| Over the next few weeks we will be sharing some brief stories of our ZAP Coaching athletes. You can find more information on ZAP Coaching here. |
| Chad was an accomplished marathoner when he signed up with ZAP Coaching. He had won the Charlotte Marathon and sported a personal best time of 2:33. Chad was looking for a little bit more guidance and structure to his training so that he could walk away from his prime running years knowing he hadn’t left anything on the table. With a renewed focus Chad looked to build things from the ground up at the beginning of 2019, with a long term focus on being ready to run a personal best at the Grandma’s Marathon in June. Amidst the slow buildup during the winter he felt himself growing stronger each week and decided to go down to Atlanta to watch the Olympic Marathon Trials and run the Atlanta Marathon the next day. What originally was intended as a training run became an opportunity as Chad felt his fitness building. By the time March 1st rolled around he was ready to lay it out there and see what he could do. The Atlanta course is brutal with over 1,800 feet of elevation gain, but Chad was patient and moved well through the field. He crossed the 20 mile marker in 8th place and stormed home, moving all the way up to finish 2nd overall. His time was within a minute of his personal best, and his decision to run looked brilliant in hindsight with Grandma’s being cancelled a few weeks later. A belated congratulations, Chad! |