First Time Marathoner
Nick (Nicholas Panebianco), RRCA Certified Running Coach since 2000 Nick is a certified Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) runner coach and chairman of the "Big Brother Big Sisters (BBBS) Run for Kids Marathon Challenge". He has been a Prince George’s county Big Brother since 1993 and has been training BBBS runners to run the Marine Corps Marathon since 1997. Nick is a staunch supporter of children’s charities and marathon running. Nick has completed thirty marathons which include 5 ultra-marathons. His marathon PR (3:16) allowed him to qualify and run the 2003 Boston Marathon. He has run the JFK 50 twice and he has finished three birthday ultras (running his age in miles) at age 40, 43, and 44. |
John (John Steitz), RRCA-certified and USATF-certified running coach
Coach John has completed 18 marathons in his 7+ years of training and racing. He is both RRCA and USATF Level 1 certified, and is entering his fifth year with Marathon Charity Partners. He is a member of the Marine Corps Marathon Runners Club, enabling him now to run that marathon every year, and has only 44 states to go before he gets his "50 States + DC" T-shirt. With a 5:26 marathon PR (so far), Coach John works closely with the "Penguins," the back of the pack runners, who complete marathons in five to seven hours. "Speed is great if you have it, but you don’t have to be a speed demon to complete a marathon. So long as you can run or walk/run faster than 15 minutes per mile, you can complete the Marine Corps Marathon, and most other marathons, too. And there is no reason why anyone, at any pace, cannot become more fit and healthy by race walking or running a half marathon. In the MCP training program, we can help you accomplish either feat." In addition to the walk/run method, Coach John trains runners in hydration, intervals and fartlek, negative splits, warmup and stretching techniques, strength and cross-training. He leads Tuesday and Thursday evening runs for MCP trainees in In addition to coaching MCP, Coach John coordinates the "Walk-to-Run" new runner program of Arlington Cooperation Foundation (ACF) each winter/spring, is the First Vice President of ACF, the 501(c)(3) umbrella for MCP, and serves as race director for the "Revenge of the Penguins" 10 and 20 mile training races every September. |
Kevin (Kevin Dopart), Veteran Marathoner
Higgledy, Piggledy |
Jay (Jay Jacob Wind), RRCA-certified coach, USATF Level 1-certified running coach
Jay Jacob Wind has been coaching since 1987. He is a USATF Level 1-certified coach and an RRCA-certified coach. He has finished 126 marathons as of October 2009, with a lifetime best of 2:27:25 at Boston 1980 and a recent best of 3:11:54 at San Francisco 2009 at age 59, good for second place in his age group. He has directed hundreds of local races, including four each year for Marathon Charity Cooperation. He serves on MCC’s Board of Directors as secretary. Jay was inducted into Arlington Sports Hall of Fame at its 2008 annual banquet. To read more about this honor, go to Jay’s Hall of Fame Induction page. |
Humaira (Humaira Qureshi), RRCA Certified Running Coach - March 2009 Humaira’s track record should be a source of encouragement to all new runners or non-runners. She is an MCP graduate who has stepped forward to become an assistant coach. Humaira started her running career as recently as May 2007, and that with a bang, i.e., a marathon (Marine Corps 2007), after training for just 5 months with MCP. While she did workout regularly for some years, she had never run a mile in her life prior to joining MCP marathon training program. Humaira has recently taken her running resume up another notch. She was certified as a Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) Coach in March 2009. Having successfully completed the marathon, she also ran three other races (Riley’s Rumble Half Marathon, DC Road Runners 20-Miler, Cherry Blossom 10-Miler) and assisted coach John Steitz in Arlington Cooperation Foundation’s new runner’s "Walk-to-Run" program in spring of 2008. Humaira loves to share her experiences with running and is a great example of having three basic and essential attributes to be a long distance runner -- can do spirit, resilience, and trust in one self. |
Alvin (Alvin Gunkel), RRCA Certified Coach Alvin was a recreational runner prior to joining the program in 2007. Since then he has completed eight marathons, a 50k trail ultra, and three 200-mile relays. Alvin has integrated running into his lifestyle, becoming more health and fitness oriented. Alvin is a certified Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) Running Coach, a Big Brother, and serves on the board of the Marathon Charity Cooperation. |
Mona (Mona Sehgal) Mona Sehgal, a graduate of the MCP Training Program, is an assistant coach for MCP’s 2009 program. Mona took up running about 8 years ago and has completed 5 marathons and several 10 milers including the Army Ten Miler and the Cherry Blossom Ten Miler. Mona has completed 4 marathons in less than 4 hours each, including achieving her personal record of 3 hours 44 minutes at the 2008 Baltimore marathon. In addition to running, Mona also enjoys swimming and yoga. Mona plans to get certified as a coach by the Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) in 2009. Since 2003, Mona has participated in the MCP training program as a runner for Asha for Education. Crossing the finish line at a race is an empowering and humbling experience. This year Mona hopes to help beginner and experienced runners achieve their goal of completing a half-marathon or marathon. |
Marathon Charity Cooperation
The Marathon Charity Cooperation are DC area charities that have combined their training and race day programs to enhance the experience of the runners who are making sacrifices to serve these charities.
