An inspiring journey to this year’s Twin Cities Marathon
Over the years, Patrick McDonough participated in a learning-to-run group where he completed several 5k and 10k races, plus two half marathons that left him completely exhausted. When it came time for him to retire, Pat was a self-described “couch potato with a plethora of medical issues,” and wanted his new “job” to be focusing on getting healthier.
Two years ago, Pat became a new member at the Woodbury Y. When he started, his goals were to lose 50 pounds, increase strength to help with running, improve his 5k time and visit the Y at least four days a week.
Since then, Pat has achieved—and surpassed—his original goals and has:
- Lost 80 pounds
- Improved his times in—5k, 10k, and half-marathon races
- Gone from never having been able to complete a full sit-up to doing 20 in a row
- Registered to run his first 26.2 mile race on October 4—the Twin Cities Marathon—something he never thought he would do
His running partner for the marathon will be his Personal Trainer, . Of their two years training together, Stacy says, “Pat is a model client. He believes in the plan and sticks with it. It’s fun to see his hard work and determination pay off.”
When they meet each week, they review Pat’s marathon training plan, track his progress on running pace, and create new cross-training workouts that include yoga, strength training and self-myofascial release with foam rollers.
“I tell Stacy that she is my hero. I really enjoy working with her and she has helped me reach every goal we’ve ever talked about.” Pat is excited to run with Stacy in the marathon and looks forward to setting new challenging goals to tackle with her post-race.