red rock running company: Prep course

NLV resident trains with group to get in shape for event

The marathon training program based out of Red Rock Running Company, 7350 W. Cheyenne Ave., is made up of all types of runners.

Denise Hahn has not yet run the full 26.2 miles it takes to complete a standard marathon.

"It would be an amazing accomplishment to finish," she said.

But her coach Chris Mech said "you don't have to do 26 miles to run 26 miles."

On her last long run before Sunday's New Las Vegas Marathon, Hahn did cover over 20 miles and said she is hoping to finish her first marathon in under six hours.

"I turned 50 and realized maybe half my life was over," Hahn said. "I wanted to get healthy and realized this was the time."

The North Las Vegas resident said she went to Red Rock Running Company to buy a pair of shoes. Store owner Eric Herdman told her about the business' Friday Night Fun Runs.

"The first run was 3 miles and I walked half of it," Hahn said. "Chris came out and said, 'You know, marathon training is coming up and I can get anybody ready for a marathon,' and I said 'Anybody?' I had never fathomed I could do a marathon."

Hahn said before she started training in the group's 16-week program, her legs bothered her. In the beginning, she had to take a few days off. She said she considered doing the half-marathon.

"I wanted to see how it would go," she said. "It just became a goal."

Hahn had already been working with a trainer at the gym and has kept that up along with her marathon group training.

"I feel a lot healthier. I feel a lot stronger," she said. "The confidence you get from being able to do something you haven't done before is great."

At the other end of the spectrum is experienced runner Rick Sale. The southwest Las Vegas resident ran his first marathon about 10 years ago in Boston.

"I was watching the Boston Marathon and decided I would like to be a runner not just a watcher," he said.

To participate in the Boston Marathon, runners need to either qualify or raise money for charity. Sale had run half-marathons and 10K events, but never a marathon. So he raised money for an orphanage and finished in three hours and 49 minutes.

After completing his first marathon, Sale was diagnosed with scleroderma, an autoimmune disease of the connective tissue. Scleroderma is characterized by the formation of scar tissue, fibrosis, in the skin and organs of the body. This leads to thickness and firmness of involved areas. "I gave it up," Sale said. "I didn't think I'd ever run again."

After a lot of work and medication, he trained for and ran the New York City Marathon in four hours and 25 minutes. "My goal is to beat my healthy marathon time," he said.

"He will crush that," Mech said. "He's going to be even better."

The Red Rock Running Company's training program is the first formal one Sale has been involved with.

"It's a lot better when you know Saturday you have to meet a group," Sale said.

Sale said if he can qualify for the Boston Marathon, which for his age would be a time of three hours and 15 minutes, he will run it again.

"Rick has been the strongest, the most dedicated and has underestimated himself," Mech said.

Mech said he and Herdman, who both run in marathons all year long, came up with a plan that could get anyone ready for a marathon in 16 weeks.

"It's not an easy program but it's fun," Mech said.

Along with the group's weekly training days, which include hill workouts for strength, long runs and speed workouts, there are four seminars on topics like nutrition and how to avoid mistakes. The program costs $279, which includes store merchandise and a discount at the store for the duration of the training.

Mech said he gives participants a lot of personal attention because the group is small. He said he keeps everyone up to date on information through a blog and answers questions via e-mail almost every day.

The group also is going to have training sessions starting Dec. 16 for the Los Angeles Marathon on March 7, and, starting on Jan. 27, training for the Rock and Roll Marathon in San Diego on June 3.

For more information, visit www.redrockrunningcompany.com.