How about a 100 mile ultra marathon?

Or something in between?

In the past few years, I have successfully taken friends, neighbors, neighbors' friends, friends' neighbors, cousins, kissing cousins, heck we're not picky, and even people that I've never met, from high school age to grand parents, through a marathon training program to complete a 26.2 mile marathon.  Most of whom that I've taken under my wings and shared with them the tools of running 26 miles, have never ran more than a mile in their lifetime, and even better, the last time that they've ran the mile, was in high school, a couple decades ago for most in the group.  I have a 100% success finishers rate from all that I've taught to run a marathon and I've taken several from my group to the next level, and that is to complete ultra marathons, with distances reaching 100 miles! 

Every year in October, I start training for the LA Marathon for the following March.  I'd love for you to join our group to train, whether a beginner or pro, as we spend the next 5 months committed to a weekly training program to run the 26.2 mile marathon in Los Angeles.  The most rewarding times during the 5 months is to witness the runners challenge themselves in what I believe is a life altering experience for anyone who can run a marathon.  The finish line is a must in this group!  Our training consists of a slow and gradual increase in our weekly mileage, working our way up to the 20 plus mile distance, a few weeks before the March marathon. The longest distance we run prior to the marathon, might or might not be 26 miles, but it will be a tougher run than the marathon itself, being that we will climb thousands of feet of elevation, not the typical few hundred in the marathon, and we'll spend more time on our feet during our training than I expect the runners to spend during their marathon.  This, I believe gives the runners the experience and confidence to run the marathon course with any or little physical or mental discomfort.

 Our training is done on our local Santa Monica mountain trails, with views of the ocean, valleys, and mountains and also including the Angeles Crest mountains with elevations up to over 9,000 feet and snow.  We will run through water crossings, run single track and technical trails, fire roads and climb mountains and boulders to achieve our training goals.  We've seen snakes, coyotes, bob cats, deer, tarantulas, and even mountain lions on our training runs!  We understand safety while running in extreme conditions and terrain and take full responsibility for ourselves.  This is just a group that trains together and shares the passion of running and completing a marathon.  The group teaches you how to take care of yourself while training for a marathon whether being on the 26 miles of paved road, or in the mountains.  The feeling of being outdoors, and seeing what you are made of is something that everyone should experience. When we're not enjoying a long slow training run, we will be running hill repeats, which we have several hills that we love to tackle.  Then of course, we have our speed work, where you see the competitiveness come out of each runner, even though they swear, they are not competitive!  I try to explain to the group, this is not a group to be competitive with, only to be competitive within yourself, but I often do see a different side, and that's ok...We proudly call ourselves the "Hidden Hills Trail Runners" since we meet in Hidden Hills for the majority of our training.  There is no charge to run and train with the group, but instead a monthly donation to the charity of the month, chosen by you the runner, is needed to support the groups philanthropy goal, and most important to bring awareness to those less fortunate. 

If you are interested in seeing what you are made of, or that you would like to have the conversation piece for your lifetime and that is, "I am a marathon runner"...contact me at shannonfg@aol.com

Fitness Training

I've been asked my many about fitness training.  Although I've worked as a fitness model on ESPN2 fitness shows, and understand what it takes to stay in shape, I am not a fitness trainer, but I do have a friend who I look up to when I need to get in "tip top" shape.  Her name is Kathy Kaehler, she is known to be one of the best fitness trainers, and to me, she is!  Kathy is an author of several books, a trainer to the stars, the Today's Show fitness guru, to name a few, and if you want to train with the best, you can contact her at www.kathykaehlerfitness.com

(Horse) Endurance Training

If you'd rather conquer the long distance on horse, and not on your own legs, I have a great friend who competes in endurance horse racing.  I've done endurance races on my horses, and love to be out in the open mountains on horse just as I do running, and when I have time I squeeze in training to get ready for an endurance race with my trainers Carl and Charisse.  They have both done several endurance races, including the 100 mile Tevis ride!  If you'd like to take on a new adventure or better your riding skills, you can contact Charisse Glenn at www.malibuendurance.com