Finish Your First Marathon with our NEW2-26.2 Training Program Become a Marathoner by using our Marathon Training Plan If you're one of the many people who is aspiring to be a complete runner by finishing a full marathon then look no further, we've assembled a comprehensive plan to help you get to your first marathon finish line. Training for and running ... More

Massage Therapy For Runners: Injury Prevention & Increased Performance The Strains of Running Running is a very linear sport. Unlike other activities where the body moves through all planes of motion (twists, squats, spirals) the body is only propelled forward; arms moving up and down, hips in minimal flexion and extension. Because of this, the fascia (connective tissue supporting the body) begins ... More

We are excited to have Clif Shot Energy Gels at miles 11.8 and 19 at the M&T Bank Vermont City Marathon on Sunday, May 29.WHAT IS IT?The CLIF® Athlete Series is performance food, carefully crafted to support athletes before, during and after their most challenging adventures. Together, the series of products meets the energy, hydration and recovery needs of athletes ... More

Feels a bit more like January out there than April... Sounds like many of you have some great Adventures coming up post marathon!And the winner is....Kaitlyn Tse. She has won a $25 LL Bean Gift Card.Topic for this week: What motivates you? Do you run for the social aspect, to lose weight, to stay fit, to get faster, to take in the ... More

I’ve been running for a long time; I went out for cross-country my junior year of high school in 1977 and our team won the Vermont State title and brought home the first championship of any sport in the school’s history. I also ran track even though my high school did not have a track of its own; we did our laps around the school parking lot! I ... More

Jason Wulff – emailHi all! I can’t wait to pace again for my third time at VCM.  This has truly become one of the highlights I went for a run. I haven’t missed too many days since then. The past few years since finding my way back to the running path have been amazing. I’ve met a lot of ... More

Training Tip I’ve received questions related to how fast workouts should be run during marathon training and “should I run faster on my shorter runs, than my longer ones?”Pacing is one of the toughest things to master, even with all the electronic gadgetry available. The reason I say this is that even though heart rate monitors and GPS watches have permeated ... More

Training Tip for week of February 8, 2016In At this point in your young marathon careers, it is better to run for mileage or time, but not both. If you have a favorite running loop that you usually run in 30 minutes, but one day you do it in 35, don’t get discouraged. We all have days where our bodies ... More

It's All in Your Head Don't Fall Victim to "Bonking" In the dark ages of marathoning, it used to be that a runner’s energy supply came from what he/she had consumed (carbs) in the week leading up to the race, and was supplemented during the race by consuming some type of Gatorade-like sports drink. Many runners, me included, would carry pieces of ... More

Training Tip I have been asked if there is cross training incorporated into the marathon training which makes up the New2-26.2 program. The short answer is no. It’s not that it can't be of benefit – which it can – it’s just that all of you come into this training program with varied backgrounds in running and we have to cater ... More

The Long Run A Shifting Paradigm For years, the venerable long run has been the centerpiece of the marathon training program. The physiological benefits are well documented, but there is the added psychological benefit which comes from asking your body to accomplish something it may never have done before. The idea of completing your first 20-miler brings with it much apprehension, but ... More

Coach Sam on Facebook Live First off, we'd like to thank coach Sam Davis on an amazing Facebook Live session at Free Press Media! Coach Sam gave great insight into the preparation for the M&T Bank Vermont City Marathon on May 27th.Furthermore, if you weren't able to tune in to Sam's Facebook Live, or you're interested in learning more about how ... More

I saw a blog post on the VCM website this week from an “elite” runner who was struggling with his running.  The writer commented about how the fun had been missing from his work-outs.  As a result, he felt as though he was floundering with his training.  I’m not in the same place as this person, but I have had ... More

This week, I successfully completed my longest run ever--a 2.5 hour jaunt that I honestly wasn’t totally confident I’d be able to do. While training, I’ve treated my long run days like I used to treat race days. I’ve been extra particular about what and when I eat, how much I sleep, what I wear, and what time I head ... More

Hello all. It’s Ellane! The past two weeks of training for weeks 13 &14 have been busy. Week 13 started off with more gains and positive vibes. Thinking nothing can stop me, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. Week 13 So, here it goes. I injured myself in the most ridiculous manner. Seriously, as much as we love the people, pets, ... More

Ellane Hello, it’s Ellane. Week 15 is done. Between running, meetings, crazy weather, and Villainous Vixens Fundraisers, it has been one busy week!I woke up with a headache that quickly turned into a migraine. This migraine lasted all day which made my long run a no go. My body decided that it had enough by the end of the of the week...and ... More

Rookie Ellane Hey, everyone! It’s Ellane again, suffering through the trials of the first few weeks of marathon training. My Week 1 inner monologue goes something like this: Ok, this is not bad. Nooooo, I forgot my iPod, rookie mistake! Continuing on ... oh wait, what’s that, why do I feel one toe in particular – my first blister! I am ... More

