off her shirt and fell to her knees in her sports bra, is asking herself why people run 26.2 miles. ""It's so far,"" she says. It's 7 a.m. and Ms. Chastain has met me for a run in Central Park. As we jog around the reservoir she cheers along morning runners, particularly the women.

Brandi Chastain

Brandi Chastain says her son, Jaden, enjoys racing with her on the sidewalk, loves the starting pose more.

Ms. Chastain, 40, is not a distance runner. As a member of the U.S. national soccer team, she helped the Americans win gold in the 1996 Summer Olympics and scored the game-clinching penalty kick against China in the World Cup soccer final in 1999. But Ms. Chastain's competitiveness, not a love of running, persuaded her to sign on to run the New York City Marathon as an ambassador for ING Run for Something Better, a program that promotes youth fitness. Ms. Chastain has completed two half-marathons, but this represents her first attempt at the full 26.2 miles. She'll line up with approximately 40,000 other participants Sunday.

Ms. Chastain served as a soccer analyst for NBC at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. This summer she also helped coach the U.S. women's under-20 national team. She says she'd like to continue coaching until professional women's soccer returns to the U.S. in 2009.

Ms. Chastain is married and has a two-year-old son. They live in Santa Clara, Calif. She stands 5-foot-7 and weighs 128 pounds.

The Workout
Ms. Chastain is used to sprinting and running short distances. The idea of a marathon, not to mention the time commitment to train properly, has been daunting. Instead of her usual circuit training workouts she's now had to carve out time for 10-to-12-mile runs on weekends. Ms. Chastain has generally followed the New York City Marathon training program for first-time marathoners. When Ms. Chastain became a mom two years ago, her son Jaden largely determined when Ms. Chastain had time to exercise. Now, Jaden sits in the jogging stroller when Ms. Chastain goes out for her runs.

Ms. Chastain has transformed her garage into a mini gym with a full weight set, bands, balancing boards, dumbbells, medicine balls and balance balls. Having all of the equipment at home makes it easier to sneak in a workout. She focuses on plyometric and core exercises, and performs multiple repetitions of strength exercises with light weights. Ms. Chastain has undergone reconstructive surgery on both knees and has made sure to incorporate strength and flexibility into her routine as she starts pounding the pavement more.

Uber-competitive, she says the hardest part of the marathon is going to be pacing herself, something she's been working on during her training runs. ""I said at the beginning that sub-four hours would be great,"" she says. ""Now I am thinking finishing will be awesome. It will be hard to harness my competitive side, but I am going to just enjoy the journey.""

Ms. Chastain doesn't think she'll get the marathon bug after completing her first. ""Women's professional soccer begins again next year. I hope I'll be putting on cleats again.""

The Diet
Ms. Chastain likes to mix three or four different kinds of cereal together for breakfast. Her favorites include Cheerios, Special K, Raisin Bran and Honey Bunches of Oats. Lunch is usually a turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread and a piece of fruit. ""Or else it's whatever Jaden hasn't finished,"" she jokes. Ms. Chastain drinks water throughout the day and snacks on bananas, nectarines and plums. For dinner she usually eats a lean protein, pasta and greens and enjoys a glass of wine.

The Cost
Nike and PowerBar sponsor Ms. Chastain. She says she'll use their products to help her get to the finish line. She's usually clad head to toe in Nike gear. ING is sponsoring her to run the race and picked up her registration fee.

The Effort
""My weeks are not normal or set,"" she says. ""It all depends on what Jaden needs or has that determines what I am doing for my exercise."" Ms. Chastain says the biggest challenge of training for the marathon has been trying to fit in the long runs. She says she finally ran 20 miles in early October. ""I was dreading it and pushed it back but I finally said I have to do it or the run on the 2nd won't be any fun at all. That is, if 26.2 miles is fun.""

The Benefit
Ms. Chastain supports childhood fitness and hopes that participating in the Run for Something Better program and running the marathon will inspire kids to set their own personal fitness goals. Ms. Chastain says she's also excited by the opportunity of getting to view New York City through this very unique perspective. ""Seriously, what better way to see the city?"" she says.

Write to Jen Murphy at workout@wsj.com

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