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Program Director John Hall
John was born in Wilmington, DE and after living in Florida for 15 years, moved to Tucson AZ in December, 2005, where he currently resides. He is an engineer for B/E Aerospace, a company that specializes in design and manufacturing of custom aircraft interiors. John founded Friends In Training in 2001 and continues with Friends In Training as the Program Director.
John started running long distance in February, 1996 and has completed 29 marathons, the first of which was the 1997 Walt Disney World Marathon. When asked about his motivations to run and his running goals, John said, "My main motivation for running is my personal physical fitness. In addition to that, running is a great source of stress relief for me. I am fortunate to be physically able to run and be active so I try to take advantage of that as much as possible. My short term goal is to stay consistent with my running. Long term, I want to keep participating in marathons, ultimately completing marathons in all 50 states plus DC. Also, I want to keep improving as a coach so I can continue to help others reach their own personal goals."
John says that he has several favorite marathons, all for different reasons. "Disney in '97 was great, since it was my first one. There is nothing that can compare to the feeling you get the first time you cross a marathon finish line! The Silver State Marathon was great because it was my first experience in a trail race. Also, it was very small (only 151 finishers) so I really had to rely on myself; no crowd support! Chicago and Marine Corps, on the other hand, both had great crowd support! There were people along the entire course cheering for me and urging me on. But I guess overall, my favorite race would have to be the Pikes Peak Marathon. I am extremely proud to say that I have completed this race (three times) because it is one of the most difficult marathons in North America (it is billed as "America's Ultimate Challenge"). Everything about the race was great! The scenery is second to none; the support on the course, even out in the middle of nowhere, was great; the pre-race expo and dinner were excellent; and last, but not least, the view from the top of the mountain (14,110') is absolutely unbelievable!"
"FIT
has benefited me in many ways. FIT helps me to stay consistent with my training,
which keeps me in shape both mentally and physically. As a coach, I really enjoy
learning about running and passing that knowledge on to others. I have had many
people tell me that FIT has changed their life in numerous ways. I get a tremendous
amount of personal satisfaction from knowing that I have had something to do with
that. In addition to all of that, the people that I meet through FIT are truly
wonderful. Almost all of my best friends are runners, some of which I have been
running with since I started training for marathons many years ago."
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