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More about Customized Training Plans New Fall 2014 Dynamo E-Newletter
RBC RUN FOR THE KIDS...& MORE!
Sept 14/15 - CONGRATULATIONS are in order yet again after a plethora of excellent race results from our fellow Dynamos at 6 races this past weekend!
Far a complete list, but to quickly highlight some top performances...
ZOO RUN 10K: Sherry Smith ran 49+ for 4th in AC (age category) in tough course/conditions too!)
ARMY HALF MARATHON (in humid/sticky conditions):
- Andrew Chak notched a 1:31 all time personal best!
- Jennifer Trowell ran a strong 1:56 (coming back from broken collar bone)
ISLAND GIRL HALF MARATHON (amidst Noah's Ark-like rain conditions):
- Lucy Payette WON the entire race overall! (in 1:38)
- Karen Mulchinook ran a 1:52 all time PB (11th age)
OAKVILLE HALF MARATHON
- Harvey Foote ran a strong 1:29 for 9th in his AC
- Josi Mori-Stoodley hung in for a 1:39 for 3rd AC (despite being sick as a dog!)
- All star Tara Laidley ran a 1:51, knocking 5+ min from her all time PB (10th in AC)
- Cathy Annetta stormed to a 2:02 all time PB
- Laural Adams ran an all time PB of 2:23 (20 min faster than last year)
At the RBC Run for the Kids 25K, 15K (well, 15.8?!), and 5K:
25K - Paul Jamael blazed 1:40 flat (7th overall, 1st AC (while running a marapace run!
25K - Paul Kundarewich blitzed a 1:55
25K - Carol Bagozzi zipped a 2:04 to win her AC
25K - Marie Dupal chased her buddy Carol to a 2:07, and AC 1st too
25K - Fulvia Manarin did 2:09 (2nd in AC) as part of a 30km racepace
25K - Karen Soos just behind her in 2:10 (9th in AC) doing same 30K RPR
25K - Roya Ali-Kanbegi ran a 2:24 PB
15+K - Melinda Montgomery flew to 2nd in her AC with a 1:18 gem
15+K - Deborah Osmond & buddy Barbara Milligan finished together in 1:28 finish (7th and 13th in AC, respectively)
15+K - Susan Hauth ran to a 1:31 9th AC place finish too!
5K - Len Griffiths smoked a 19:17, just missing his all time PB (at age 55...Whaaat?)
Sept 28/14: An unseasonably warm and sunny day made it a little too hot to handle for those of us racing this "reborn" GTA classic, now part of the Excel Running Series--but we did our best!
Coach Kev mugs for a pic with Liz Hanson, post Toronto 10 Miler
"Not-so-dirty dozen" TO10M great Dynamo performances:
Coach Kev Smith - 57 min (2nd overall, top master)
Scott McDonell - 1:02 (3rd master, 7th overall)
Serafino Catallo - 1:11 (10th in age cat)
Kristin Dalzell - 1:13 (4th in AC)
Eric D'Arcy - 1:13
Rich Garbutt - 1:13
Stacia Morris - 1:14 (4th in AC)
Jackie Gallant - 1:15 (6th in AC)
Chris Robinson - 1:18
Erin Smyth - 1:19
Liz Hanson - 1:25
Suzanne Sutcliffe - 1:29 (8th in AC)
Michelle Cleave - 1:37 (big PB!)
Other great recent results of our Dynamo team:
Brian Whalen's new PB and Boston Q of 3:14 at the County Marathon
Big congrats to all who ran the ever-popular Run For the Toad too:Coach Jennifer Faraone WON the womens 25K race overall
Coach Driss Dacha finished 4th overall (top master...at 52!) in the 50K
Faith Lee ran to a 6th place AC finish in the 25K as well (out of 69!)
