Community Corner
Bed-Stuy's Marathon Runners: Margot Otten
Our weekly profile of local favorites running in the ING Marathon
Name: Margot Otten
Age: 27
Hometown: Kildeer, IL
Find out what's happening in Bed-Stuywith free, real-time updates from Patch.
How long you've been running? Since I was 12
Why you are running? I run for myself and my future self.
Find out what's happening in Bed-Stuywith free, real-time updates from Patch.
What Inspires You? The way running has a widespread positive affect on my health - It incites better eating, better sleeping, more general alertness, enthusiasm and stamina in my every day life
Training Routine: I run 4-8 miles on weekdays. I love to wake up before work and run through the streets while they're still empty. Brooklyn is very pleasant, very beautiful in the early morning. My only strict training is my weekly long run. On the weekends, I do one long run which starts around 12 miles and goes up to 23 miles a few weeks before the race.
Other Tidbit: I first started running long distances while I was studying architecture in Versailles, France, several years ago. I would run through the palace gardens which is open to the public. The gardens are 1900 acres of labyrinth. I got terribly lost the first 10 times I went. By the 11th time I was beginning to enjoy spending 1-2 hours wandering around the tree-lined paths. I was so distracted by the scenery and by piecing together the maze, that I stopped keeping track of time. That's how I learned to run for the experience of the long run.
