Show Notes
After working in the fashion industry for 6 years (and realizing there was so much more to life than working behind a desk), Mary made a career transition in 2015 and joined the team at Ranfone Training Systems, in Hamden, CT, as a strength coach. She founded Lift | Run | Perform in 2017 and now has 10 coaches on staff working with athletes on VDOT O2. LRP was created with the concept that performance running and lifting go hand in hand - and, with the addition of a positive, supportive coaching team: the potential for success is limitless.
Mary holds both USATF and VDOT O2 coaching certifications and is a Functional Range Conditioning Mobility Specialist (FRCms). She has also undergone Kinstretch Level I instruction certification program and is currently slated to take the Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist exam (CSCS) in September, 2020.
Connect with Mary @itsamarython
Producer: Andre Laboy
Song: Breakadawn, by Mike Quinn
More from The V.O2 Podcast
In Episode 4 of The V.O2 Podcast, host Brian Rosetti sits down with 2:12 marathoner and 1:03 half marathoner Will Norris. Will details his journey from a rural Iowa high school runner and NAIA athlete to achieving a 6+ VDOT jump post-collegiately. We dive deep into practical marathon and half marathon training insights, including why stacking consistent training blocks beats chasing shortcuts, the role of long single runs over doubles, executing key 90-minute goal pace sessions, and using VDOT to train where you are today rather than where you want to be.
In Episode 3, we sit down with Renee Gunning, head distance coach at William Penn Charter School. Coach Gunning shares how she transformed a local program into the #16 team in the nation and state champions, missing a national championship berth by just three seconds. We discuss balancing high-level competitive ambitions with athlete longevity, using VDOT to streamline individualized training, avoiding the trap of social media overtraining, and why raising the floor for your JV athletes is the secret to elevating your entire team.
In this episode, we sit down with the 2026 LA Marathon champion Nathan Martin. We relive his photo finish that shocked the running world and break down the exact mental grit required to pull off a late-race surge.
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Ariane Hendrix is a VDOT Certified Coach and the 5th fastest U.S. born African American woman of all time in the marathon. She’s shown steady progress first running the event in 3:57 ten years ago. Recently, she placed third at the Bayshore Marathon in 2:42.