MIDSUMMER NIGHT 15K & 30K
Aug 16/14: Cooler than usual temps for this regular summer season checkpoint race helped speed things along, though higher than ideal humidity made for "surrepticiously high" humidex (23-24C, slowing most back down a bit. Our crew put forth incredible efforts as all who were at this week's group workouts heard about. By way of review, special congratulations must go to...
| Midsummer Night 30K | |||
| Laural | Adams | 3:44 | Never ran this far, incredible! |
| Roya | Ali-Kanbegi | 2:58 | PB! (Personal Best) |
| Lisa | DeMarco | 2:49 | PB! |
| Derek | Gracias | 2:18 | PB! |
| Bill | Haust | 2:36 | 6th in AC (Age Category) |
| Kevin | Imrie | 2:27 | PB! (huge!) |
| Jacquie | Jacobs | 2:57 | PB! |
| Yasu | Kajiwara | 2:19 | 7th in AC |
| Suzanne | Lesnowski | 2:13 | 2nd overall woman! |
| Marija | Radivojevic | 2:22 | 9th in AC |
| Scott | Rollwagon | 2:26 | PB! |
| Karen | Soos | 2:30 | 6th in AC |
| Richard | St. John | 2:36 | 5th in AC |
| Alison | Stevenson-Lee | 2:49 | teamwork w/buddy Lisa DM |
| Natasha | Vasiljevic | 2:40 | despite CRAZY cramping |
| Steven | Watanabe | 2:21 | PB! |
| Midsummer Night 15K | |||
| Anu | Bentley | 1:15 | PB (10min!), 11th in AC |
| Michelle | Cleave | 1:33 | PB! |
| Giselle | Di Simone | 1:16 | PB! |
| Joanne | Enser | 1:34 | PB! |
| Kathleen | Flynn | 1:17 | PB! |
| Claudette | Germain | 1:25 | PB! |
| Paul | Kundarewich | 1:04 | PB, 8th in AC |
| Tara | Laidley | 1:18 | PB (7+min!), 7th in AC |
| Jenn | Pitts | 1:16 | PB, 13th in AC (age cat) |
| Darrel | Smith | 1:12 | PB, 12th in AC |
| Brooke | Smith | 1:26 | PB! |
| Caroline | Welsh | 1:19 | PB! |
| Annie | Zurakowsky | 1:34 | PB! |
SPORTING LIFE 10K
May 11/14: Another great spring day greeted well over 20,000 runners in their efforts to raise funds for kids with cancer, and possibly run some personal best times on this ultrafast course. MDI runners did NOT disappoint!
The Top MDI Performers (in finishing order):
- Hubert Kowalczyk - 37:08 (5th in age cat)
- Len Griffiths - 38:12 (5th in AC, all time PB)
- Benoit Keppenne - 38:50
- Harvey Foote - 39:07 (8th in AC)
- Josi Mori-Stoodley - 40:18 (1st in AC!)
- Shalaleh Tarbiat - 40:23 (11th in AC)
- Marija Radivojevic - 41:26 (7th AC)
- Jackie Gallant - 44:39 (all time PB)
- Chris Robinson - 45:16 (all time PB)
- Bridget Peros - 46:37 (7th AC, all time PB)
- Tara Postnikoff - 43:36 (all time PB)
- Jackie Gallant - 44:39 (all time PB)
- Chris Robinson - 45:16 (all time PB)
- Bridget Peros - 46:37 (7th AC, all time PB)
- Tara Laidley - 49:20 (6th AC, all time PB)
- Lisa DeMarco - 51:37
- Tanya Baldassi - 55:43 (all time PB)
- Jennifer Pierce - 57:58
- Cathy Annetta - 58:06 (all time PB)
- Jennifer Fralick - 1:02
What a day!
(above) Teen Dynamo Bridget Peros and proud dad Steven, celebrating her 2+min PB!
(below) Hubert Kowalczyk hammers the final km to a 37min, 5th place age cat finish
THE BEST BOSTON...EVER?
Apr 21/14 - What a fabulous Boston Marathon it was. I really don't think I'm going out on a limb to suggest that it may well have been the best ever, for a host of reasons.
Certainly one of those was Meb Keflezigi's incredible, improbable, and completely inspiring win--the first by an American man in 30 years. How fitting that he did it at the very first Boston since the terrorist bombings marred last year's race (and at the not-so-tender age of 39 to boot...score one for the old guys!). Shalane Flanagan's gutsy effort to lead out the women, only to be beaten by the fastest woman EVER to run Boston, Rita Jeptoo.
And what an unforgettable weekend it was for all of you who were there--from beginning to end, a memory you'll always cherish (and a really bright jacket as well!)
