Marathon Run and Walk Coaching Staff
Triathlon Coaching Staff
Cycling Coaching Staff
Marathon Run and Walk Coaching Staff
Head Run Coach Ramon Bermo
Ramon has twenty five years of running experience, and has completed many marathons and hundreds of other races from 5Ks to Ironman triathlons. He's had over fourteenth seasons with The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team In Training® program, and he can proudly say that since becoming TNT Head Marathon Coach, he has maintained a nearly 100% participation-finish ratio in each marathon to which we've brought a team. Ramon also coaches the Nike Running Club and the New York University Runners' Club and has been a member of the Central Park Track Club since 1991. His secret to staying active in the sport for so long and still enjoying it has been the balance between "competitive running" and "just running for fun." After many years of being a runner, his most memorable moments in his entire athletic career have been watching TNT participants crossing the finish line of their marathons. His motto, which you'll all learn and hear lots of times once you join the Team, is: BEHAVE!!
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Assistant Run Coach Michael Conlon
Michael is joining us for his fourteenth season as Assistant Marathon Coach. Michael first joined us as a participant for the 2000 Anchorage Marathon and was overwhelmed by his TNT experience that he returned as an alum for the 2001 Chicago Marathon where he ran in honor of his brother-in-law, Christian Jacobson. Michael has since gone on to run a total of eleven marathons including the Boston Marathon in 2003. In 2002 Michael began participating in triathlons, in both the Olympic and Half Ironman distances, and has completed the 2004 and 2005 Lake Placid Ironman. Michael is also a licensed Physical Therapist.
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Assistant Run Coach Christine Luff
Christine is joining TNT for her tenth season as an Assistant Coach. Christine has been running competitively since the seventh grade, back when she thought one mile was a really long race. Since then, she's run many races, including seven marathons. She joined TNT as a participant for the Marine Corps Marathon in 2002 and returned as a mentor for the NYC Marathon in 2003. TNT has been the most rewarding and fun experience in her running career. Christine is a diet and fitness editor, as well as a certified personal trainer.
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Assistant Run Coach Lisa Witler
Lisa came to Team In Training in 2003 as a new runner, when her daily runs over the Brooklyn Bridge and back seemed pretty challenging. She signed up for the Rock 'n' Roll 1/2 Marathon, but ended up training for and completing the full 26.2 and has been hooked ever since. Lisa returned to TNT as a mentor in 2005, when she ran the Vancouver Marathon, and ran the New York City Marathon in November, representing her favorite borough as the team's Brooklyn mentor captain. You will now find Lisa coaching the Brooklyn team.
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Assistant Run Coach Steve Harrison
Steve showed that it is never too late to start running when he ran his first marathon at age 32 and qualified for the Boston Marathon. Since then, he has logged two more marathons in under 3 hours. Little did Steve realize taht his greatest joy from running would come from watching other beginner marathoners accomplish this amazing life challenge, while at the same time raising money for such an incredible cause. As he puts it " These people are inspirations, from balancing heavy schdules to self sacrafice and getting money to a cause that means so much. I get to see them at the culmination of all that work on race day. Each time it makes me feel like I'm re-experiencing my first event. It's truly an honor."
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Assistant Run Coach Sandy Allen Bard
Sandy has over 25 years of running experience. She participated with TNT 4 seasons before she became a coach. She completed 4 marathongs (including qualifying for Boston twice) and hundreds of other races. She is a Leukemia Nurse Practioner and sees first hand how beneficial all of the fundraising is for her patients. "It's very exciting for me to be part of such a great team and organization."Lisa came to Team In Training in 2003 as a new runner, when her daily runs over the Brooklyn Bridge and back seemed pretty challenging. She signed up for the Rock 'n' Roll 1/2 Marathon, but ended up training for and completing the full 26.2 and has been hooked ever since. Lisa returned to TNT as a mentor in 2005, when she ran the Vancouver Marathon, and ran the New York City Marathon in November, representing her favorite borough as the team's Brooklyn mentor captain. You will now find Lisa coaching the Brooklyn team.
Head Walk Coach Barbara Shimasaki
Barb has loved going for walks of all distances ever since her mother encouraged her to "walk with a purpose" at a young age. Now, in her 50's, a (fairly) competitive racewalker, and past participant in 5 marathons and one National 40k Racewalk, she enjoys passing along her love of walking to others. She began racewalking marathons as a result of a running injury, and never looked back. As a member of the New York Walkers Club and the Eastside Racewalk Team, she can be found training in Central Park most days of the week. "Better than a shrink", her training walks balance out a busy schedule which includes running a graphic design studio with her husband and raising a teenage son. "If I can help each participant build their self-confidence and find the determination to reach their goals, I've done my job. Each coaching season remind me how much more each one of us can accomplish when we truly work together." Barb is a RRCA certified marathon coach.
