Next Tuesday, July 18th marks the beginning of 2023’s Marathon Training Group (MTG). Coached by John Honerkamp and free to PPTC members, the group prepares you for success in distance races. John provides five 16-week training guides that range in mileage and outline workouts, long runs, and rest days. The true cornerstone of MTG, though, is the 6:30 am meet up at Harry’s Wall every Tuesday starting next week (7/18) for speed workouts tailored for marathon training (alternatively, Sarah Stone runs an evening MTG on Tuesday evenings at 7pm at GAP).
However, while “marathon” is in the title of MTG, the training group has an open invitation to all PPTC members. In fact, John Honerkamp stated, “anyone is encouraged to come even if you never want to run a marathon :)”. So do not be deterred by the name or the marathon training guides, many people participate in MTG to improve general speed.

A group shot of last year’s Marathon Training Group in front of Harry’s Wall.

Every Tuesday MTG begins with a dynamic warm up of drills and stretching during which training topics are often discussed. The group then jogs over to where the speed work will start. Mindful of keeping the group and all park goers safe, Coach John often chooses less trafficked routes along Center Drive and Wellhouse Drive. There, Coach John explains the workout and then splits the group up into pace groups based on marathon goal times.

Together, as a pace group, you are able to hold each other accountable and work as one to hit each target time. Oftentimes, you’ll find cheers from other participants bolstering you as you struggle through a hard run. In between each repetition you have the opportunity to return the favor and cheer on other MTG participants. This fosters a supportive atmosphere and allows for an overall cohesive community. Members often jog a cool down together towards home following the workout.

This natural connection with others training for the marathon makes it easy to find training partners for other runs and workouts.

All of this has made MTG popular among PPTC members. Some MTG participants from 2022 kindly reflected on their experience with the training and the sense of preparedness and camaraderie it provided.

We wish you all a happy start to marathon training and may you all have a safe and healthy training cycle!

Beth Moran (she/her)

What did you find helpful about the MTG last year?
I really enjoyed John's encouraging words before each workout!

What was your favorite workout from MTG?
I had 2-- the trail workout in the rain & the team workout where we sprinted from East Drive to Ocean Ave.

What was your biggest takeaway from MTG?
Speed workouts really help me get faster!

The sun greeting MTG participants mid workout.

Kat Simao (she/her)

What did you find helpful about the MTG last year?
It guided me in my first ever marathon training with weekly plans.

What was your favorite workout from MTG?
The 30 min hills

What was your biggest takeaway from MTG?
That straight running miles is not enough lol

Kishor Vayyala (he/him)

What did you find helpful about the MTG last year?
That it was structured training with an easy to follow excel template.

What was your favorite workout from MTG?
Continuous Hill Repeats

What was your biggest takeaway from MTG?
Following the plan and doing speed workouts at MTG gave me a lot of confidence heading into the race day.

Evy Barnett (she/her)

What did you find helpful about the MTG last year?
I love the accountability and team environment! Seeing your friends and teammates all doing the same workout means we all suffer together! But it’s also nice to find people who match your pace and schedule runs with them for the week. It makes the later part of the season less lonely when you can do long runs with friends! You run so much during a training cycle, it’s so nice to make an event of it! And even if your friends aren’t your pace, it’s still fun to be working towards the same race. The fall PPTC MTG energy is unmatched! The first day of MTG is like the first day of school, everyone is so young and youthful, and then it gets hard, haha. When I first joined I did MTG just for fun, no race in mind. I just thought it was a fun way to meet people. Then I ended up doing the Philly half, which was my first big race ever. It was so scary but awesome to see the PPTC cheer squad!

What was your favorite workout from MTG?
I like hill workouts, especially when training for NYCM. I think hills are so important and even though they’re hard you see a lot of improvement on how you handle hills.

What was your biggest takeaway from MTG?
Don’t be afraid to ask questions!! John is great and so helpful and provides great guidance.

The crew mid run on a softer gravel surface.

Edith Asibey (she/her)

What did you find helpful about the MTG last year?
The group support. I always did a better workout than what I would have done on my own.