As for the race itself, most of you faced down the unrelenting sunshine and gradually rising temperatures remarkably well, especially considering you'd had ZERO opportunity to acclimatize given the nasty frigidity of the entire training season. Though for any of you out there for much more than 3hrs (in other words, the great majority), the conditions certainly were a factor, resulting in race times 5-10 minutes slower than you'd have run under ideal conditions. Without further ado, we present...
- Monique Anglin - 3:22 (all time PB)
- Andrew Auerbach - 3:24 (debut)
- Avery Best - 2:45 (all time PB)
- Alisa Bridgman - 3:42 (debut)
- Kristin Dalzell - 3:17 (wow...trained only 8 weeks!)
- Harvey Foote - 3:20
- Angela Ganstal - 3:43
- Elysa Graci - 3:24 (debut)
- Len Griffiths - 3:17 (all time PB)
- Bill Haust - 3:41 (best Boston ever!)
- Susan Hauth - 4:35
- Jacquie Jacobs - 4:45 (guts...pure guts!)
- Paul Jamael - 2:58 (best Boston, almost all time PB)
- Nancy Lennon - 3:47
- Suzanne Lesnowski 3:14
- Lucia Mahoney - 3:34 (best Boston ever)
- Fulvia Manarin - 3:32 (all time PB)
- Janet Manley - 4+ (sick as dog, but wouldn't quit)
- Josi Mori-Stoodley - 3:21 (on under 9 wks training)
- Sherry Ovsenny - 3:41 (debut)
- Karen Peesker - 4:02 (debut)
- Alison Stevenson-Lee - 3:56 (also only 1/2 a season)
- Shalaleh Tarbiat - 3:12 (all time PB)
- Sheryl Thingvold - 3:43 (debut)
- Dominique Von Richter 3:42 (debut)
- Bridget Wiley 3:48 (best Boston ever!)
Congrats also to the scores of MDI Dynamo Alumni, and the many friends of ours that bested the tough and technical Boston course to emerge triumphant in so many ways at the finish line!
Here are a few Dynamo pics from the glorious weekend (click images to enlarge)
Above: Dominique Von Richter celebrates her Boston debut!
Below Left: High Park MDI-ers Jacquie Jacobs & Susan Hauth show off VERY hard-earned Boston medals.
Below Right: Dynamo Angela Ganstal and brother Anders looking way too composed after their big race
Top: Fulvia Manarin, Karen Peesker and Janet Manley (kneeling), resplendent in their new Boston jackets
Bottom: Paul Jamael rounding the turn onto Boylston, moments from a sub 3hr performance, while Andrew Auerbach feeds off the incredible Boston crowd energy in his debut
(above) Alison Stevenson-Lee triumphantly caps her tumultuous journey to the Boston finish!
Double Header Marathon Weekend:
Goodlife Toronto & Mississauga '14
May 5/14 - Thank goodness the weather co-operated for this very big GTA distance running weekend. Cool temps, and sunny skies made for enjoyable running weather, complicated only by an at times stiff northwest wind (that hurt the Goodlifer's a little more than the Missy runners). When all was said and done, your MDI coaches were thrilled with the big efforts you gave, and the tremendous results you got!
