“Ever since I moved to Lewisburg, you have helped me in so many ways. I was training for Lake Placid at the time, so joining Rise Up and participating in the Thursday night swims in Williamsport was game changing for me. It gave me the confidence to swim in open water. That was 2 years ago. I took some time to figure out what was next…

One day late last Fall, I just decided that I was going to run a sub 3 marathon. My wife and I are expecting in May of this year, so I thought this would be my last endurance event for a while haha. I reached out to you on a whim to see if you could coach me and you made room for me, which I am so grateful for. 11 years ago I ran a marathon and ran a 3:07, so I knew this would be tough for me. I honestly wasn’t sure if it was possible. Your detailed planning and willingness to adjust to my schedule made the difference. The testing days were really important as well and gave great insight to me as to what I needed to do. Most importantly you believed I could do it. That helped me the most. ​ The race was tough and completing the goal was actually emotional. I held back for the first 15 miles, also stopping once to go to the bathroom which took 1 minute and 40 seconds at mile 12, haha. I think just started rolling off miles mostly in zone 4 and around mile 20 the race started. I started doing math in my head. Thought I could do it. Knowing that this might be the closest opportunity to get it, I went full send to the finish line and got there by 11 seconds. 7 months of training to get there by 11 seconds. Pretty cool.

Running to me, there are no accolades and really, there is no finish line. It’s truly a personal decision to go out there sometimes when you don’t feel like it and put the work in. You are competing with yourself. So really, the journey is the reward. I truly believe the training is what helps me be the best person I can be, finding ways to get it done by any means necessary. It helps me more intentional w my time and get the most out of every day. Sometimes it requires late nights, early mornings or running half of it and then picking back up later. Certainly, it requires running in the rain, the snow and the cold. ​ Thank you to Coach Robin and Rise Up. I saw Leo along the run, and it gave me a huge boost. Grateful for your dedication and commitment to helping me reach a lifelong goal. If anyone ever asks me about training for something I will be sending them your way. Congrats to all the runners this weekend. Hope to see you all soon along the way. ​ Keep chasing your goals. Keep chasing being the best version of yourself. ​ On to Boston”