Running Program
Welcome to all of you who want to run a marathon or half marathon! USA Fit has been helping people achieve their fitness goals since 1989. We want to help you SUCCEED in accomplishing your goal and to do it in a fun and safe manner.
The general format of San Antonio Fit is as follows:
- An organized training run or walk each Saturday morning with a group of runners or walkers whose training pace is similar to yours. Each group is designated by a color - Blue, Green, Yellow, Red or Orange. Each group's starting time varies depending on our distance that morning.
- A seminar on training, stretching, nutrition or other related topic each Saturday before our run / walk as well as weekly email newsletters to help you learn the fundamentals of successfully improving your fitness.
- Lots of time for discussion with your color group members and instruction from your coaches each week after the seminar.
- A schedule of training runs or walks to be completed each week on your own, or if you choose, with other members of your color group.
San Antonio Fit works because it follows the successful format of the USA Fit program, which has been refined and improved over the past 20 years. The USA Fit programs have improved the health, fitness and wellness of thousands of people each year throughout the USA, Canada and around the world. Our San Antonio Fit Head coaches are certified by USA Fit, and are CPR and Sports Safety trained. Each coach has successfully completed marathons themselves. Come out and join us and see for yourself.
Pace Finder
All members will do a Pace Finder run their first Saturday in order to determine their correct marathon training pace. We will have coaches timing each member as they run. This is not a race , in fact the goal is to go easy and run or walk (or both) at a pace that is comfortable enough for you to carry on a conversation throughout the run. The color group you train with will be determined based on your average pace for Pace Finder run. An explanation of our color groups can be found below.
Color Groups
Purple Group: Walkers of all paces. If you are sure you want to walk the entire race, this group is for you!
Orange Group: Capable of running a 11 minute per mile or SLOWER pace. This group is our more leisurely (fun) group and also includes some who run/walk the marathon.
Red Group: Capable of running a 10 to11 minutes per mile.
Yellow Group: Capable of running 9 to 10 minutes per mile, this group is a large, friendly group that really enjoys running! The group is a great mix of newcomers and seasoned veterans.
Green Group: Capable of running 8 to 9 minutes per mile, the Green group is usually a somewhat smaller group of faster, more serious runners. Many have completed one or more marathons, but we do have some fast first-timers.
Blue Group: Capable of running 8 minutes per mile or faster, this group is usually composed of veteran marathoners looking to improve their finish times.
Aqua Group: This group is for those interested in doing the half marathon and includes all paces.
Weekly Seminars
We provide seminars before our weekly workouts which are designed to educate and inspire you. You will hear from a variety of experts on a variety of subjects including nutrition, injury prevention, clothing, etc. We urge you to join us each Saturday to learn more about these and other topics.
Discussion Forum
A great way to stay in touch with your fellow members and to keep up with what's happening in our group is to sign up in our Discussion Forum. We will use this forum to inform members about last minute changes due to weather, upcoming events and activities, and just to chat with our fellow runners. Getting involved in this forum is strongly suggested and it will be a lot of fun. Take a peek at what's going on and feel free to participate.
In Summary
We look forward to working with each you over the next six months to set and achieve your goals whether it be a faster marathon time or just getting off the sofa and getting into shape! Our runners come from all experience levels but we all have one thing in common - to reach a fitness goal. We will be pleased to help you succeed!
