Testimonials

About Individualized Training

"I first began training on a whim, because I wanted to do something to get in shape, and my company was subsidizing the cost. A month later they stopped that policy, but I was already hooked. Margie, Ray, and Cathy are incredibly knowledgeable and helpful coaches. With their encouragement, workouts, and gentle corrections of my technique, I found my form, distance, and speed all improving.

Running with the group has had an incredible impact on me - before joining I ran once a week or so - now I try to run at least 1000 miles a year and have over a dozen races under my belt including two marathons. Running has also made me healthier and happier - nothing burns off stress like a nice 5 mile run! I have also found that it helps my confidence in other areas of life: when the going gets tough I just tell myself 'If you can handle a 26.2 mile race you can definitely handle this!'"   - Adrian Hartline

"I joined the PR group for Individualized Training in 2005 in an attempt to improve my running for triathlons and with a vague notion that I might run another marathon. The structured training program and advice on running technique made a great difference, along with learning how to properly pace myself. My mile times went from 6:50 to 6:05 and my run performance in triathlons improved significantly. I also decided to aim to qualify for the Boston Marathon and using the skills I learned at the workouts I did it my first try, and then ran a 3:40 at Boston, having stopped for photos :-). The running skills I learned and the comeraderie made this one of the best investments in training I have ever done."   - Chris Bennett 

"It's not an understatement to say that the PR Running Club (note, PR Training Programs' Individualized Programs were previously offered as "PR Running Club") changed my life.  I've had exertional asthma since I was a child, and in high school I couldn't even run a mile.  Since joining the group almost 5 years ago, I trained to run a number of races - 10ks, 10 milers, half marathons - repeatedly set personal records in all of these distances, and finally got to the point where training for a marathon seemed achievable.  I've since completed two marathons, am very excited to be training for another one this year, and continue to dream of one day qualifying for Boston. 

Although the sense of accomplishment and achievement from running these races is fantastic, what has really turned running into a way of life for me has been the consistency and social aspect of our group training runs combined with the expert care and guidance that we all receive from the coaches.  It's sometimes difficult to articulate why "ten miles is actually a short run," or why I am compelled to run whether it's 15 degrees out or 90, or how amazing it is to run with a few good friends on a regular basis - so I have to fall back on the explanation that I simply love it.

Do you every wonder about getting in touch with your true strength - a core strength you may suspect exists but never knew for sure that you had?  If so you should give this a try." - Diane Bartley

About Running 101 

"I am 41 years old and a fairly new runner, and my wife signed me up for the running 101 class in summer 2008 as a gift.  I had a great time, and thought Chip was a fantastic coach.  I set my goal race as the Army 10 Miler (previously I had run some 5k and one 10k races), and was very pleased with the results from the class - I ended up running the Army 10 Miler in 1 hour 28 minutes (my goal was 1 hour 30 minutes).  In fact, having met my goal for the 10 Miler I decided to push on immediately and ran the McDonalds Half Marathon in Richmond a month later.  My goal there was to finish in under 2 hours, and I ended up with a finishing time of just over 1 hour 57 minutes.  I attribute a lot of this success to the PR training program." (Note:  Michael has now moved up to Running 201!)   - Michael Zatz 

About Running 201

"When I started the 201 training program last year, I was already a competitive age-group runner but wanted to take it to the next level. Our 201 coach Brian taught the group a wide variety of workouts--fartlek, intervals, hills, etc. that helped improve my speed and endurance.  It was never boring because it seemed the workout was always something different.  I learned the importance of warming up and cooling down as well as proper stretching techniques to reduce the risk of injury.  I gradually started to improve and got my first 5K PR in June after 3 months in the program.  After continuing with 201 during the summer, I saw significant improvement in the fall/winter races and ran a number of PR's (1 mile, 5K, 5 miles and 10K).  Brian even came to some of my races to offer advice and encouragement.  This is a great program with excellent coaching and I would recommend it to anyone wishing to improve their race times while having fun at the same time."

-Steve Robinson

"I have been in the PR 201 class since the start in March of 2008, repeating each time it is offered.  I cannot even begin to put into words how this class has changed my quality of running.  The plyometric drills we go through on a weekly basis have dramatically changed my form for the better.  You can tell such a difference in pictures from previous years.  The speed workouts we do in class are things I would have never known how to do on my own and are probably things I would have NEVER done on my own.  My racing times have improved so much in such a short time.  But overall I love the support system I have gained from this class.  Everyone is so supportive of each other in class and at local races.  Even though I am a back of the pack runner Coach Brian makes me feel just as good and just as important as the front of the pack runners.  201 has given me a deeper love for running and more confidence at races."   - Sharon Scalan