Marathon Training Team A Family Affair
Midlothian resident Gwen Denecke joined the 2012 Marathon Training Team with her husband and daughter, and the experience offered the family much more than just quality race preparation.
By: Nan Turner
Every Saturday before 7:00 a.m., for four months, Gwen Denecke, her husband Larry, and daughter Morgan, have piled into the family car and gone to the Sports Backers Marathon Training Team (MTT) as a family. They may be separated by different teams, but it’s still an experience they’ve had together, and one they most certainly have valued.
Gwen ran the Richmond Marathon three years ago and participated on the MTT then as well. She had a very positive experience and attributes much of that to the months of preparation the team provided.
“The coaches are great at everything they do,” Gwen said. “They got me there. I can’t imagine doing it on my own. It’s so much more fun with the training team. Obviously the marathon is the ultimate goal, but the training team is just as fun.”
As the Anthem Richmond Marathon registration date rolled around, Gwen’s daughter, Morgan thought the event sounded like something she would like. Morgan is a recent graduate of Elon University where she ran cross country, indoor track and outdoor track. For the most part her events were more geared towards distance, something she’s always been comfortable with and excelled at. She signed up for the Anthem Richmond Marathon before graduation and didn’t tell her mother or father.
When Gwen found out about Morgan’s plans, she stressed the importance of joining the MTT as well. However, Morgan was hesitant.
“She didn’t want to do the training team because in her mind it was all middle-aged people,” Gwen said. “I told her I would pay for it if she signed up, and if she didn’t like it she didn’t have to go. She gave it a try and she loved it.”
Morgan runs with the Black group, a team made up of experienced runners who typically run a faster pace. She’s been able to keep up with the pacing and Gwen expects that her daughter should complete the 26.2-mile course in just over three hours. It will mark Morgan’s first marathon.
Gwen’s husband, Larry, has run the Richmond Marathon several times but has never prepared with the training team. He, too, signed up at Gwen’s suggestion, and soon the family was spending their Friday nights talking about what they planned to eat before the Saturday morning long runs.
The Denecke family (from l-r): Morgan, Larry and Gwen
“Usually it’s pizza for me and my husband,” Gwen said. “Our conversations revolved around running before but now they do even more so. It’s a common bond that we share. We’ve always been a very active family. It keeps us happy, healthy and keeps us close.”
When Gwen decided that she too would be running the marathon, she knew immediately that she would go back to the training team.
“I like it because it’s beginners and experienced runners together,” Gwen said. “You get to learn from the experienced folks too. It was a good experience obviously because I’m back.”
Although she’s on a different team, she’s met new people and still maintained relationships with people she got to know the first time around.
“You meet some people that you just fall into place with because you’re the same pace,” Gwen said. “I’ve got one or two people that I’ve been running the longer runs with. The coaches are enthusiastic and ready to help.”
Gwen is excited about the potential this race has for her. The first time she ran the Richmond Marathon, she contracted swine flu two weeks before the event. Although she was still able to run, and was glad she did, she knows she wasn’t at her very best.
“I’m feeling very fit this year,” Gwen said. “I’ve been gathering from the 20 mile runs that I feel good, I’ve got a good pace. I hope to make Boston qualifying and beyond.”
While not everybody may have a family of runners, Gwen stresses that everybody can still accomplish the same things as her and her brood.
“Anybody can do this if they want to because they have a place for everybody on the training team,” Gwen said. “Whether it’s the first time or you’re an experienced runner, there’s a place for you. It’s a process that you take step by step. At first six miles might seem long, and then later six seems easy and you can’t believe you can do it. It’s something anybody can do, it just takes time.”
For more information or to join the Denecke family in the Anthem Richmond Marathon, visit www.richmondmarathon.org