2012 First Time Marathon Training Program
Audrey Fincher, coach Conroy Zien, coach |
Goals and Purpose of the Program
The Montgomery County Road Runners Club (MCRRC) offers a structured, coached, group-oriented program for people training to run their first marathon (26.2 miles). The FTM program is six months long, beginning in May with the goal of running the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, DC, on October 28, 2012. However, this training program is applicable to other fall marathons, such as Chicago, New York, Baltimore, Steamtown, Philadelphia, or Richmond.
Criteria for Participation
This program is open to any healthy adult. We train runners at all ability levels.That said, we do not think a marathon should be the first race for a beginning runner. The marathon is a difficult athletic event, so to ensure that participants are properly prepared prior to enrolling in the program, we have the following criteria: 1) be averaging at least 12-15 miles per week for at least 4 weeks; 2) be running about 3 times per week; 3) most importantly, be able to run six miles at one time without stopping. Our first long run will be 7 miles on May 6th. Given the physical stress associated with training for a marathon, if you have not run a marathon it is strongly recommended that you consult your physician prior to entering this program. There is no speed requirement but we cannot guarantee that a coach will be available for those who run slower than a 12:30 pace per mile.
We’ll need a current 10K race time to properly place you in a pace group. Your race time and race effort will help us to determine your pace group. The harder the effort the better, but not at the risk of injury. Pike’s Peek is a popular local 10K on Sunday, April 29, 2012 7:50am.
The Price is Right
The FTM program costs $115 for MCRRC members and $165 for non-members. THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE THE COST OF ENTRY INTO THE MARINE CORPS OR OTHER MARATHON, WHICH IS A SEPARATE FEE. There may also be other races that we suggest that you register for that are an optional part of the training program and those costs are also not covered by the program. If you are not a club member, you may join the MCRRC by clicking on the link below. Registration is online for the FTM program. The link is also located below. The money goes directly to the MCRRC (a non-profit organization) to cover program administrative costs and fund other club programs. All of the coaches in this program are unpaid volunteers. Sorry, but there can be no refunds, regardless of the reason.
Orientation
An Orientation Meeting will be held on April 21, 2012 at 10:00 at the following location:
Farmland Elemantary School
7000 Old Gate Rd.
Rockville, MD 20852
Details about the program will be discussed, and you can meet the program staff.
Schedule
There are two coached, group workouts held every week. We meet Sunday mornings at various running venues in Montgomery County along the Rock Creek trail such as : Ken-Gar Palisades Park in Kensington, Lake Needwood in Rockville, Candy Cane Park in Chevy Chase and the Capital Crescent Trail in Bethesda. We also meet every Wednesday evening at 6:30 p.m. at the Montgomery College track (off Rockville Pike [Rt. 355] north of downtown Rockville, MD) or another track location. The Sunday morning workouts are long, slow runs. The Wednesday evening workouts are intervals on the track or on the Millennium Trail. You are expected to run one to four other times during the week on your own in order to meet the weekly mileage goals. You can easily stick to the schedule by running 3 days a week at the beginning and 4 days a week as the mileage ramps up. We will provide you with a training schedule for the full program, which gives weekly mileage goals and outlines the group workouts.
Philosophy
The program's philosophy is simple; we believe that any healthy adult can complete a marathon if: 1) they have the desire; and 2) they train properly by following the program. The program should provide participants with the physiological and mental toughness necessary to go 26.2 miles. The marathon should be an enjoyable experience (although not an easy task). By following the training program, it should be possible to run the marathon in relative comfort, without hitting "the wall."
The program gradually builds up your average weekly miles from a minimum of about 15 miles a week at the start in May to about 40+ miles a week just before the event in October. We want you to average at least 35-45 miles per week running for three months before the marathon to be in the proper shape. If you come to the group workouts on a regular basis, follow the monthly schedule, run the average weekly miles prescribed, and do all the scheduled long runs; you will be able to finish a marathon by the end of the program. Over the last ten years the program has had virtually a 100% completion rate for those who finished the program.
This is not a "walk-run" program. We run our workouts (except for water stops), and our program participants run the entire marathon. There are no fundraising or charity components to the program.
You do not have to be a fast runner to do our program or complete a marathon. We will put people of similar ability together in pace groups, based on 10K (10,000 meters = 6.2 miles) race times and other criteria.
This program began in 1995 and has helped well over two thousand runners complete their first marathon. The current Co-directors are: Conroy Zien and Audrey Fincher. Both Conroy and Audrey are RRCA Certified coaches and experienced marathoners who began their running careers in the MCRRC First Time Marathon running program. The 30+ coaches and pace leaders have a tremendous amount of knowledge and marathon experience.
Registration
FTM Registration is now closed. If you have any questions, please email Conroy and Audrey at ftmdirectors@mcrrc.org.
Yahoo Group
All communications including; training schedules, announcements, and updates will flow thru our MCRRC First Time Marathon Training Yahoo group. Only FTM members will have access to this group. Once you have signed up for the FTM program click on the link below and click on the button that says; "Join this Group": Follow the directions from Yahoo. Once your registration in the program is verified you will be approved to join. You can also use the group to communicate running related emails to the entire FTM membership.
Click here to join the FTM Yahoo GroupStill have questions?
If you have questions, concerns or want advice, e-mail the directors at FTMDirectors@mcrrc.org and we will get back to you.
