Final Surge today announced its role in supporting well-known running author Matt Fitzgerald in a journalistic experiment intended to find out if a middle-age recreational runner can benefit from living and training like a professional marathon racer.
Earlier this month, Fitzgerald, 46, relocated from his home in California to Flagstaff, Ariz., to become an honorary member of HOKA Northern Arizona Elite, an elite running team, whose roster includes former national cross country champions Amy Van Alstine and Craig Lutz. For 13 weeks leading up to the Bank of America Chicago Marathon on October 8, the author of The Endurance Diet and numerous other books will do virtually everything his host teamÍs full-time members dotwo-a-day runs, grueling strength workouts, cutting-edge drill sessions, and moreall at an altitude of 7,000 feet.
Throughout the experiment, runners and other interested individuals can follow Fitzgerald, who has adopted the moniker the Running Bum, on a training blog hosted by Final Surge, the official online training partner of HOKA NAZ Elite (www.finalsurge.com/therunningbum). A book summarizing the lessons learned during the journey, tentatively titled The Running Bum, will follow.
“Final Surge is excited to be partnering with Matt on this project and we are glad that we can take part in his adventure and help him share his blog and training with the world,î said Dean Ouellette, Public Relations Director of Final Surge. “Matt is giving us all a taste of what it’s like to live and train like a professional endurance athlete. This is fascinating content for anyone who loves the sport of running.”
Having recorded a personal-best marathon time of 2:41 in 2008, Fitzgerald hopes his professional training experience will enable him to improve upon this mark in Chicago, despite being well past the age at which most early starters in running get faster. “The question I hear most often is why I’m doing this,” said Fitzgerald, who began running at age 11. “Honestly, I’m just trying to live out a fantasy that most runners entertain at one time or anotherthe dream of living a running-centered life and discovering just how far you can go if you give it all you’ve got and do every little thing that can help you improve.”
HOKA NAZ Elite coach Ben Rosario believes that his team stands to gain from the unusual arrangement as well. “Our mission at HOKA NAZ Elite has always been to share every part of the journey with our fans,” he said. “There couldn’t really be a better way to do that than to have Matt Fitzgerald, a world-renowned author, live and train with us every day and record the whole experience.”
To follow Matt’s blog and training log, go to www.FinalSurge.com/TheRunningBum.
Team Final Surge