Here's a quick summary of our top 40 or so performances , and some great pics too:
|
Joe | Barth | 1:46 | 10th in Age Cat |
| Serafino | Catallo | 1:33 | All-Time PB |
| Simon | Chiu | 1:40 | |
| Triina | Forbell | 1:51 | All time PB (8min) |
| Laura | Gage | 1:37 | 7th Age Cat |
| Halley | Georgas | 1:42 |
|
| Tanya | Grant | 1:51 | |
| Claire | Griffin | 1:39 | AT PB, 10th Age cat |
| Arthur | Heinmaa | 2:09 | |
| Roz | Morton | 1:29 | 2nd AC, nearly AT PB! |
| Dera | Nevin | 1:44 | |
| Deborah | Osmond | 2:00 | |
| Marjia | Radivojevic | 1:38 | 4th in AC |
| Chris | Robinson | 1:43 | AT PB |
| Erin | Smyth | 1:44 | AT PB |
| Margaret | Stuart | 2:17 | Honey Badger's comeback! |
| Suzanne | Sutcliffe | 1:59 | Best in awhile! |
| Kelly | Zyblock | 1:49 | AT PB (8+min) |
|
Goodlife Marathon
Anu | Bentley | 3:49 | Debut & Boston Qualifier |
| Andrew | Chak | 3:14 | ATPB (10min) & BQ |
| David | Colafranceschi | 3:15 | 12th AC, ATPB, BQ |
| Annabelle | DeGouveia | 3:48 | AT PB, BQ |
| Ryan | Goldvine | 3:12 | AT PB |
| Liz | Hanson | 3:45 | 8th in AC, BQ |
| Tara | Laidley | 3:57 | 4th in AC, ATPB (33min!), BQ |
| Jenn | Pitts | 3:49 | Debut |
| Natasha | Vasiljevic | 3:44 | AT PB (10min), BQ |
| Molly | Yuan | 3:31 | 8th in AC, AT PB (8min) & BQ |
|
Levis Half (Quebec)
Claudette | Germain | 2:03 | 5th AC, almost AT PB! |
|
Mississauga Half
Lisa | DeMarco | 1:57 | the comeback begins! |
|
Benoit | Keppenne | 1:31 | |
| Taya | Jones | 1:24 | 2nd OVERALL & AT PB! |
| Darryl | Leong | 1:46 | |
|
Mississauga Full
Mike | Kates | 4:08 | |
| Faith | Lee | 4:04 | 9th in AC, BQ |
| Janet | Manley | 3:40 | BQ redo right after Boston! |
| Karen | Soos | 3:35 | AT PB & BQ |
|
Washington DC Half
Carolyn | Bennett | 1:32 | 4th in AC, near AT PB |
Taya Jones is all smiles (as are her 3 little ones Saige, Mack & Rhys) after she placed 2nd OVERALL woman at the Mississauga Half, in a PB of 1:24!
Oakville newbie Dynamo Faith Lee mugs for a shot after her Boston Q at Mississauga Marathon!
Anu Bentley, Annabelle DeGouveia, Kelly Zyblock, Liz Hanson and Jenn Pitts (L-R) buoyant amidst a bevy of personal bests, fab debuts & Boston Q's at Goodlife!
Andrew Chak knocks it out of the park - a HUGE PB (3:14) & Boston Q! To the victor goes...the dinner plate!?
HARRY'S SPRING RUN OFF 8K & 5K
Apr 5/14 - The 35th running of this venerable race lived up to its reputation--and then some! Snow buffeted about on race morning in the blustery -5C windchill (w/gusts up to 60kph) adding more difficulty to the already notoriously tough course.
Most of the MDI Dynamos were either resting after ATB, or getting giant LSDs or important Racepace workouts done for coming spring halfs and fulls. But a few intrepid Dynamos threw down the gauntlet...and we're sure glad they did. Amazing results!
Rosalind Morton was 1st overall woman in the 5K - 19:46
Andrew Chak was 3rd in his age cat in the 5K - 20:01
Carolyn Bennett was 3rd AC in the 8K - 33:47 (PB)
Hubert Kowalczyk was 8th AC in the 8K 33:14 (with a shoe tie stop!)
Chris Robinson ran a gutsy 39min 8K
And Coach Kev managed to snag 3rd overall Master in the 8K in 27:55
Big thanks to the many MDI Dynamos and family who came out to support us with lots of cheering--in those conditions, you had it tougher than we did running!
(below) - Roz Morton (centre, blue jacket) receiving her 1st woman 5K award!
(below) - Coach Kev all business halfway through the 8K
YONGE ST. 10K 2014
Apr 13/14 - A cool and sunny day, with just a bit of "in your face" wind greeted those ready to let loose on this super fast course, to checkpoint their fitness and/or shake off the racing rust.Roz Morton - 38min (2nd in age cat!, nearly all time PB)
Andrew Chak - 39min (all time PB)
Marija Radivojevic - 40min (all time PB, 5th in age cat)
Serafino Catallo - 41min (all time PB)
Dmitri Toubelis - 42min (all time PB)
Laura Gage - 44min (8th in age cat)
Chris Robinson - 46min (all time PB)
Joe Barth - 47 min (nearly all time PB)
Caroline Welsh - 50 min (all time PB)
Claudette Germain - 54 min (nearly all time PB)
Other great recent results this weekend:
Dera Nevin - 1:13 at MEC 15K (2nd overall woman!)
