This week's runner is Matt McGeough, a new father who works in finance and lives in Brooklyn Heights. This spring he's finally getting his chance to show Boston who's boss after qualifying with his time in the NYC Marathon a few years ago. Thanks to some Hot Bird Running cross training and his commitment to early (really early) morning runs, he's ready to dominate Heartbreak Hill on April 15th.
When did you start running and why?
I became a cross country nerd my sophomore year in high school because I stopped playing soccer and my parents made me find another fall sport. Going in I figured I'd quit after a few weeks of getting in shape but I actually liked it. I've been running pretty consistently ever since.
What is the best piece of advice you ever received?
The good ladies at Hot Bird Running taught me that a running workout shouldn't involve only running. I thought I was in decent shape going into my first workout with Jess and Meghan but the mix of running and strength training crushed me. This training season, I've been able to avoid annoying injuries that have bothered me in the past by mixing stretching, core and lower body exercises into my workouts.
What are your current running goals? Are you training for anything?
I qualified for the Boston Marathon in 2009 and after two aborted tries I'm finally planning to run it this year. I don't think this is the year but I'd like to eventually re-qualify at the new times.
What/who inspired or inspires you to run?
I run to challenge myself now that I'm an old man and have outgrown most competitive sports. I like the feeling of accomplishment after a long run and it helps me clear my head before or after a day of work.
Favorite way to sweat other than run?
Basketball. I play in a men's league every Saturday and have somehow managed to avoid serious injury before Boston.
What is your favorite running workout?
Any kind of interval workout. The NY winter has forced me to move a lot of my workouts indoors and the only thing that helps me keep my sanity on a treadmill is changing up speeds. I've adopted this on some of my longer outdoor runs and it makes the workouts go a lot faster.