The Dissertation Marathon

We all think of a marathon as a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometers (26 miles and 385 yards). Throughout time marathon runners have pursued their longest goals by allowing their body to adapt to the new stresses through training. Training for a marathon takes intense preparation, dedication and skill. It is imperative not to allow day to day decisions to counteract the hard work and planning of the final stages of the marathon. A few basic guidelines can minimize the challenges of the journey and make the marathon experience exciting and pleasant for the runner. Students pursuing the doctorate degree face the same challenges as the marathon runner. Training for the dissertation process is not unlike training for a marathon. It requires intense preparation, dedication and skill. In many ways, conducting doctoral research and writing the dissertation is like running a marathon, enduring hills and valleys, mountains, rivers and frantic road blocks along the way. It is a long and weary race but in the successful end will lead to the final race in the doctoral journey; defending and publishing the dissertation. This paper will serve as a performance-based goal-driven roadmap that will guide the doctoral dissertation candidate through each mile of the dissertation marathon, with clear benchmarks to minimize the challenges of the journey to cross the finish line and graduate.