Coach Brian Harkins

Brian grew up playing competitive sports – from joining his first soccer team at the age 3,  running races at age 10 and completing his first 1/2 marathon at age 13.  His passion for running and athletics continued throughout high school and college where he spent several years playing collegiate soccer for a Top 10 Divion II school.  And while he loved competing and seeing how far he could push himself – the wrong type of training also led to some pretty serious injuries.  He ran eight marathons, some of those plagued with injuries, these injuries caused him to search for a new way to train.  Brian discovered that running is a skill, like any other sport you need to work on those skills or else fall to the same injuries recurring over and over.  He also found that Training Less and Going Faster allowed him to regain his speed, he also learned that strength training at high intensity gave him the power and strength to go longer distances.  This type of training allowed him to train less than 10 hours a week and still be competitive.  Brian is passionate about helping people not making the same mistakes he did. He has trained many athletes to compete in 5k’s to ultra marathons ranging from college athletes to soccer moms.

Brian holds the following certifications:
Certified Road Runner Club of America Coach (RRCA)
Crossfit Level 1 Coach- ANSI certification
Crossfit Mobility and Recovery Certification
Paul Chek Holistic Life Style Coach
Optimum Performance Training Assessment Certification (pending)
American Heart Association CPR/First Aid Certified

Brian is also a Crossfit Endurance Assistant Coach and regularly participates in coaching Crossfit Endurance Seminars in the Tri-State area as part of the coaching staff.

Coach Lisa Madden

Running is Lisa’s passion. She has been running trail ultramarathons for the last 6 years.  Ultra marathons challenge her to see how far she can run and how fast. She wishes she discovered High Intensity Strength Training and Training Less and Going Faster years ago. However, since she started this type of training two years ago and she is working to make up for lost time.
This approach of Train Less Go Faster and learning to run with skill and technique has been of huge benefit to her. She changed her training from high-mileage weeks with a lot of slow runs to the quality and intensity of shorter mileage. She ran her first 5K last year, an event she would never have considered before because it required a fast pace. Now she has the confidence and knowledge to run her hardest on short distances and she is improving her times at the ultra distances.
She wants to help spread the benefits of this technique to everyone interested in improving their running, whether they do it for recreation or competition, or purely for improving their overall health. Even if you hate to run, you will get better at it, and your times will improve.
She has completed the Crossfit Endurance Level 1 Certification and is the secretary and race coordinator for NYC Endurance.  She also rock climbs, skis, bikes, and survives Death Races. High intensity strength training and training less going faster keeps her fit and healthy for all these pursuits.

Coach Rickey Gawley

currently updating 1/10/12