Wrapping up the weekend and looking ahead

Monday, November 10, 2014 · Mike Davis

Good morning, Today I am fortunate to be off and as a bonus I am also off tomorrow in honor of Veterans Day. Truly a few days off is exactly what I need after wrapping up another Runners Alley Portsmouth Seacoast Half Marathon training group. Bittersweet for sure as I really enjoy all the runners we have the honor of working with, but I now gain back some valuable time. Because I work in Newington I typically worked a little later on Tuesday's and Thursday's and got to Runners Alley 45 minutes before the group started and rarely ever left Portsmouth before 8:30 or later. Saturday mornings were similar as I would get up pretty early, get to the store and usually got back to Dover 4 or 5 hours later. All said a lot of time was spent on the other side of the bridge and while I am grateful to have worked with this group, now I have gained a lot of time that I badly need to focus on "No Finish Line Running." While I no doubt complained at times about my crazy schedule, there is no doubt that all the time spent with the 2014 Runners Alley Portsmouth Seacoast Half Marathon training group was well worth it. Yesterday's Seacoast Half marathon was another huge success story for this group that Kathy and I worked with. Of this mostly woman group (one guy) that started training back in August, all but one crossed the finish line yesterday. While the lone exception was due to injury the rest battled various injuries, doubts and uncharted distances to not only finish, but they finished strong! With each passing year this training group gets more challenging due to the varied experience and it thankfully our considerable experience has enabled us to evolve the training to accommodate all our runners. While I don't ever like singling out runners, yesterday we had 2 runners that had never ran further than 6 miles that actually ran the race in close to 2 hours our better. We also had a couple that attempted this training in the pass but were fallen by injuries, but they came back this year and went the distance. In between these great runners were many others that stuck with the training through ups and downs and accomplished their ultimate goal. Honestly there were times over the past few months that I had some doubts about everyone finishing, but this group of runners never gave in to the injuries, setbacks and the tremendous task ahead of them. Running a half marathon is something I consider very special because it requires determination, discipline, commitment and heart; this group truly showed every bit of all. As I cheered them on from the top of the South street hill I witnessed the results of their dedication and was proud of all of them. The 2014 Seacoast will be a special memory for each of these runners for sure. Nice job Runners Alley team! While I was out on the Seacoast Half marathon course to support our runners, I am also blessed to be able to see many, many runners that I have been fortunate to have worked with in the past. Rick Day for example went from the Runners Alley beginner half marathon training group to now running marathons, ultra Reach the Beach teams and yesterday I would guess he finished 1:40 or better. Nice job Rick! I also saw a few of my "No Finish Line Running" clients, past and present. Jenn Hagwood who I helped with a couple marathons was out there as well as Art Hochthurn who we currently work with. I could go on and on with names of people that I have had the honor of working with who were out there running in what I believe is the premier race in New Hampshire. While the course was a bit different because of construction, overall the race went great and you could not ask for a better day for running. Now with the 2014 Seacoast Half Marathon past, I can now get down to work with some exciting challenges ahead for NFLR! Most immediate is the NFLR Winter Running program! Tuesday, November 18th we begin our winter running program that will help all those that want to either train for the "Half at the Hamptons in February or those that just want to run through the winter. That first night we will meet down at the 1 Washington place parking lot in Dover where we will go for an easy 45 to 50 minute run. Contact us for details or just show up. Please bring the appropriate night running gear. The cost will be $50 for that just want to run through the winter and $100.00 for those that want to train for the Half at the Hamptons. The investment will be minimal compared to all you will get from your participation and the investment is really in yourself! Check out the details on the NFLR home page or contact us. In the coming weeks we will be making a huge announcement that will rock the Seacoast and the running community! As we work out the details I am super excited and I believe the impact of NFLR will raise to a level that I always dreamed of. Stay tuned! More work to do, so time to move along. Thanks to everyone for sharing your coffee time with me! God Bless! Mike