Another guest post:
Coach Neil brings a wealth of experience as well as expertise and boundless enthusiasm to our Tuesday Night Training sessions. He has been a nationally ranked runner from 1500 metres up to the marathon distance.
He started competitive running at age twelve with the Norwesters Track & Field club in West Vancouver. He later ran for Simon Fraser University on an athletic scholarship and with the Richmond Kajaks Track Club.
Over the years he has been very fortunate to receive good coaching that helped him excel at various distances on the track, cross country and the roads. Some highlighted performances include a 3:56 for 1500 metres; 30:49 track 10,000 metres at the Harry Jerome Track Classic; 1:07:32 half marathon personal best and also winning the 2003 Vancouver First Half Marathon in 69:55.
Neil was also the first Canadian finisher in the 2000 Boston Marathon in 2:32. In 2003 Neil ran the Chicago Marathon with a personal best time of 2:26 adding to his total of five marathons under two hours and thirty minutes. Neil still competes as a masters runner. He was the winner of the 2007 California International Marathon (masters division) in 2:32 at age 42. As a master Neil also placed 7th overall in the 2008 Victoria Marathon in 2:36.
Neil continues to be passionate about running and endurance sports in general and believes in long term development and performance over one’s life. As a coach he fosters consistent and progressive training practices that acknowledge the uniqueness of each athlete in order for them to reach their goals.
More recently Neil has become actively involved in Nordic ski racing during winter months. He is also a NCCP community ski coach for the Strathcona Nordics that includes coaching his two children.
Neil and his family are avid outdoor enthusiasts that enjoy hiking, cycling, swimming and exploring the beautiful BC coast during the summer months. Neil works as an instructor at North Island College and holds a Masters degree in education.