Simon Chiu - 1:11 at MEC 15K
Jennifer Fralick - 1:47 at AG 10 miler
Molly Yuan - 1:17 at GF 10 miler (8 min PB)
AROUND THE BAY 2014
Mar 30/14 - It was hillier than usual, it was windy, it was tricky to dress for, but as ATB often goes--could have been worse!
Despite the adversity the MDI Dynamos came through with FLYING colours (namely...purple!) It would have been great to have you ALL out there sporting our team duds, but there were enough of you doing so to make our presence felt. Much thanks and HUGE congrats!
Note terms:
AT PB = "All Time Personal Best), AC = Age Category, BRP = Boston "Racepacing"
And they are (listed alphabetically):
Anu Bentley 2:40 AT PB (6min)
Avery Best 1:53 AT PB (2min) & 10th AC
Alisa Bridgman 2:29 AT PB & BRP
Andrew Chak 2:15 AT PB (14min!)
Kristin Dalzell 2:19 BRP
Annabelle Degouveia 2:39 Debut?
Marie Dupal 2:30 Debut?
Harvey Foote 2:18 BRP
Len Griffiths 2:18 LSD & BRP
Liz Hanson 2:38 Hamstring strain-ouch!
Bill Haust 2:41 BRP
Jason Jacobs 2:18 AT PB (7min) & BRP
Paul Jamael 2:04 AT PB (16th AC)
Yasu Kajiwara 2:26 BRP
Tara Laidley 2:49 ATPB (23min)&15th AC
Nancy Lennon 2:34 BRP
Suzanne Lesnowski 2:18 LSD & BRP
Lucia Mahoney 2:30 AT PB & BRP
Fulvia Manarin 2:25 AT PB (10th AC) & BRP
Janet Manley 2:27 BRP
Josie Mori-Stoodley 2:26 BRP & 10th AC
Barbara Neray 3:05 Gutsy (very sick all week!)
Sherry Ovsenny 2:28 BRP (debut?)
Karen Peesker 2:41 BRP
Jenn Pitts 2:35 Debut
Karen Soos 2:26 AT PB (4 min)
Sheryl Thingvold 2:28 BRP (debut?)
Natasha Vasiljevic 2:36 AT PB (14+ min!)
Dominique Von Richter 2:29 AT PB & BRP
(below): Annabelle Degouveia, Karen Peesker and Liz Hanson sporting the spoils of victory at ATB (and pretty great smiles as well!)
(below): Many of our Thursday AM Monarch Park crew celebrating post-race, including: Janet Manley, Karen Soos, Fulvia Manarin, Alisa Bridgman and Marie Dupal
(below): Josi Mori-Stoodley (middle), Dominique Von Richter (right) and Dynamo Alum Diane Tsialtas showin' off that ATB bling
Mar 2/14 - Congrats to all you MDI Dynamos who braved the frigid temps and slushy roads at the Chilly Half Marathon!
Here are the top 2 dozen or so Dynamo performances we've found so far:
Avery Best - 1:18 (near all time PB, 5th in age cat)
Coach Jennifer Faraone - 1:20! WON womens race overall!
Jason Jacobs 1:30
Len Griffiths - 1:32
David Colafranseschi - 1:34 (so close to all time PB)
Carolyn Bennett - 1:34 (8th in AC)
Benoit Keppenne - 1:34
Shannon Pritchard - 1:38 (7th in AC)
Sheryl Thingvold - 1:38 (all time PB)
Fulvia Manarin - 1:39 (5th in AC)
Monique Anglin - 1:39 (all time PB (?), 10th in AC)
Molly Yuan - 1:39 (all time PB)
Karen Soos - 1:40 (all time PB)
Marie Dupal - 1:41 (all time PB)
Lucia Mahoney - 1:41 (7th in AC)
Nick Friedman - 1:42
Tara Postnikoff - 1:44 (all time PB)
Christopher Wolfe - 1:45
Erin Smyth - 1:47 (all time PB?)