What was your favorite workout from MTG?
400 meter intervals and the nonstop hills! It made me feel great AFTER it was done, haha.

What was your biggest takeaway from MTG?
Rain or shine, people show up! That’s very motivating.

Emily Fulham (she/her)

What did you find helpful about the MTG last year?
Doing workouts with other people, the accountability, and the training plans that John sent out.

What was your favorite workout from MTG?
800s and tempo runs

Niki Zingman (she/her)

What did you find helpful about the MTG last year?
It helped structure my training program without requiring me to have any real experience. I appreciated that it was broken down into a couple different plans depending on if you wanted a lower or higher mileage plan.

What was your favorite workout from MTG?
I found the hill repeats most awful but most helpful.

What was your biggest takeaway from MTG?
It showed me that I could conquer the marathon and I didn’t have to do it alone.

Laura Hagadone (she/her)

What did you find helpful about the MTG last year?
The routine of regular speed work, consistently working towards faster intervals, and learning more about pacing.

What was your favorite workout from MTG?
400s and ladder workouts.

What was your biggest takeaway from MTG?
Speedwork is crucial when you want to better your overall performance. I did not complete a marathon last year, but PR'd in the 5k and half marathon after consistent MTG workouts.

The group’s walk/jog in between running reps.

Jason Gill (he/him)

What did you find helpful about the MTG last year?
It was my 1st marathon. The most valuable aspect to me was the informal advice shared during Tuesday workouts or Saturday runs. I would suggest that before the Saturday runs in July ask if anyone is running their first marathon and encourage experienced runners to buddy up and share tips.

What was your biggest takeaway from MTG?
All body types can complete a marathon.

Murray Rosenblith (He/Him)

What did you find helpful about the MTG last year?
It gave me some guidance on general training regimens.

What was your biggest takeaway from MTG?
While I'm not training for marathons, I use the workouts to improve my general running.

Jordin Isip (he/him)

What did you find helpful about the MTG last year?
Everything

What was your favorite workout from MTG?
hill-track-trail (or whatever it's called) but maybe we won't do that as much during larger capacity MTG. I like everything, the weekly variety makes workouts more interesting and fun.

What was your biggest takeaway from MTG?
I was able to complete my first marathon (NYC, Fall 2022)

Jaema (she/her/elle )

What did you find helpful about the MTG last year?
The group energy and accountability was my favorite part. It’s a great way to find training partners!

What was your favorite workout from MTG?
I have to go with 400s. It was one of the first workouts we did in July, and my first speed work in years — so it was a great baseline to measure my progress against in the following months! (I did indeed get faster, wink).

What was your biggest takeaway from MTG?
The camaraderie was number one! Followed by the range of workouts and ways to do them that added volume as my mileage increased.

Abby Reisner (she/her)

What did you find helpful about the MTG last year?
Accountability! And people to commiserate with in oppressive humidity.

What was your favorite workout from MTG?
800-400-400 repeats!

What was your biggest takeaway from MTG?
Center drive is the hardest hill in Prospect Park. :) Jkjk - that some days will be better run days than others, but showing up consistently will help on race day. And that people in PPTC are nice and the best.

Randolph Hall (he/him/his)

What did you find helpful about the MTG last year?
The camaraderie, collective experience, group support and Coach John

What was your favorite workout from MTG?
Long Saturday runs, plus Tuesday morning workouts. 200 intervals was a good way to shake things out, build up a little speed.

What was your biggest takeaway from MTG?
Good, worthwhile experience.

What's one thing you'd like members who are new to MTG to know?
You're welcome, no matter your ability or running ability. Come join us.

Intro by: Rachael DePalma (she/her)
Interview Text by: Beth Moran, Kat Simao, Kishor Vayyala, Evy Barnett, Edith Asibey, Emily Fulham, Niki Zingman, Laura Hagadone, Jason Gill, Murray Rosenblith, Jordan Isip, and Jaema, Abby Reisner, and Randolph Hall
Photos by: Will Ngo (he/him)
Produced by: Rachael DePalma

PPTC is a diverse and supportive team. We want to celebrate the diversity of our club and membership. We welcome and encourage everyone to share their stories with us.

Marathon Training Group 2023