Ellane Hey there everyone, it’s Ellane. It’s Week 3 of training! As I think about the week it starts something like this: Cool, an extra rest day in training this week and less overall miles. I have a head cold, which sucks, as controlling breathing when running is pretty important. Okay, so I am going to take an extra rest day and start ... More

Ellane Hey, all!Ellane here. I got through this week of training. I have been breaking in my new shoes, which has been amazingly great for my feet. I take this week to encourage all of the newbies and maybe some of the veterans to pay attention to what your body is telling you. The importance of proper running gear cannot be ... More

Ellane Hello, it’s Ellane. This week of training was hard—although, technically speaking, it was an easy week distance wise. Life had other things that needed to get done. With my son’s birthday and Easter, there just was not enough hours in the days. I was able to get my runs in at the beginning of the week. Come mid-week it became increasingly difficult to ... More

Ellane Hello, it’s Ellane. Week 9 was full of blisters. I thought I had the blister stuff under control--not so much! I wore the wrong socks (they were still athletic running socks just not the right ones for me), ended up with a quarter sized blister on my Achilles and also on both my middle toes. For me, I need to ... More

Ellane Here! Hello, all. Hope you are well. Let’s talk about week 12 of training. I started the week on a high note as I had PR’d in my long run at the end of last week. I was feeling confident in all the training I had done and that I was on the right track.This momentum carried through the week ... More

Spring has sprung, and pollen is everywhere. Particularly, it is in every crevasse of my sinus cavities. This admittedly beautiful attack of nature has made this week of running more than a little tough. Oxygen, it turns out, is crucial component to this sport. In fact, it’s a crucial component to living, but since running has become the main shareholder ... More

[caption id="attachment_7167" align="alignright" width="214"] One of your fellow newbies ripping it up![/caption]For some of you who may be running the Half Marathon Unplugged next weekend, this race presents you with the opportunity to get in some race day practice before PUBVCM. It is a time to find out what clothing will best serve you, what sports gels and other energy ... More

For years, the venerable long run was the single most important staple of any marathon training program. The physiological benefits are well documented, but there is the added psychological benefit which comes from asking your body to accomplish something it may never have done before. The idea of completing your first 20-miler brings with it much apprehension, but also much ... More

I have been asked to discuss the concept of speed work for this week’s blog,greater number of muscle fibers get activated and with greater power. I would delve into the fast-twitch, slow-twitch fiber discussion at this juncture, but suffice to say that the greater the recruitment of all fibers, the stronger you can become with each stride you take.Here is ... More

The important take away is to try and truly carve out time to just relax – Sunday afternoons after my long runs was a good place to start for me! One way to tell how your body is coping with stress is to do this simple heart rate check: As you first wake up in the morning, check your heart ... More

Week 10 - March 28 - April 3 - Down Week Monday - RestTuesday - 5 milesWednesday - RestThursday - 6 milesFriday - RestSaturday - 4 milesSunday - 7 miles Week 11 - April 4 - 10: Monday - RestTuesday - 5 milesWednesday - 7 milesThursday - 6 milesFriday - RestSaturday - 5 milesSunday - 18-20 miles (or 3 hours, whichever comes first)  More

Week 4 - February 15 - February 21 Monday: Rest Tuesday: 4-6 miles Wednesday: 5-7 miles Thursday: 5-7 miles Friday: Rest Saturday: 5 miles Sunday: 8-12 miles Week 5 - February 22 - February 28 Monday: Rest Tuesday: 4-6 miles Wednesday: 5-7 miles Thursday: 5-7 miles Friday: Rest Saturday: 5 miles Sunday: 8-12 miles Sports Gels: It's All In Your Head In the dark ages of marathoning, it used to be that a runner’s energy supply came from what ... More

We are excited to once again have Untapped All Natural Athletic Fuel at miles11.9 and 19 at the People’s United Bank Vermont City Marathon on Sunday, May 26.  Why Maple? Pure maple syrup is produced simply by removing water from maple sap, leaving behind the liquid gold that we know and love. This lack of heavy processing leaves a multitude of benefits ... More

We are excited to announce that Jacky Hunt-Broersma will be the fourth member of #MebsTeam. Welcome, Jacky! Jacky's Story I'm an amputee marathon runner. I lost my leg to cancer a few years ago. I started running June 2016 to spend quality with my husband who has been a runner for years and now I'm addicted and want to inspire others to ... More

We are recycling this post from a few years back with updated statistics. Not only is our marathon fast – it is fun, and the community is over the top welcoming!Back when I was racing marathons (1986-1996) I wanted to run fast, but it was a lot harder then to research courses and figure out which races gave me the best ... More