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Robert Riordan (Team for Kids)
Robert Riordan
New York Marathon 2008
“My goal when I met with John was to break 1.30 for a half and 3.15 in the NYC marathon and qualify for Boston.
After just one month, I’d reached a new level of fitness and began to think of loftier goals. By following his custom designed, weekly schedule and attending his speed workouts I was setting P.R.’s in every race I ran.
About two months before the marathon i got very sick and was unable to properly train for 3 weeks. John redesigned my workouts to allow me to recover properly. A month before the NYC Marathon I ran a 1.28 in the half, a PR by 6 minutes, and in the marathon itself I ran 3.11, a PR by 17 minutes.
John knows what he’s doing and if you stick to his plan you’ll run PR’s, it’s as simple as that.”
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Mina Matlon (Urban Athletics)
Mina Matlon
Philly Marathon 2008
“When I discussed training with John in July 2008, I shared with him two goals: first, to break 1:40 in the Philadelphia half marathon in September (previous best was 1:43) and second, to break 3:30 in the Philadelphia marathon in November to qualify for Boston (previous best was 3:46). He needed to devise a flexible training program that would accommodate my long and unpredictable hours as an attorney and very bad shin splints in both legs. John’s program blew away my goals.
Within only six weeks of John’s coaching and plenty of hard work I clocked a 1:38 at a half in August, and then took three more minutes off that time a couple weeks later at the Philly half. Although I thought John was out of his mind when he told me I could hit 3:19 at the marathon, I went for the more aggressive time come marathon race day based on my confidence in John and his training, and he was right! 3:19:10 at Philly, and I came into the finish line feeling stronger than in any previous marathon I had run. John has tapped into my potential as a runner, and I’m excited to keep training with him and exploring that potential in the year ahead.”
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Kelly Chin (Running Divas)
Kelly Chin
Houston Marathon 2008
“John started coaching me 10 weeks before the Chevron Houston Marathon, where I was trying to achieve the U.S. Olympic Trials B standard of 2:47:00. Prior to this I had a six week layoff due to injury.
He devised an intense program with an eight week mileage build up and two weeks taper. He attended my key workouts and races. He kept me motivated every single day. He also kept me injury-free — another difficult task given the quick increase in mileage and my general pre-disposition to injuries.
In Houston I finished in 9th place in 2:47:48 — just short of the Trials qualifier but an impressive 3 1/2 minute PR.
I would have never gotten as close as I did without John’s help. He wanted me to achieve that Olympic Trials standard as badly as I wanted it. There are plenty of coaches out there who can write a simple training program. But John is extraordinary in his ability to motivate and inspire his athletes to take on the near-impossible.”
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Eoin Corrigan
Eoin Corrigan
New York Marathon 2007
“I started training with John five weeks before my second marathon (NYC 2007). I ran Paris in 3h46 four years before and was targeting 3hr30 on this occasion based on a recent half marathon of 1h42.
I trained with John’s group each week and had several one on one sessions. In between I followed John’s plan which he emailed me every week.
In the week before the marathon, I certainly felt a new level of confidence and interest in my running. The training had been different from my normal routine – hills, intervals and weekly long runs – and based on these he proposed a target time of 3h21.
The marathon went great – at the half I did a PB of 1h35 and felt fine so kept up the pace. I crossed the line in 3.16, way faster than my expected finish. This is entirely due to John’s coaching and his weekly training plan.
Suddenly some targets seem realistic – a 40m 10k, qualifying for Boston, maybe even a sub 3hr someday. I’m looking forward to continuing training with John and would recommend him to anyone looking to set some new PRs!”
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Stephen Burr
Stephen Burr
New York Marathon 2007
“I ran my first marathon in NYC in 2006 and walked away from the experience humbled. I thought I was in good shape and quickly realized that my training was less than adequate. I was determined to improve my time in 2007 and enlisted John’s services at the recommendation of a friend.
I quickly realized that I was in good hands based on the training plan that John developed. Through a combination of long runs, tempo runs and most importantly, speed work, I began to gradually build up my endurance. A back injury in late August put a dent in my training as I was unable to run for 3 weeks. John quickly adjusted my schedule and condensed my training program in preparation for the marathon.
I entered the race feeling healthy and confident and finished in 3:06. I easily beat my goal of 3:10 and set a PR by 20 minutes. If you listen to John and stick to his training program, I have no doubt that you will reach your goals.”