Not long ago Hobbit Singleton was a marathon beginner. Now, she’s a coach. The support she received while training for her first marathon at 48 made her want to give back, so she and her husband, Tom, began coaching walkers and runners preparing for the Little Rock Marathon. Since 2001, Hobbit, a mother and grandmother, has walked 15 marathons and 40 half marathons. The 60-year-old contract bookkeeper slowed down enough for us to quiz her about her name, her love of coaching, marathoning with her husband and more.
Q: What’s up with the name Hobbit? I know this is not the first time you’ve been asked.
A: That was a nickname my boss gave me many years ago. That is all anybody called me. We moved [to Little Rock] and I was training for my first marathon, and I wanted it on my race entry in Ireland. The race entry had to match the passport, so I had my name legally changed. Everybody just thinks my parents were big Tolkien fans, but they weren’t.
Q: What’s your real name? Does anybody still call you by it?
A: Linda. Maybe some people that knew me many years ago, but not too many.
Q: You didn’t participate in your first marathon until 2001. Why did you wait so long?
A: I was 48 and not anybody that thought about doing something like that. We moved to Little Rock from Louisiana and our children were grown. I was watching TV, and they were talking about how the Arthritis Foundation was doing a relay to raise money. It struck me how much fun they were having. I told Tom I wanted to do it. He said he couldn’t train for a marathon because he is too obsessive. I told him, “You can stay home. I’m going to the meeting.” We don’t do something if the other isn’t, so he went and signed up and started training and raising money.
Q: Had you been active prior to training?
A: I was an aerobics instructor, just like about everyone my age was, but I had never walked long distances. My daughter says she thought I was active because I was always doing something, but a structured exercise routine was all brand new to me. Tom had been running but not in races. When he turned 40, he started running, but nothing organized — [he ran] just to be healthy.
Q: Some people are surprised you don’t take money for your services. Why do you volunteer?
A: I really couldn’t have done it without the support and encouragement from my training group. It meant a lot to me that they were doing the same thing I was doing and not looking at me like I was crazy, like my family was. I’m built more like Garfield than the Siamese cats in Lady and the Tramp. Being around people gives you support. Tom looks like a runner and people always go to him and ask him for advice. I want to say, “I’ve done 15 marathons and 40 half [marathons].”
The reason I want to coach is because of how much people supported me. You don’t get a lot of support as an adult onset athlete. We like encouraging and seeing those faces as they cross the finish line. We very seldom run the Little Rock race; we usually work it. I like to work the lipstick station, and all I do is babble to those runners that don’t think they can go much more and walk them in. We just love seeing someone accomplish something they never dreamed they could do.
Q: How fun is it to share a love of marathoning with your husband?
A: I don’t think either one of us could do it if the other one wasn’t interested. It takes too much time and consumes you. When we are coaching new people, we spend a lot of time answering phone calls from people with questions. It takes up some time. We end up talking about it at the dinner table. We think of [the participants] like our kids. I can’t imagine doing it without him.
Q: What’s your advice to someone who is contemplating walking or running a marathon?
A: My advice is to start now. We train for 50 weeks. We don’t have a session the week of the marathon, and then the week after, we give everybody time off to recuperate. Then we start training again. You want to make sure you start slow. Some people figure if they are going to run 2 miles, they might as well run 6. That’s a big difference. It takes me almost two hours to walk 6 miles. We see injuries with people who start too fast. Maybe start out with a 5K, then a 10K, then the half and then the marathon. We had a lady who was going to run the 5K, and was so far ahead, she just decided to do the marathon. There is no right or wrong way. It’s what feels good.
Q: The Little Rock Marathon is sold out repeatedly. Why do you think it is so popular?
A: Part of it is that big, honking medal. A lot of people like bling, and our medal is blingy. Every race has a hook, and I think the medal is our hook. We also have good, quality shirts. The course is good, and Little Rock does a great job of welcoming people. We get a lot of comments on how nice the cab drivers are and how helpful everybody is. When [the marathon] first started we didn’t have many spectators, but the Pulaski Heights Baptist Church on Kavanaugh had all of its congregation out there all dressed in Sunday best in lawn chairs and cheering. Now, they have block parties on Kavanaugh.
Q: What are some of your other interests?
A: Tom likes to bike, but I don’t. We like to travel and most of our travel revolves around races. I like traveling to the marathons because the vacation is the reward for my training. We used to do NASCAR, but mostly we are just training and working.
Q: How much longer do you plan on coaching?
A: It depends if it is a good day or a bad day. On a good day, I’m ready to keep going, on a bad day … . We have a good circle of friends that can help train the group while we are gone. We have a good support system.