Between teaching, coaching volleyball and spending time with his family, math teacher Jeff Danbom manages to run between 20 and 46 miles each week.

So far, Danbom has completed nine full marathons and 20 half marathons, after watching a friend complete the Chicago Marathon and being inspired.

“I went down to [the Chicago Marathon] to be a spectator and was intrigued with every aspect of the event,” said Danbom. “I decided that day to run the marathon the following year.”

For Danbom, these marathons are a great way to keep in shape.

“I’m competitive and I need a goal to focus on while I train,” said Danbom. “If I’m not registered for a race it is difficult for me to be motivated to go out for a run.”

However, running marathons did not come easily to Danbom at first.

“My first marathon I went out for an 18 miler and struggled,” said Danbom. “I walked from mile 14 to 18, it was cold, damp, dark and I was miserable. But it was a good life lesson for me that I am not always in control and I had to be more dedicated to training.”

When training, Danbom does not listen to music, rather he uses the time he spends running to think about what needs to get done that day or week.

“If I’m in volleyball season, I think about drills that would focus on key elements to the game,” said Danbom. “During a two-hour run you think about some random things, motivators are never hard for me, I have a goal of what I need to do [and] running helps me get there.”

One of the hardest parts of training for marathons is staying balanced with everything going on.

“My wife would say that I over-commit to things and that I enjoy being busy,” Danbom said.

Many of Danbom’s runs take place between 4:30 and 6:30 a.m. in order to make sure that he still has time to spend with his wife, math teacher Deborah Danbom, and daughter.

Despite being busy, Danbom said that training for a marathon actually helps him keep focused.

“During marathon training I found that I had more energy and was able to get more work accomplished daily,” said Danbom. “This I attributed to feeling good from working out and having the time to mentally prepare for each day.”

Although not everyone is able to participate in marathons, there are other ways to get involved in organized running events.

“Many 5K’s are a great way to start, [such as] Turkey Trots, Pumpkin Runs and [the] Rudolf Rumble,” said Danbom. “The running community is a great group of people.”