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Assistant Walk Coach Nancy Parker
Nancy has always been a walker. Team In Training and becoming a race walker was the start of the best adventure of her life. Her first marathon was in Alaska, Her biggest accomplishment was to finish those "twig-laden, rock-sliding, high way packing" 26 miles and she did so in less than 8 hours. Since then, she has finished 2 half marathons, and gotten her time down to 15 minute miles. She is mom to 14 year old Rebecca, and is in medical publishing. " I am so inspired by my teammates. The best race-walkers are right here in NYC and my involvement with TNT has taken quite a few second off my jay-walking!".
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Triathlon Coaching Staff
Head Triathlon Coach Scott Willet
Scott has been living and dreaming about triathlons for over twenty-four years and giving life to others' triathlon dreams since 1985. He has participated in events of all length from spring to ultras (don't ask!), and has relished the opportunity to eat great foods from all over the country and world. While he still competes, his greatest passions are his direct family (wife, Julie, son, Wells, and daughter, Lake) and his extended family (you!). His coaching philosophy is simple, "If you don't have a good time, it's not worth your time."
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Assistant Coach Jay Borok
Jay has been hooked on triathlon since the first he toed the line in 1999. He has since participated in many races from sprint to Ironmans distance. His passion for the healthy lifestyle, and desire to help others cross the finish line led him to obtain USA Triathlon Coaching Certification 2003. He can be found eating at the hot dog stand outside his office.
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Assistant Coach Earl Walton
Earl is the Aquatics Director at Asphalt Green and a Masters and age group coach in New York City. Formerly a Division 1 swimmer, earl has competed in numerous Masters events and open-water swims in St. Croix, Florida and the Chesapeake Bay. Earl participated in the Disney Triathlon with Team In Taining in the fall of 2002, and this will be his nineth season as a TNT coach. in over nine years of coaching, seeing the TNT folks get out of the water after the swim in the triathlon is still one of the most rewarding experiences of his job.
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Assistant Coach John Stewart
John is both a USAT certified triathlon coach and a certified personal trainer. With specialization in core swim, strength and endurance training techniques, he will provide you with the skills needed to complete your triathlon and achieve your fitness goals. With several years of personal triathlon experience, including four Ironmans, he is an avid triathlete and TNT alum. For triathlon newbies and verterans alike, his excited to give back to TNT by helping future participaants achieve their goals whatever they may be.
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Assistant Coach Paul Reale
Paul has been a competitive runner since high school, began racing duathlons after college and caught the triathlon bug in 1990. He's been passionate about the sport ever since, having completed 50 triathlons, from sprint to half Ironman distance. He has been a coach with the Westchester Achilles Track Club, the Winbrook Pride Track Team for children, and has been a spin instructor for the past six years.
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Assistant Coach George Vafiades
George has been a personal trainer and a group fitness instructor both at Crunch Fitness and Equinox for several years. At Crunch he devised a class specific to multi-sport training which made the New York Magazine's "Best of..." issue as being one of the hardest classes in the city! He has a degree in Anatomy and Physiology, which help with all of the physical and nutritional questions TNT participants have during training. George is excited about working with the TNT program not only because it gives participants a recipe to achieve their multi-sport goals (during those long and sometimes tiresome training hours it is always better to have a group to support you and keep you going), but also because it is for a great cause! George has completed four Ironmans to date.
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Cycling Coaching Staff
Head Coach Matt Haas
Matt has been coaching athletes in a number of sports for more than a decade. A recreational cyclist from age three, Matt ruined his older brother's sixth birthday by knocking the training wheels off his hand-me-down bike to master the two-wheeler. Since that day, Matt has been hooked on riding. His TNT experience started much like yours - he signed up for an event, enjoyed it, and has kept coming back season after season. In his tenure with Team In Training, Matt has been an athlete, mentor and coach in numerous marathons, triathlons, and cycling teams. When Matt isn't coaching, he is an editor at The Deal.
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Assistant Coach Josh Gelman
Josh Gelman has been cycling regularly for the past 20 years, and working on bikes almost as long. He joined TNT as a cycling participant in 2005 and fully addicted, began coaching in 2006. A committed gear nut, Josh has tried his hand at numerous athletic endeavors - fencing (nationally ranked), adventure racing, skiing, tennis, and rock climbing to name a few. But nothing gives him as much pleasure as watching a temmate change their own flat tire. When he is not sharing his thoughts on carbon fiber frames, hydration powders, and energy gels, he makes his living as a producer for the CBS News show "48 Hours".
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Assistant Coach Joyce Faust
Joyce Faust has been a part of the TNT coaching team since 2004, helping teammates master the skills and motivation to ride with confidence and ease. She too began with TNT as a participant and then mentor. Other cycling interests include touring or adventure riding - packing your bike with tent, sleeping bag and all you need to hit the road and ride for days.
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Assistant Coach Felix Calderon
Felix has been riding and fixing bicycles for more than 30 years. Currently a fitter at one of the top shops in New York and a USA cycling certified coach, Felix has worked with cyclists of all levels. "The most rewarding part of training for me has been watching my clients improve their skills, boost their confidence, and make new friends. In my experience, riding is not only a great sport and fantastic form of exercise, but also an amazing way to bring people of different backgrounds and experiences together."
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