1st Marathon Syracuse III group training will be have its kickoff run on Saturday, May 10th at 7am from the Dewitt Town Hall pavillion which is adjacent to the Erie Canal trailhead at the corner of Kinne and Butternut Streets.

As in year's past, the first three weeks are free after which the next twenty weeks the official program will be underway to prepare CNY's for the Fall marathon and half-marathon season. While many begin with race plans for the fall, others whom join the program simply for the summer team camaraderie and for fitness goals and in many cases, choose to run a full marathon after the results are realized.

Each phase presents a reconfiguration of selected sites to accomodate our needs (Example: Phase III is at a track, Phase II we will move from flats to hills) as well as provide a refresh of scenery.

Don't be intimidated as a beginner (if you are) by "track" and "hills". The idea is to make you fully confident and comfortable in this atmosphere.

The group training, comprised of Beginner (walkers to joggers), Intermediate (joggers to runners) and Advanced programs (runners to racers)meets twice weekly and crosses four phases of training based upon Lydiard training principles as well as African-style, time and effort based training from my own experiences in the Kenyan training camps training under Dr. Gabriele Rosa who has coached such notable athletes as former World Record Holder Paul Tergat (2:04 marathon best) and perennial Boston Marathon Champion Moses Tanui.

I have learned that the the principles behind this training can be applied to all levels and in even the most sparing doses, key elements can be applied to beginners for their most direct line toward cardio-vascular fitness and weight loss, fit-looking bodies.

Last year's results (1st Marathon II) were as impressive as they were in the inaugural program: One woman knocked 45 minutes off her marathon PR. One male - 21 minutes. Another Male saw dropped 30 seconds off his mile best and in maintaining his own consistency with regard to the marathon program knocked an additional 15 seconds (5:15 from 6:07). Over the winter, I trained one woman exclusively on the treadmill where after 14 weeks she ran a 17 minute half-marathon PR (on the treadmill!).

Another woman began the program as a true beginner. She started with a 15 minute walk/jog for her "long" run. By the program's completion, she had run a full 2 hour and 30 minutes on the hilly Green Lakes Serengetti! While this sounds unimaginable for some, consider 5 months of steady progression. Nearly everyone in the program knocked an average of 1 minute and a half off their 5k's and 10 minutes off previous bests ranging from 15k to half-marathon. Weight-loss was visibly obvious per person.

My most impressive athlete to date was Lisa Hill, who came seeking my help in 2005. After 10 months of personal training twice weekly, she knocked an hour and 7 minutes off her marathon, 4 minutes off her 5k and 8 off her 10k using the training formula and principles of the 1st Marathon group training.

1st Marathon has many other goals for the community as a whole:

- Strengthen running networks within the CNY Running communty and create new ones. In this techno-age, restore personal face-to-face contact.

- Teach you the "least you need to know" regarding running for performance and fitness goals. That running is NOT complicated and that success is based upon only a handful of underlying principles and an investment of both time and application.

- Teach that running is SAFE at any level, when done RIGHT.

- Teach a unique training system formulated by trial and error over 25 years of self-exploration on my own body which took me from humble beginner to world class and back to recreational. I have learned as much on the descent as I have on my ascent.

- Change lives: Running as free means of curing depression, stimulating creativity, and bringing people in touch with themselves and building self-esteem through a positive self-image without resorting to abusive habits and the predatory industries that profit from them.

The first 3 weeks are open to all free of charge to get people a sense of what they are getting. I'm happy to say I had 100% retention last year and grew. The fact that we all spent 5 months together (2 workouts weekly)through so much left us with a 'family' feel. Size will change team dynamics of course, but I really enjoyed my group last year. Everyone carried each other through and a single great performance by one uplifted everyone and rained confidence down upon everyone else.

- We meet twice weekly (Tuesdays at 6 pm and Saturday mornings at 7am) for the first three weeks both workouts will be at Dewitt Town Hall at the pavillion.

What you recieve:

- Personal training logs which will have a complete outline of the

program: workouts, sites, times and even dates for quarterly training log reviews. The logs will additionally hold space for your entries as well as suggested runs for each of the three categorized runners: Beginnners, Intermediate and Advanced.

- Group support and workout administration for over 46 training sessions across five months.

- Weekly question feedback on any questions pertaining to your personal or generalized needs through weekly 15 minute group consultation with Coach (me).

- The most direct education and ascent to fitness or performance regarding running in which you will learn to train yourselves in the safest, enjoyable, time-mangeable, flexible, and effective fashion. I "teach you to train yourselves".

Join us for our kickoff session May 10th, 7am Dewitt Town Hall Pavillion or write me at kevin@1stmarathon.com or reach me at 315-559-4224.

- Kevin Collins

YMCA Certified personal trainer

Former World Class marathoner (personal best: 2:15:32)

4-Time Mountain Goat Champion (94'03'04'05')