Archive | Success Story

Congrats to our coaching client Todd on finishing the Catalina Island Trail Marathon! He writes,

“This is the fastest time I have had at this race in 17 years!!!! And this is the only marathon I have ever run with no cramping!

I think it is totally due to your coaching and especially your advice about fuel and hydration. I would have never believed that hydration was the source of my cramping issue but now I am a believer.

The other interesting thing is that my mile times for the first 9 miles were slower this race than my previous two here but then, from mile 10 on, nearly all of my mile times are faster this time than my previous two races here. Starting slower really worked for me.

It was an amazing day! I felt really good afterwards and now, a day later, I still feel great. Just a little stiff. But no pain anywhere. My plan now is to let my body rest and heal. I don’t plan on doing any long races until September when I plan on running the Air Force Marathon again and I think I have a pretty good shot at a PR there. Thank you so much Coach Carri!”

Thanks to Berenise for sharing her experience with our coaching services! She writes,

My husband surprised me by gifting me 3 months of MTA coaching for Christmas. It came at a perfect time as I was getting ready to run my 8th half marathon.

I was assigned to Coach Lynn, who has an incredible running history and she’s also a nutritionist – she’s impressive! I didn’t know what to expect but coach Lynn quickly helped me identify key goals and I was amazed by all that I learned. Continue Reading →

Congratulations to Kyle D. who ran a perfectly paced 6 minute half PR at the Disney Princess Half in the middle of his marathon training block!

His coach writes, “I’ve had the pleasure of coaching Kyle since October, in that time he’s made great strides in his speed and endurance, boosting his VDOT score several points.

He’s also one of the most disciplined and consistent runners I’ve ever coached (there have been thousands at this point so that is really saying something) Excited to see what lies ahead, he has the Cleveland Marathon up next. Way to go Kyle!” –Coach Kris

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 →