Tim Jones

More on my running and coaching background: After four years of high school cross-country on the hills of Belmont Plateau and indoor and outdoor track in the Philadelphia Catholic League, I kept running while I served in the U. S. Army and competed in track meets in the sprints and middle distances. I ran my first marathon as a high school senior. As a masters runner, I’ve run thirteen more marathons, including four Boston Marathons, and competed in track meets, road races, and trail races in distances from 60 meters to 50 miles. My masters PRs include 2:53:14 for the marathon, 1:20:44 for the Half Marathon, and 1:00:21 for ten miles. My coaching experience has been primarily for the marathon, but I’m comfortable coaching distances from the mile up to the marathon. I’ve coached marathon runners for races that include Boston, Steamtown, Chicago, Marine Corps, New Jersey, Eugene, REVEL Kulia, Grand Forks, Wine Glass, York, Tata Mumbai, and the Cascade Super Marathon. Most recently I’ve been coaching athletes for Virtual Boston 2020 and Virtual and Live Races of various distances. Coaching Credentials/Club Affiliation: In 2015, I completed two VDOT O2 Coaching Clinics with Dr. Jack Daniels in New York City and also completed the RRCA Level I course in Philadelphia. I’m a member of the Greater Philadelphia Track Club, a Jack Daniels VDOT Certified Distance Running Coach (2015), and a Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) Certified Coach (2015). If you work with me, we’ll start with an initial consultation that covers your race goals, running history, recent training, evaluation of current fitness, strengths/weaknesses, and favorite workouts. After the initial consultation, we’ll get you set up with the VDOT O2 app on your computer and phone. I’ll create your training plan and add workouts to your VDOT O2 training calendar 1-2 weeks at a time, adapting workouts to your schedule and progress. I’ll monitor your training and we’ll communicate as often as necessary. The primary means of day-to-day communication will be through the VDOT O2 app and I will be available through email, text, phone, and video chat as much as needed. We’ll typically talk once a week to review the past week's training and the workouts for the upcoming week. Education: B.S. Mechanical Engineering, Temple University Graduate Coursework in Systems Engineering, University of Pennsylvania Athlete Testimonials: “The program and the coaching were top notch. All the quality workouts were comfortably hard, and I always felt good when I hit the pace (which didn’t always happen). The VDOT O2 App was good and easy to use. The training program prepared me better for my marathon than I’ve ever been prepared before, and of course having Tim as a coach made it so much better. I thought this was a great program. I would highly recommend it to anyone wanting to increase their pace for a marathon. I never in a million years thought I would run fast enough to qualify for the Boston Marathon, and here I am with a BQ after this program. My first marathon (5:35) was almost 2 full hours slower than I ran Steamtown this year. Thanks to the VDOT training program I feel much more confident about my overall marathon and my pacing, as well!” –Tina (PR by 2:10 and first-time BQ) “I loved working with a coach and being accountable. The support and camaraderie of running with others with the same goal encouraged me to take on a tougher regimen than I would have on my own. The VDOT Calculator was a great tool to set the right paces for the various workouts. Favorite workout: Any of the Interval or Repetition pace workouts. I liked the feeling of going fast. It helped me understand what I could do at the top end. I think the most beneficial workouts were the long Marathon pace runs – learning how to maintain that pace in training really helped me handle it in the race.” – Chris (PR by 17:38) “I don’t think I would have had the results I had at the Steamtown Marathon if it weren’t for the training program Tim put together. His words of encouragement helped a great deal. My goal was to beat my first marathon time by an hour. My first marathon was the Philly marathon in November of 2013. The VDOT O2 app was very useful. Having each of the workouts posted on my calendar helped me prepare for the quality sessions. Plus, scheduling my workouts with other members of our team was much easier having everything in one place.” – Mark (PR by 10:19 and a BQ). “I really liked the two quality workouts per week approach. These workouts “forged” me to go out on days that I didn’t feel my best, but they paid off during my races. Individualized attention and shared aspirations helped me define and meet my goals. Tim customized the training plan for me because of my monthly marathon races. He is always available for any questions and provides great tips for injury prevention, nutrition, and fueling. Tim is amazing! The VDOT O2 App was very easy to use and provided very accurate prediction on my races. I forgot to wear a watch on my 10k race and I finished that race on the predicted 10k time from the VDOT O2 App, pretty amazing! I had a great race despite the heat in Chicago. The night before the race, Tim shared the heat adjusted calculator from the VDOT O2 App. I went into the race to do my best, but didn’t think I would PR due to the heat, so I adjusted my goal. I started out with the 3:45 pace group and hoped to finish with them. I felt very good after mile 18 and went for a PR instead. The last 6 miles of the race, all I could think of was the interval workouts Tim had us do, and I believe I ran my fastest 10k of any marathon during the last 6.2 miles. I felt great at the end, a few volunteers from the race told me that they have never seen anyone so happy after running a marathon.” –Natalie (PR by 1:25 and a BQ). “I just wanted to thank you for all of your work, time, expertise, and support this past winter as you helped me prepare for the New Jersey Marathon. It was a very successful training block for me and was both emotionally and physically transformative for me and my family. You are an excellent coach! I felt cared for, supported and challenged the entire time. You utilized Daniels’ strategies/tools well while also taking my specific needs into account. You helped me identify important and attainable goals. My races only show a small part of my success, although running a 1:40 half and 3:33 BQ marathon felt oh so good!” – Marita (First marathon as a new Mom, BQ) "Since college I hadn't gotten the structure I needed to string together successful blocks of training. Two years later my Dad and I teamed up and he started coaching me through the VDOTO2 app. My Dad has been an advocate for my running career since I started competing 4 years ago, but having him as my coach now has brought my training to a new level and reignited my desire to work hard and run fast. He brings personal running expertise, knowledge of training cycles, understanding of running physiology, and coaching experience to the table. He does an excellent job of prioritizing your short term goals while keeping your long term progress in mind. I've already shaved nearly 10 seconds off my mile PR, and we're currently working to get my 5K and 5 mile times down. I can't wait to see what the next few years hold! I recommend him as a coach to athletes of ALL ages ranging in events from the 800-marathon." - Lindsay (5K PR by 40+ seconds in 2017)