Assistent Coach: Taylor Monts

Quick Facts 


College: Texas State University, BA in Exercise and Sports Science with a minor in Psychology
Hometown: Southlake, TX
Residence: Fayetteville, AR
Personal Records
Marathon: 2:39

Running Related Experiences 

• 3rd overall, 2011 Rock and Roll San Antonio Marathon
• Boston Qualifier 
• Cross Country and Track assistant coach at San Marcos High School, TX
• Texas Running Company, worked as a running specialist, (fitted clients with appropriate footwear according to the foot biomechanics of each individual) 

About my running: I started running in 6th grade, which began as a simple and fun endeavor. Eventually I became more competitive throughout my high school years, running on the varsity squad for three years. During high school, I began to see my running progress over the years, however I was unable to reach the level of competettiveness that I desired, running just didn't click for me (find out why). I finished my high school career with modest PR's, and decided not the pursue running in college.  After a four year hiatus, I decided to start running again during my senior year of college (long version). After unanticipated success in local races, and under a new mindset, I began training for my first marathon. 

Today: I recently moved to Fayetteville from Austin, TX, to pursue my dream of competing in the 2016 Olympic Marathon Trials and establish the NWADC with my training partner Orey Smith.         

My Coaching Influence:  I believe anything is possible with the right training and motivation. I was fortunate to have a great high school coach who taught me a lot about the fundamentals of distance running. I learned a great deal more about training during my comeback when I started discussing training methodology with Orey Smith and implementing it into my own training. I have developed a great understanding of distance training through using my knowledge on myself and seeing the results first hand. I have learned that the development of an aerobic foundation should be priority number one for distance runner.

Key points which have made a significant impact in my training since high school:

• Listening to my body, I was constantly "forcing" my body to get in shape, when I should have listened to my body and worked with it.
• Recovery, I didn't put enough emphasis on it, without it, you will never be able to fully reap the benefits of your hard training.     
• Hard track training, I put far too much emphasis on it and not enough into my aerobic foundation. I now realize my performances would have been much better had I put a similar focus on increasing my aerobic fitness before starting specific track sessions. 
• Patience, similar to listening to my body, I was always trying to force my self into shape. I have learned that you have to go with how your body feels and be patient, distance running is not an immediate success sport, it takes a great deal of patience and consistency. Over the last three years, I have seen massive jumps in my level of fitness and it wasn't forced, I learned to let my body guide me. 
• Belief! This is by far the most important aspect of my training that I have changed from high school. In high school, I just went through the motions and never "fully believed" I could be great. I now believe in my training and am confident in my future goals. 

I realized over the last few years that you cannot accurately talk about how "talented" an athlete is unless they are being trained appropriately, sometimes an athlete will not show his or her true talent until they start training correctly and putting all the missing pieces together.