Archive | Success Story

Marathon Success Story with Marty Gardner

In this episode we speak with Marty Gardner -an Academy member who went from a self-described overweight depressed man who lacked self confidence, to a Marathon Maniac and ultra runner!

In May he completed the Keys 100, a point-to-point race from Key Largo to Key West, Florida.

In the quick tip segment, Coach Angie shares how heart rate training will improve your running.

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Boston Marathon Bound!


Congrats to your client Stephen Terni on running a Boston Qualifying time! Here’s what he had to say about working with MTA Coach Jenn,

First, I am sincerely grateful for my coaching experience. I am confident in saying that I would not have qualified for Boston without Jennifer’s advice and support.

I did not have awareness around a handful of bad habits that I have had over the last decade of my running, and Jennifer brought them to light for me. Specifically, her nutrition expertise helped me dial in my race-day nutrition and pre-race regimen to ensure that I didn’t bonk while avoiding gastrointestinal issues.

She also taught me the value of running slow – that was the secret to unlocking higher weekly mileage while balancing recovery. I can truly say I was in the best running shape of my life leading up to the marathon. Continue Reading →

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I won my age group

Congrats to our coaching client Christine Pearson who finished the Stumptown Trail Runs 50K in Oregon and won her age group!! Here’s a note she wrote to MTA Coach Athena (posted with permission).

“Well . . . I won my age group. That’s the headline. It was hard, but in a weird way super fun.

The hills kicked my butt and I was thankful to have an excuse to walk and eat. Although my watch didn’t accurately measure the distance, the time is correct: 6:22. I won my age group by an hour.

Thank you very much for your constant support and encouragement. You were in my head A LOT! My husband took a photo of me finishing. Ps- several of my toe nails are in bad shape. It will be a good excuse not to run this week.” -Christine P

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First marathon at 58 in the books!

Congrats to our client Demi Nazarro on completing her first marathon!! She writes,

“I’ve been a member of the MTA community since 2020, having been introduced to the podcast by way of the Social Distancing Run 100 Mile Challenge. I have been inspired by the many success stories of everyday runners achieving their fitness goals, breaking personal records, and just becoming a better version of themselves.

I became motivated to make my story one of those stories. Finally at 58 years old, I ran my very first marathon at the Eugene Marathon last April 30th. Continue Reading →

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New PR at the Delaware Marathon

Congrats to our coaching client Nagesh Kolli on running a marathon PR of 4:31:44 at his 6th marathon! He writes,

“It was a great experience working with Coach Antonio to train for my Delaware marathon. I am very thankful for his insight into training, he guided me very well through out the last five months. Under his training I was able achieve a half marathon PR of 1:53:35 PR and a marathon PR 4:31:44. Continue Reading →

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Fulfillment of a Life Long Dream

Congrats to our client Scott on finishing the Boston Marathon! He writes,

“I finished the Boston Marathon on Monday. A charity runner, I was running the race for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in memory of my Mom.

I’ve run 5 previous marathons but always hit the wall. My goal was to run the Boston hills and still finish strong.

Thanks to Coach Abby’s detailed training schedules and race plan, I finished Boston Strong with my last mile being my fastest and my second fastest marathon time of 4:35, at the age of 55.

Growing up less than 1 mile from Heartbreak Hill, this was a fulfillment of a life long dream. Thank you MTA and Coach Abby!” -Scott

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I decided to aim for bigger goals

Congrats to our client Candis Ubiles who completed her 5th marathon after dealing with a knee injury. She writes,

“In spring of 2022, I decided to take my 20+ years of casual running to the next level after coming across MTA.

I found the podcasts to be so inspiring as well as informative and once I learned of the coaching through the MTA community, I decided to invest in a coach to prepare me for the Marine Corp Marathon in October 2022.

I was paired with Coach Lynn and was immediately inspired by her caring and thoughtful approach to coaching as well as the example she lives of someone who stays active, has accomplished so much and truly enjoys running as much as I do.

Through this relationship with Coach Lynn, a fire was lit in my life regarding running and I really tapped into what it meant to me (something she has me reflect on often). As I did this, I realized that marathon running was something I wanted in my life long term, not just as a bucket list item to check off. Continue Reading →

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3:04:22 Marathon at Revel Mt. Charleston

Congrats to our client Bill Drinkward on earning a new PR at the Revel Mt. Charleston Marathon in Las Vegas! He writes,

“Wow… what a special day at Revel Mt Charleston Marathon in Nevada. Despite a frigid wait in 24 degree temperatures for 90 minutes, I was able to shake out the stiffness and cold to get the legs moving well soon after starting.

With careful pacing, I was able to save enough energy to execute a negative split on the course and finish 3rd in my age group (M55-59) as well as PR/BQ. Many thanks to MTA Coach Steven for helping me complete my best marathon build up yet and finish in 3:04:22. Continue Reading →

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Trust the Process

Here is a short story from a coaching client of ours named Fernando. He writes,

“My passion for advertising and running started simultaneously about 30 years ago when I saw an ad. It was a close up of a woman’s face. She was running and you could see things flying off her back: a broken fridge, an angry boss, the super loud alarm clock, etc.

Although I still didn’t have the same problems, that was a brilliant representation of what running was for me: a moment of escaping from reality.

In the last 30 years, I had an internationally awarded marketing career because I can do hard things at work. Meanwhile, my runner career had an embarrassing score of 0 (zero) official races.

I was searching for running playlists when I saw the Running as Self-Leadership podcast episode. I listened to it and got hooked by the tagline “You have what it takes to run a marathon and change your life”. Continue Reading →

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Marathon Success Story with Parker Watson

In this episode we bring you a success story with Parker Watson -an Academy member and coaching client who, after getting a wake-up-call from his doctor, used marathon training to take control of his health and change his life!

In this fun conversation Parker shares how he struggled through his first half marathon and thought “running a full marathon is nuts”. Hear how he lost 60 pounds, completed two marathons, and fell in love with running by learning to slow down.

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Super prepared for 50 Miler

Congrats to our coaching client Zach who conquered his first 50 miler!! He was kind enough to share some thoughts on how MTA coaching prepared him for this challenge. He writes,

“The race was amazing. As you may remember, I attempted a 50-miler in September (training by myself, mostly around my neighborhood). But Coach Henry had me so super prepared (physically, for the trails, for the hills, mentally), I felt great crossing the finish line (looking at the video, I was still moving okay for 50 miles I think.

A few other thoughts I’ve had about coaching:

  • I felt good (not just less sore, but honestly “good”) after the race. My body has never felt like that even on shorter distances
  • I’ve so appreciated (and needed) having a coach still providing me with maintenance work the weeks after a race; typically I would just stop running for a while, decided I want to do a race, then start (from a less fit place) on a “new” 12-week plan

I don’t know what’s next! I think this fall I want revenge on the 50-miler in Alabama that go away from me last year.

Thanks again for being such a great introduction into the program and pairing me up with Henry. He’s the best.” -Zach L. Continue Reading →

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