05/02/2005
Megan Burns and Kathy Wickersham have never met one another, living in Virginia and Texas respectively. However, these two women have decided to "virtually" train together with the goal of running the 2005 Philadelphia Marathon in 2:54-2:55.
One of the features of the member's area of the 2L Coaching Services is the forum, where runners from various backgrounds and locations can share stories and relate to one another. Everyone is coached under the same service, but they all receive personalized coaching geared towards their specific needs.
This winter and spring, these two women began posting on the website about their goals, and quickly realized that they had similar goals and fitness levels. Both wanted to run under 3:00 in their spring marathons, and became very supportive of one another through the forum. Megan ran first, winning the Shamrock Marathon this spring in 2:58. Kathy ran the Great Southwest Marathon a week later, and also ran to victory. Due to torrential rains which caused hypothermia, she was not able to achieve her goal time, but did manage to win the women's title by over 24 minutes.
After recovering from their respective efforts, Kathy and Megan began to refocus their efforts on a fall marathon. They realized that being in comparable shape, and given that both were willing to travel, the Phildalphia Marathon was a good fit for them. And having the same coach, who is located in Philadelphia, meant that this race is the perfect opportunity for them to focus on the same goal, follow similar training, and work together to achieve that goal.
Kathy is really looking forward to this endeavour, saying "I am very excited to be able to train for the Philadelphia Marathon with Megan, if only virtually. We have very similar goals and should be able to work together during the marathon. It's reassuring to know that."
There are many miles to be logged, workouts to push through, and challenges to overcome along the way. But these two women will benefit from the support that they've found in one another and 2L Coaching Services looks forward to helping them along the journey and supporting them in their collective goal.