Simon Chiu - 1:47
Jules McGovern - 1:49 (all time PB)
Anu Bentley - 1:49 (all time PB)
Tanya Grant - 1:54
Tara Laidley - 1:56 (all time PB)
Click here or give us a call for more details!
"I have a hectic schedule and couldn't commit to fixed group runs. Kevin created a customized training plan for me and was always available for e-coaching.
Marathon Dynamics prepared me to qualify for Boston with a PB of 3:11. Even better I beat my marathon time last October by 22 minutes! I'm looking forward to working with Marathon Dynamics for Boston. I know the group work would have been ideal but Marathon Dynamics was able to tailor a program around my needs."
...for designing my perfect training plan. Kevin Smith provided me with e-coaching which made my dream of qualifying for Boston a reality. I am so proud of my accomplishment and know I could not have done it without MDI.
Thank you very much!
Don Campbell
I'd achieved some success making my own training plans, but I felt I could improve and didn't know how. With the experience, knowledge, and technical expertise of Marathon Dynamics, I've been able to bring my half marathon PB from 1:48 to 1:34! I also ran my first marathon, and I'm heading to Boston next April.
If you have the drive and determination, MDI can take care of the planning that ultimately produces your dream results. You'll marvel at coach Kevin's ability to assess your fitness and predict your race day results. You'll arrive at the starting line feeling super confident and ultra-prepared.
Kristin Dalzell after her 1st year with MDI
What an amazing weekend and race in New York City! I finished in 4:37, and can't imagine another race topping this one! I could not have progressed this far without your help. I kept with the program and it really paid off.
Thank you again for all your help in preparation for this all season long!
Marathon debutant Cathy Annetta
You really have brought me to a place I never thought I would see. I never imagined I’d be able to deliver the race result that I did this past year. I’m still in disbelief of the time in fact!
I've vastly improved through your coaching. You took me from a 4:02 marathon where I thought I left everything I had on the course down to a 3:19 in 3 years – with a BQ to show for it as a bonus!
Ken Moscoe
Run out to it!
MDI Rocks! Why? The Personalized Training Plan and the Weekly Group Coaching. I did both. The result? 18 weeks later I qualified for Boston! The Plan was personalized for me, advocated cross training combined with a sensible number of non running days and was easy to follow. So I was realistically able to manage life outside running. And bonus...when I needed my Plan to be tweaked (due to really rough winter weather) it was easily done.
The Weekly Group Coaching got me ‘out there’ with other runners (of all abilities) and my professional MDI Coach. The coaches are runners too and were adept at keeping me on track (literally!) with my Plan by providing encouragement, advice (by email, phone or in person at the weekly workouts) and good jokes! Boston here I come!
MDI Runner Katie Thomas improved her marathon PB by over 15 min and qualified for Boston
Signing up with Marathon Dynamics was a great decision for me. It helped prepare me mentally and physically for running the NYC Marathon, and provided the opportunity to meet some extraordinary runners, especially on track day, dark and early. The whole experience of the training was great and gave me the confidence to do NY.
I could not have done this marathon without it. What worked especially well for me in particular were the bits of advice you gave on track day (eg sleeping) and through your web site. Most important though was the encouragement for us to do our best and a belief we could achieve our goals.
You taught us that the race is something to enjoy, and that I did. Many thanks!
"Marathon Dynamics’ training program showed me that if I run the race the right way, I can break 3 hours.
My first marathon was painful, but the training for it was a lot of fun, and I would definitely recommend Marathon Dynamics to anyone. Whether you’re aiming for a particular time, or your goal is just to finish, the coaches will design a program that will help you safely and enjoyably reach your goal"
MDI runner Glen Way improved his marathon PB by over 10 min in his first year with MDI (3:08 for a Boston Qualifier)
You are a genius! Your plans are magic. Do the work, run the race and get the time you worked for! So happy. 49:03 is an "age equivalent" PB for me!
Thanks MDI...you've never let me down!
“Even more important to me is that Kevin works really hard to foster a friendly and supportive team environment throughout training and coaching sessions... As a result, I have been able to establish incredible new friendships with some great people that share my passion for running.”
New Marathon Dynamics Runner Harvey Foote