Her mother, Mary Dahlstrom, was also a marathon runner (who trained for her first, the 1978 Honolulu Marathon, using a Runner’s World training plan). And yet, despite pretty much growing up on the track, Nell Rojas favored soccer and, even more, basketball. Talk to any coach, and you’ll hear about common mistakes that can derail even the most dedicated runners. “Easy pace isn’t really a pace but more of a feeling,” adds Sara Manderscheid, a certified run coach in Boulder. Trevor Raab Nell Rojas believes that every marathon teaches you a lesson.