Tell us a little about yourself…

I’m a husband, a father of 3, and a helicopter pilot. Running is my escape.

How long have you been running?

I started seriously pursuing endurance running about three years ago and joined the HRL Ohana last year.

Please list your favorite races and PRs

The 2017 Navy-Air Force Half was my first Half Marathon, the 2018 Shamrock Half is my current PR (1:42), and the 2018 Marine Corps Marathon was my first Marathon (3:31). I try to hit a local memorial race each year — in Virginia Beach, my favorites are the Allen Stone Run-Swim-Run and the Run to Remember 5k.

What are your 2019 Racing plans and running goals?

We’ll be moving to Washington D.C., so I’m hoping to run the entire Marine Corps series, to include returning to the Marine Corps Marathon this year. I want to break 100 minutes on the Half and 3:30 on the Marathon. At some point, I’d also like to run a fast 5k.

Any “bucket list” races?

The National Park Marathon Series looks awesome. Like any new marathoner, the appeal of the Abbott WMM series is inexplicably high, particularly the international locations. Someday, it would be nice to actually race in Hawaii too!

What is your average weekly mileage?

30-40 miles

What is your favorite workout?

Interval training because I get to go fast, but not so much so that I can’t run again the next day.

Favorite pre-race/post-race foods

It’s usually coffee and a Skratch Labs Hyper Hydration beforehand and Skratch Labs Chocolate Recovery afterwards. Once I’m cleaned up — bourbon and bbq ribs.

What is the piece of running gear/food/drink that you cannot go without?

Can I have two? They would be a good running watch that holds music and Bluetooth earbuds. I’ve been listening to the same playlist for years (recently realized I don’t even know the words to most of the songs!), but I need the noise and the beats to focus.

What is your favorite running moment or running quote?

Each race is special, and I have a surprising number of good memories from training too, so this one is hard for me to nail down. Here is my most recent favorite moment: I finished a marathon with a smile on my face and a killer time for a guy who has no significant depth of running experience — Coach G gets a lot of credit for that one.

Many folks who find running later in life tend not to want to consider themselves “runners” because they have a perception of what a runner is and what a runner should look like. I found Deena Kastor to be instructive in this case: “If you have a pair of running shoes, and you put one foot in front of the other and have a little air time at any point during the week, I think you’re a runner.”

Whenever I was struggling with a workout or a training block, Ronald Regan’s words were frequently inspiring: “There are no constraints on the human mind, no walls around the human spirit, no barriers to our progress except those we ourselves erect.” Tell me you aren’t ready to crush some training after reading that!

Describe your running before HRL and after

Before HRL, I was trying to stitch together plans I found on the internet and had no real concept of the different pacing/structure required to make those plans work. Between work and parenthood, all I had time to do was quick google searches. Now, Coach G has to figure all that stuff out and I just focus on the work.

Why does training with Hawaii Running Lab work for you?

Even though I’m remotely coached, there are still plenty of avenues for accountability and feedback. Each training plan I get is an achievable challenge.

Do you have an Instagram/twitter handle that you would like us to include with your profile?

@runschnettyrun on IG and Twitter