I just ran a 2:59 marathon and I'm looking to push myself down toward the 2:40 range. Any thoughts on which club would be better and why? I searched old threads and found some concerns about the size of CPTC and some other concerns about GNY's coach, Bob Glover. Any insight would be great. Thanks.
I assume you're a woman. Join Moving Comfort.
LA Guy wrote:
I assume you're a woman. Join Moving Comfort.
And I assume you have nothing better to do than post obnoxious responses.
Any serious readers out there?
CPTC has several guys in the your range. See race results from NY and Chacago this year.
http://www.centralparktc.org/Result.htm
Coach won't give you much, but you'll find a firendly group that will help you get where you want to be.
I don't know much about GNYRT.
If your choice is really between these two groups, you've got to go with the CPTC.
Yanqui wrote:
If your choice is really between these two groups, you've got to go with the CPTC.
why? what about CPTC is better?
the coaching, the athletes, the camaraderie (I am not a member of either)
does anyone have an opinion about GNYRT? They don't have a website and I can't find much information about them. What is their training program like? What are the people on the team like?
gny - dont do it squire. glover is a meglomaniac. sorry to be harsh, but he's a piece of work.
cptc -- bunch very, very good working professionals who also take their running pretty seriously. excellent group of people -- actually gny members are also nice, glovers such a nutjob many of them end up bolting for cptc, etc. any way.
cptc has plenty of people your speed - you'd be in their 'b' group (a thru d). go to the statue at 72nd and west side drive inside park, thursday nights.
toni the coach, gives you what he can, but is ltd in his individual involvement because of the number of people and the range of abilities. but you can get a lot from other members.
Wow. That's a pretty strong warning about GNY. If Glover's such a nutjob and he's scaring people off then I can't believe he's still coaching GNY.
Sounds like CPTC is the way to go, but should I consider other teams also? I don't know much, other than what's available on each team's website.
I agree with uffda. There are other choices for someone with your ability and marathon goal. Check out the results of the races on NYRRC's website and see if there are other clubs with people of your ability and perhaps age.
I would also warn anyone away from Glover. For real.
The CPTC is fine. They have regular track and road workouts. But you could also check out the New York Harriers and the Flyers.
Sounds like CPTC is the way to go, but should I consider other teams also? I don't know much, other than what's available on each team's website.[/quote]
You can also check out Warren St. and Manhattan TC, both have members around your ability.
Peace out
How about a slower dude, around 3:15 and improving, late 30's?
cptc has people in your area (which isn't "slow" per se)
flyers - good group, social crew
probably your best bets.
in answer to an earlier question glover is still the coach b/c it's his team - he owns it. and he still has and obtains so many new members becuase he is contracted by the nyrrc to hold running classes for its members -- which essentially acts as a feeder contract to gny. this is why he has performance standards - to weed out the truly penguinish nyrrc member from those who are reasonably competitive at the club level (across age groups and gender)
he's got more stable new member wins than the aarp and better cash flow than philip morris - v. shrewd business setup. i wouldn't touch it with a size14 asics.
And I assume you're a troll looking to bash Bob Glover. How many times are you going to post looking for comments about him?
Join the Westchester Track Club, as Mike Barnow is the best Coach in the Northeast period.
LA Guy wrote:
And I assume you're a troll looking to bash Bob Glover. How many times are you going to post looking for comments about him?
Thanks for your note, tough guy. I'll file that under "O" for "opinions from people I could not care less about." Go ahead and keep calling me a troll if that makes you feel good about yourself. . .whatever you need to do to have a happy thanksgiving.
GNYRT doesn't have a website and there's very little information about the group, coaching, program, etc. I will continue asking questions until I am satisfied that I have enough information to make a decision.
Now, my next question is, does Glover know his stuff? I can probably deal with anybody once a week if I think he's helping me. What are his training program and workouts like? I know about CPTC's because they are posted on their website.
If you have a car, I would join Westchester Track Club.
Mike really is the best coach out of all these teams, he cares about and coaches well at all levels. Barnow is selfless, not self-promoting, not selling books or classes, and WTC can win any team event in the area. The team is especially good for older runners in 30's-40's. Training is at Irvington HS and Rockefeller (both 45 min. from Manhattan) so you need a car once a week or w/u jog from Metro North stations.
CPTC is best if you can't swing Westchester. All 3 teams have friendly people.
> does Glover know his stuff?
Yes, actually. He's also hyper-competitive, which is a welcome tonic to the team in training and penguin trends which have engulfed our sport the last decade or so. But he just can't seem to govern his competitiveness very effectively, and has behaved inappropriately towards team members and competing team members. He doesnt seem to "get" that white collar professionals aren't well suited to be being bossed around like kids in catholic school or basic training.
his competitive runners handbook is also pretty good for the new, competitive (i.e., wants to improve his times) runner.