If you had asked me 3 years ago if I was ever going to run a marathon, I would have told you that you were crazy! 5k’s and 10k’s were about all I could do, at least in my mind. But after meeting Coach Brendan, a parishioner and marathoner, who invited me to believe that 26.2 is possible, I have now completed my 5th marathon. Though I always enjoyed the short run, I never imagined myself running a marathon distance. Coach Brendan helped me believe in my abilities to do something so “unimagi…

I had been a middle distance runner since 1971, and started doing marathons in 2002. My first four years of marathoning led me to a 4:42 PR. When I sought to break 4:30, I sought coaching that would deliver a combination of science and strategy that would enlighten my overall approach to training and execution.

The premier insight you shared was also about getting the mental element – setting goals and how to reach them. After a year of turning theory into practice, I took off with another per…

I completed my first half marathon in Miami (2004) and have gone on to finish many races thereafter with your coaching. You taught me what it meant to truly finish a race.

You have continued to teach me. Your patience and advice, even when I didn’t necessarily want to hear it, was exactly what I needed to hear. Your tips, “Good Form Will Carry You Through” are engrained in my brain.

You have molded me into what I am today as a runner. I am truly grateful for your friendship and coaching.

Coach Brendan has the incredible ability to make you believe you can accomplish the goals you set for yourself. He also reminded me that running truly was a way to have fun. Throughout training, he makes a point of encouraging me and teaching me the proper form and technique, that helps me through those long runs.

He teaches everyone to be their best, and it doesn’t matter if you were fast or slow. I ran my first ever half marathon in January 2007 and I completed four half marathons in 2008. N…

Nine months ago, I injured my back, which kept me from running for over six months. Run walk is the only reason I am able to train again. Now that I am on the mend, run walk provides me just enough rest to let me maintain my form, which, in turn, protects my back — and I can achieve my pace goals at the same time. Coach Brendan’s style of run walk is not just for recovery, though: it can be as challenging as you allow it to be, and I plan to continue to run walk my way through all my ten mil…