When Merrimack Valley Striders had the old website, I did a write-up about training with Fernando Braz. I wrote it about 4 years ago and recently just updated a few of the numbers.
Training and Qualifying
Working with Fernando Braz, I went from being intimidated about racing, only having the confidence to do one or two 5Ks a year, and believing that one marathon would be my lifetime goal, to running 15+ races a year, including eight consecutive USATF-NE Ironrunner Series, the USATF-NE Mountain Series, completing twenty marathons, a 50K trail ultra and two Mount Washington Road Races.
While training with Fernando, I dropped my marathon time by 18 minutes (the 2001 Cape Cod mentioned below) and qualified for the Boston Marathon... then I requalified seven more times after that.
My most memorable experience and proudest achievement to date was my first time qualifying for the Boston Marathon in a PR of 3:39 at the Cape Cod Marathon in 2001. The whole experience was unreal. I remember near the finish, Fernando was beside me on his bike and it was like a scene from a movie. The coach had brought me so far and my dream was coming true of qualifying. It was one of the greatest moments my life and I felt the high for months.
Fernando is amazing and he knows exactly what to say to me. In fact, the best advice I ever received came from athlete Jill (Gaitenby) Boaz who told me to "listen to Fernando." And I do.
Before and Now
Before Fernando, I raced a few 5Ks and one marathon. I was a recreational runner and nervous about racing. I tended to overtrain and train incorrectly, to the point of several stress fractures. Listening to Fernando I’ve learned so much and achieved things I never could have imagined. In 2002 I had the NH State Age Record for 20K distance for my age and in 2003 the NH State Age Record for 6K distance for my age. I’ve been proud to earn “hardware” in my age division, win a couple races and still achieve PRs in my 40's. I’ve trained with Fernando for 8 years and aside from his incredible technical knowledge and his ability to connect with individual runners needs, Fernando offers so much support, fun and motivation.
Training and Qualifying
Working with Fernando Braz, I went from being intimidated about racing, only having the confidence to do one or two 5Ks a year, and believing that one marathon would be my lifetime goal, to running 15+ races a year, including eight consecutive USATF-NE Ironrunner Series, the USATF-NE Mountain Series, completing twenty marathons, a 50K trail ultra and two Mount Washington Road Races.
While training with Fernando, I dropped my marathon time by 18 minutes (the 2001 Cape Cod mentioned below) and qualified for the Boston Marathon... then I requalified seven more times after that.
My most memorable experience and proudest achievement to date was my first time qualifying for the Boston Marathon in a PR of 3:39 at the Cape Cod Marathon in 2001. The whole experience was unreal. I remember near the finish, Fernando was beside me on his bike and it was like a scene from a movie. The coach had brought me so far and my dream was coming true of qualifying. It was one of the greatest moments my life and I felt the high for months.
Fernando is amazing and he knows exactly what to say to me. In fact, the best advice I ever received came from athlete Jill (Gaitenby) Boaz who told me to "listen to Fernando." And I do.
Before and Now
Before Fernando, I raced a few 5Ks and one marathon. I was a recreational runner and nervous about racing. I tended to overtrain and train incorrectly, to the point of several stress fractures. Listening to Fernando I’ve learned so much and achieved things I never could have imagined. In 2002 I had the NH State Age Record for 20K distance for my age and in 2003 the NH State Age Record for 6K distance for my age. I’ve been proud to earn “hardware” in my age division, win a couple races and still achieve PRs in my 40's. I’ve trained with Fernando for 8 years and aside from his incredible technical knowledge and his ability to connect with individual runners needs, Fernando offers so much support, fun and motivation.
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