Should you tackle your first marathon this year? Are you worried that you won’t be able to do marathon training without feeling overwhelmed, burned out, or that you will miss family time?
In this episode, Rachel (previous podcast guest from episode 66), shares why a structured but flexible plan that she received made her marathon dreams a reality not only surpassing her goal (sub 3:35:00) but enjoying the training process and the race day experience.
Rachel’s determination and consistency along with guidance from coach Lu on our Healthy Runner coaching team, and the support from our Healthy Runner family, allowed her training to “mesh” with all the other aspects of her life.
Completing your first marathon is a huge accomplishment but pairing that with an amazing finish time and feeling strong and healthy even more AMAZING!
I know you will be inspired by Rachel’s journey because I know I am! Enjoy listening and learning some marathon training, race day, nutrition, and mindset tips along the way during this conversation.
Listen to the Podcast Episode during your next run!
Learn more about our Signature Coaching Program that Rachel used to make her marathon dreams a reality here: https://learn.sparkhealthyrunner.com/coaching
Related Episodes:
Episode 139: Advanced Marathon Training with Coach Lu:
https://sparkhealthyrunner.com/marathon-training-tips-to-pr/
Episode 137: Marathon, Nutrition, Hydration, & Electrolytes with Brooke Czarnecki, RDN
https://sparkhealthyrunner.com/marathon-nutrition/
Episode 143: Marathon Mindset | 7 Tips with Coach Cat
https://sparkhealthyrunner.com/marathon-race-day-mindset/
Episode 146: Duane’s Marathon Journey Update
https://sparkhealthyrunner.com/duanes-marathon-journey-update/
Episode 141: Marathon Questions Answered by Duane!
https://sparkhealthyrunner.com/ask-duane-marathon-questions-answered/
Learn more about working with Coach Lu here: https://learn.sparkhealthyrunner.com/lubio
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Dr. Duane Scotti, DPT, PhD, OCS is a running physical therapist, run coach, host of the Healthy Runner podcast, and founder of Spark Healthy Runner and has been a leader in the rehab and running community for 20+ years.
Duane initially started running as an adult, wanting to add some cardio to his gym sessions. After having a hip surgery, his doctor advised him to get off the treadmill and run outside. Without having fully recovered, Duane suffered a running-related hamstring tendon injury and many others as a novice runner.
As a coach, he has guided thousands of athletes back to running, finishing their first marathon, crushing a personal best, and even the elusive Boston Marathon qualifying time.
He is truly living his passion educating the running community that they don’t need to stop running to get over a running injury. Through his signature 1:1 coaching program, weekly videos, and podcast episodes, he empowers runners to get stronger, run faster, and enjoy lifelong injury free running. Dr. Duane truly believes that anyone can run and that all runners should be treated differently when recovering from an injury. He is on a mission to change the traditional thinking that running causes “overuse injuries” or “your body is just not meant to run” and you must “take a break” to get better. Through strength and run specific training you can grow a strong mind, strong body, and just keep running!
Duane received his Bachelor of Health Science degree and Master of Physical Therapy degree from Quinnipiac University in 2001 and 2003. He then went on to receive a clinical Doctor of Physical Therapy and a Ph.D. in Physical Therapy from Nova Southeastern University in 2017. Duane is a board-certified Orthopaedic Clinical Specialist, RRCA Certified Running Coach, Certified Mulligan Practitioner, certified in dry needling and has advanced training in spinal manipulation and rehabilitation for runners.
As an athlete, Duane is an adult-onset runner, avid half marathoner, and enjoys challenging himself to learn and grow in his personal running journey!
A native New Yorker from Long Island, Duane currently lives in Cheshire, Connecticut with his wife Deb and his two teenage daughters who are competitive volleyball players. They all love to explore new beaches along the east coast.
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Did you just run a race? Did it feel euphoric? It could have been a marathon, a half marathon, or a 5k and it was the climax of your training! It was the moment you had circled on your calendar and the moment that kept you motivated to get in those hard training runs and… View ArticleRead More
Have you or someone you know been diagnosed with Knee Arthritis? Are you wondering if you can keep running through it? This week we had the pleasure of having Dr. Frank Petrigliano educate us on how you can keep running with Arthritis. Dr. Petrigliano is an Associate Professor of Clinical Orthopaedic… View ArticleRead More
You can teach an old dog new tricks!!! I have never considered myself a runner and I knew I needed to be smart about it because I am no spring chicken. Spark preached getting strong and healthy to be injury free and they practice what they preach. I am soooo glad I made the investment in me! I finished my half marathon last weekend and couldn’t be any happier! The program fed me all the steps I needed to essentially learn how to run long distance, build strength, nutrition help, a forum of other runners and probably most important was the 1:1 coaching. I had no idea how to tackle training for a 1/2 marathon and this program broke all of it down, had it individualized for me and we tweaked as we went to make sure I was staying healthy and strong. I had so many questions the week prior to my race and Coach Cat was always there for me and answering all the questions and issues I had-and believe me there were a lot! The biggest benefit I think I got was the strength. I am strong and fit. But most important was what I gained emotionally. I built confidence and strength I didn’t know I had, even at my age. Honestly could not have done this without Spark Healthy Runners!
My Healthy Runner journey started after I had battled bilateral achilles pain for a few months and was frustrated how it affected my running. As soon as I talked to Duane I knew I had made the right decision. His positivity, enthusiasm and genuine care are infectious. The training plan that was tailored to me included specific exercises to rehab my injury and I was so excited that I didn’t have to stop running. It took patience to only run slow for a few weeks but I trusted the process and it got me me to where I am now: running pain free. We made adjustments to the plan throughout whenever needed having someone in your corner that is always there with guidance and support throughout the process was invaluable.
I just ran my second half marathon, both with Duane’s coaching, and PR’d by over 9 minutes! I got all choked up in the last mile when I realized that I felt strong and could still kick it up a notch.
I’m so thankful for the Healthy Runner program, community and the entire coaching team for all the support!
Wanting to run more consistently, and to increase my long run distance and total weekly mileage, I was concerned about hip pain due to hip alignment issues. This is an issue I had when I trained for my first half marathon several years ago. Having listened to the Healthy Runner podcast for the past couple years, I knew Duane Scotti could help. I signed up for the four-month strength and running training program and am extremely happy with the results.
The program Duane and Coach Whitney developed for me was exactly what I needed. It was tailored to my needs and to my target race. Coach Whitney was very helpful, and with the biweekly coaching calls, we were able to fine tune the program based off my performance and feedback.
At the end of the program, I completed a 10K trail race feeling strong and pain free.
I highly recommend Duane Scotti and the Healthy Runner training programs.