Mary Davison
When did you start and how did you come to work at such a fine establishment? I began working at The Running Store in April 2009. I was coaching local runners and TRS reached out to me and asked if I would be interested in talking about coaching training programs through the store. I then began working in the store, ordering apparel and coaching our Adult Beginning Running and Distance Training Programs. I wear many different shoes! My favorite shoes for walking & working at TRS are the Ghost Max 2 and the Hoka Bondi. For fast runs, I love the Saucony Endorphin Pro 4. I like Curex insoles and all the socks we carry at TRS! Haymarket, VA….back when nothing existed in Haymarket and it was a 45-minute bus ride to our high school in Manassas as the bus route was so spread out😊! In the Fall of 2020, we had to become creative with our Distance Training Program. All our runner’s races were cancelled and moved to virtual only due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Several runners were already in the process of training for their first marathon or the Boston Marathon. Since they were unable to participate in their races, we put on small, socially distant runs for our training program members to complete their virtual races. We organized loop courses, so that those running their virtual races could see their teammates every few miles and grab their water bottles on tables each loop. We had teammates drive around the course with signs to cheer the runners, so they did not feel like they were out there running their marathon alone. We brought a finish line tape for each runner to break and even homemade medals at the completion of their marathons. It was so great to see everyone’s excitement and hard work pay off and to make the best of what we could during the COVID19 pandemic. I have been coaching for 20 years, but it was the first time I was putting on virtual races almost every weekend in September and October! I like to run and strength train and go on daily walks with my two beagles. I like traveling with my husband. We have set a goal to run a race for fun in every state. So far, I have run races in 31 states. We love running races in particular in the National Parks. So pretty and nice to get away from all the roads and traffic of Northern VA. |