This week, senior Rob Rehrig will be eating nothing but carbohydrates as he prepares to run the Delaware Marathon for the second year in a row. He is one of several university students who will be participating in Sunday's race in Wilmington.

"I want to become a lot better at running marathons because I know that I can do it," Rehrig said. "When I'm out there, nothing else matters and I can think and relax while doing it."

In preparation for the marathon, Rehrig has been going on long runs of five to 20 miles. Because of his hectic college lifestyle, he said he has struggled to balance running and other obligations, often finding himself unable to run every day of the week.

"I don't have a solid training regimen," Rehrig said. "I'm just trying to run farther distances and run as often as I can to prepare my body for the race. Last year, my body wasn't really ready, and this year I feel great about my body enduring the 26.2 miles."

Freshman Emily Casey, who is new to running marathons, is ready for the challenge of running the entire length of the race.

"I thought it would be cool to run a marathon because you don't know many 19 year olds who have done it," Casey said. "It's a good opportunity at a good time for me. I'm an extremely competitive person and I think I should definitely be able to complete the full run."

In high school, Casey played soccer and softball but never ran track or cross country, and has only completed one 20-mile run in preparation for the marathon.

"I just want to be able to say that I could finish a marathon," Casey said. "I think running is just really fun, and it'll be very rewarding."

Both Casey and Rehrig will be looking to their families for support during the race. Casey will be running alongside her cousin, a Delaware native, and Rehrig's mother will be running in the half-marathon portion of the Delaware Marathon event.

Keeping up with family tradition, Rehrig's mother will join him for a pasta party the night before the race.

"It's a ritual," Rehrig said. "Just like in high school, my mom will make a bunch of pasta and we will all get excited for the race."  

Freshman Aaron Feld is also running the Delaware Marathon this weekend for the second time. During last year's marathon, Feld said his body was physically exhausted, forcing him to grab onto a fellow runner and hop the last two miles of the race.

He said his lifestyle at the university and the accompanying eating habits can detract from a solid training program, but his enthusiasm for running has pushed him forward.

"I run because it'll keep me in shape and because going on a long-distance run clears my mind," Feld said. "I wanted to run this marathon because once you run a marathon you need to keep the reputation up. I want to do it to prove to myself that I can and because not many people can do it, and I know that no matter what it takes, it'll be worth it."

Feld said the inspiration to run came from his high school track coach. Though he is 19 years old, the Delaware Marathon will be his third marathon, and he hopes to beat his personal best time of four hours and 14 minutes.

"If you can convince your mind to do something and to block out all of the pain, you will be able to go further," Feld said. "I feel like running is 90 percent mental and 10 percent physical. If you have the stamina you'll be able to do it. I just feel like running marathons makes me unique and I want to just do the best I can."

Rehrig said he hopes to continue running for the rest of his life.

"It's really rewarding," Rehrig said. "After my first marathon I wanted to get a tattoo that said 26.2. I never got it then, but I'm definitely going to get it after this one."