Any good coaches in S Florida?

There's a superior coach from a Nordic country that goes by something s.

Sorry, none

As someone who goes to pompano beach a fair amount I’m wondering where the hell people run there. There is the pompano Airpark which is 4.4 Mile loop, but I swear it’s the hardest asphalt I’ve ever seen and is quite sloped, so a bit hard on the knees for me

Yeah, there’s a lot of concrete everywhere so I try to go to Vista View Park when I can (it’s a trail going up a former trash mound that was converted into a park - but good surface and decent hills) - it’s 30 min south of Pompano Beach area. Also use the FAU track.

yaymanatees wrote:

Yeah, there’s a lot of concrete everywhere so I try to go to Vista View Park when I can (it’s a trail going up a former trash mound that was converted into a park - but good surface and decent hills) - it’s 30 min south of Pompano Beach area. Also use the FAU track.

Thanks for the tips. With apologies for sidetracking your thread, two followups: (i) it looks to me like FAU track is closed to public -- is that right? if yes maybe I'll see if they'll let me pay for the day, (ii) about how long is one lap of Vista view? Eyeballing google maps, it looks like maybe a mile but wanted to ask.

I don't know of a ton of coaches in S Fla, but as an Orlando guy if you want to hook up with solid training groups, I can put you in touch with the S Fla scene. A guy I know coordinates a 300 or so person South Florida Facebook group for runners and you'll have other men and women to train with

Email is linked to my username. Guy is named Spencer West.

Thanks for the tips. With apologies for sidetracking your thread, two followups: (i) it looks to me like FAU track is closed to public -- is that right? if yes maybe I'll see if they'll let me pay for the day, (ii) about how long is one lap of Vista view? Eyeballing google maps, it looks like maybe a mile but wanted to ask.[/quote]

No worries! I think the FAU track is open to the public (or at least they’ve never kicked me out ?) and I often see other non-students there. Open until 10-ish at night during the week, but I’ve never gone in the morning. Vista View is roughly 1.25 miles for one of the main loops, but they also have several paved routes surrounding the area. Only negative is lack of shade on the trail, but it’s not too bad. Holmberg Road is another good option for paved sidewalks with some shade.

Email Chris Catton

Www.runccg.com

Smoove wrote:

Email is linked to my username. Guy is named Spencer West.

Awesome, will reach out, thank you!

I live, train, and coach in the Miami area. Look us up on FB (SteadFast running)

yaymanatees wrote:

Thanks for the tips. With apologies for sidetracking your thread, two followups: (i) it looks to me like FAU track is closed to public -- is that right? if yes maybe I'll see if they'll let me pay for the day, (ii) about how long is one lap of Vista view? Eyeballing google maps, it looks like maybe a mile but wanted to ask.

No worries! I think the FAU track is open to the public (or at least they’ve never kicked me out ?) and I often see other non-students there. Open until 10-ish at night during the week, but I’ve never gone in the morning. Vista View is roughly 1.25 miles for one of the main loops, but they also have several paved routes surrounding the area. Only negative is lack of shade on the trail, but it’s not too bad. Holmberg Road is another good option for paved sidewalks with some shade.[/quote]

Thanks yaymanatees! I do enjoy hopping into the local 5Ks when I'm there, so perhaps I'll run into you sometime!

Smoove wrote:

Email is linked to my username. Guy is named Spencer West.

Ha, he's won the last two 5Ks I've been to down there. To his credit, he seems like a very normal, good-to-others guy. Doesn't surprise me at all that he's a leader of the scene down there in terms of helping others.

I run most mornings at 5:30/6am in Parkland if you want a training partner. Sometimes a few others show up to run. We typically run between 7:15-7:45 pace.

I also would be happy to help outline a proper training schedule for you.

Feel free to shoot me an email:

parklandcrosscountry@gmail.com

Thanks yaymanatees! I do enjoy hopping into the local 5Ks when I'm there, so perhaps I'll run into you sometime![/quote]

Sure thing! I’ll be at the A1A half and a few other 5Ks/10Ks over the next few weeks - can be identified based on being one of the few ginger kids in the bunch ?

Plantation resident here. I've lived in Miami all of my life and moved to Broward in Oct. of 2017.

Coaches - none that are really great. Maybe try Mike Ward, former UM coach and coached a few years while I was on the team for FIU. Definitely try to get in contact with Spencer West for for the in's and out's of Fort Lauderdale running. There are a couple 2:5X women in the SoFlo area - Ana Maria Villegas and Andrea Hunter Cadavid.

Places to run - as you mentioned, Vista View is a good option. You can also run

-Markham Park not too far from Vista, which has a 20+ mile gravel levee loop parallel to the park overlooking the everglades (beautiful run during sunset). When it gets dark later, this is one of my go to runs, but be warned there are no bathrooms, water fountains, or shade on the levee. Markham park itself has plenty of bathrooms and places to run.

-Weston - there are a lot of bike paths in the area where you can get good mileage without looping a lot. If you start in Weston Town Center, you can make a 7.5 mile actual loop going down Bonaventure Blvd towards South Post Road, head west towards Saddle Club Road, and then back north towards Royal Palm Blvd. I ran my last Houston Half Marathon workout here last night. Great place for tempos/tempo repeats since it's flat and has good footing. Just be aware of the cyclist as some getting crabby about running on the bike path. You can also start in Weston Town Center and run to Vista View Park (about 5.5 miles to get there), run some loops in Vista, and head back.

-Hiatus Road Greenway (I ran this loop this morning). 6-mile asphalt bike bath, although, you can run on the grass next to the path. There are no bathrooms or water fountains, but there are shopping plazas in the beginning of the trail. You can also mix this loop with New River Greenway (11 miles long), which intersects at the end of Hiatus. These are my go to loops since I can run right out of the house to them.

-A1A (you seem to be familiar with this trail already).

There are a bunch of other places I can recommend to run, especially in the Miami area. Unfortunately, I don't know of too many good coaches I would recommend outside the high school circuit that would be of assistance, especially for the marathon.

Please don't run in the bike paths.

WestonCyclist wrote:

Please don't run in the bike paths.

Please don't bike in the car paths.