Tim Shea: email

I have been running competitively and for pleasure for over thirty years. I ran track and cross-country in Junior High and High School focused on the longer events. I ran competitively in college in Iowa. I did not start running longer races until much later in my running career. My first marathon was a disaster. I went out too fast and suffered miserably the last six miles. One week later, I ran the Vermont 50 miler and felt much better. I have done several ultramarathons and marathons since then. I like the longer training runs and camaraderie that comes with long slow trail runs. I have coached Montpelier High School Cross Country and Track in the past and thoroughly enjoyed this experience.

I paced the Vermont City Marathon at the pace of 3:15 and 3:30 several times. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and look forward to doing the 3:45 pace this year. I plan to run steady with variances depending on hills, wind, and temperature/humidity. I think the most important thing to preparing for a marathon is the long slow runs. I call it “time on the legs”. I do not worry about pace, but only to be out for more than your expected finish time. Another key is finding a good balance of nutrition and liquid intake during an endurance event. This requires practice of finding out what works for you prior to the race. Use the long runs to fine-tune your nutrition and prepare your body for the event. Good luck and see you in May.

 

Mariana Wingood: email

I have been running competitively and for pleasure since the age of 10. I joke around that running was my first true love and kept me out of trouble my whole life. In high school my nickname was the energizer bunny so it just made sense to run marathons and ultras. Initially the hardest part for me was starting to fast, but through many marathon disasters, I learned the importance of pacing. My first marathon ever I started at a 6 min mile pace and died at the end.

My goals as a pacer is to ensure this doesn’t happen to you. This is why I am looking forward to pacing the 3:45 team. I have run numerous marathons and ultramarathons both road and trail and VCM is my favorite. I love it for 2 reasons: the crowd/energy as well as the fact it is not flat. I will admit it I love hills, the more hills a race has the happier I am. My key to training and racing is to never quite no matter how hard it is. When the going gets tough its important to find a cheerleader to get you to the end. Besides pacing this will be my second goal. Hoping that my two goals will help you achieve yours.