Archive | Coaching

Congrats to our coaching client Gareth on running a 29 minute PR, he writes,

“Mesa Marathon in the books. My #3 Marathon and a PR by 29mins!! I couldn’t have nailed this one without an awesome training block under the guidance of Coach Antonio. I really enjoyed the process and mixture of sessions throughout the build up – I leant on the feeling of those tough ones when the race got heavy at Mile 21 yesterday.

Weather wasn’t superb – however the atmosphere and location were spot on! Through the rain and puddles – I kept to the plan we’d discussed and I knew at halfway I was rolling ok. Squally showers kept the temperature low and the feet drenched.

The quads were banged up from the early fast downhill sections, and at Mile 23 needed to dig real deep . . . found something in the tank and kicked it home with a strong last 3 miles to run 3.30.34.

This is my first race with a coach formulating a specific and guided plan and can absolutely testify to its value! Much thanks Coach Antonio and bring on the next PR chase!”

Chris Farrands used our marathon training plan and had three strategy sessions with Coach Nicole. He writes,

“Thank you again for your guidance the last few months. The initial training plan and then getting me linked up with Coach Nicole absolutely made the 2:57 possible.

Last year, in 2022, I ran a 3:50 on the same course.

The training plan held me accountable to not over training. It helped me to keep easy days, easy and hard days hard. The progression and build up worked really well for me. I was healthier throughout the training plan, ate more than the prior year and ran 15-20% fewer miles per week. Continue Reading →

We appreciate our client Jessie Hogue-Morgenstern for writing this blogpost about what it was like to work with an MTA Coach to both BQ and run a blazing fast 3:15 marathon! She writes,

“I started working with Coach Joel right at the start of the pandemic with the goal of qualifying for the Boston Marathon (a tale as old as time).

In previous attempts I would get close but then end up injured, so I wanted to try out a coach to help me figure out a solution. On a whim I reached out to MTA’s coaching program because my dad was a big fan of the podcast (and I am now too). Continue Reading →

Shoutout to our client Christina who ran a new PR of 5:17:39 at the NYC Marathon! She writes,

“I am still a bit in shock about my performance at the NYC Marathon last weekend. It was a good reminder to me that we are stronger and more capable than we believe as long as we put in the work, trust our body and focus on the positive.

It was not necessarily an easy training cycle. I work full time. I have two young children (one is young enough to still be breastfeeding), so a good nights sleep is rare.

There were a lot of early mornings and times when I wanted to hit snooze instead of head outside. There was fatigue, frustration and self doubt. There was also joy, peace and strength. Coach Nicole was instrumental in keeping me on target with a training plan. She was my virtual cheerleader. Continue Reading →

Here’s a testimonial from our client Mark Arceneaux who used MTA Coaching to prepare for the NYC Marathon. He writes,

“Wanted to send a big thank you to MTA and coach Abby for my recent experience with MTA Coaching.

After getting covid in 2021 my next two marathons were a disaster. I thought my marathon career was over but a email from the New York City Marathon in February 2023 told me it wasn’t over yet.

I had thought about a coach in the past but thought how hard could running be and as a 63 year old experience runner, having done over 20 marathons in the last 10 years, why did I need one. Continue Reading →

Congrats to our client James who built up to running five races in just 10 months! He writes,

“This has been a tremendous year in achieving my goals. I ran my first half marathon, first full marathon, and my first 50K . . . as well as a 2nd marathon and a 10 mile race PR.

That’s 5 races in 10 months which is also a huge “first” for me.

All of this was possible because I found MTA and Coach Henry. The MTA podcast helped me learn and understand there are many others new to running and learning just like me. Continue Reading →

Congrats to our client Sandy Landers on finishing her first marathon! She ran the 2023 Marine Corps Marathon. She writes,

“When I first started listening to MTA I had no intention of ever running a marathon. Running half marathons was good enough. But after listening to the podcast for a few years, the seed was planted (did I have what it takes?).

I started working with Coach Cindy in January 2022 to get my love of running back and to train for another half. It was a rocky start but then I got into a good rhythm.

I enjoyed training with Cindy and signed up for the 2023 Marine Corps Marathon deciding on a run/walk plan. At the same time I started working with Coach Jesse at Metpro to help fuel the running and to loose the post menopause pounds. Continue Reading →

Massive congrats to our client Haley from Ireland on finishing 3:13:51 at the Dublin Marathon!! She writes,

“After finishing the Paris marathon (my second marathon) earlier this year in 3:20:04 I felt I’d gone as far as I could on my own so decided to get in touch with the marathon training academy.

Coach Nicole said she had the perfect coach in mind for me and paired me with MTA Coach Kris.

As coach Kris and I started working together from a recovery period post race, I found that incredibly helpful. I was unsure what a down time period should look like. I didn’t want to lose all my fitness but equally didn’t want to overtrain so I could be in the best place to start the training block for my next goal race, the Irish Life Dublin marathon on 29 Oct 2023. I had a really clear goal of running 3:15.
Continue Reading →

Wow! What a day at the Marine Corps Marathon and 50k. We’d like to congratulate our coaching clients on going the distance on a hot day in D.C..

Maripat finished her first marathon at the age of 60. She writes,

“When I had my first consultation with MTA and Coach Nicole asked my goal- I told her I wanted to be on their website with “ I finished my first marathon at 60!

Today thanks to Coach Cindy and some hard work (stuck to plan religiously) and MTA, despite record heat I finished the Marine Corps Marathon and share with my daughter!
Training definitely paid off!”

Continue Reading →