Lenoir, North Carolina

I'm sure many of you are thinking, "where the hell is Lenoir?" Well you might not be aware of this town, but if you are reading this blog, I'm sure you are well aware of the little running group that is located there. This "little" running group I'm talking about is of course Zap Fitness and it may have started small, but in the last few years, it has become one of the most successful elite development programs in the country. Many people recognize this group as being located in Blowing Rock or Boone, which are the more well known towns nearby and are where most of the training runs are done, but the actual physical address of Zap is in Lenoir.



This was my third visit to Zap Fitness (you can go here to see a recap of my last visit in March) and as usual they were excellent hosts. Since my last visit, there has been some turnover in the program so there were some new guys to meet and some new company out on the trails. In addition to the veterans of Thomas Morgan, Ryan Warrenburg, Mike Bunker, and Alli Grace, the new guys are Dave Nightingale, Frank Tinney, CW Moran, and Nate Peck, with the addition of a former NB Boston athlete that I may have mentioned on here in the past, by the name of Jessica Minty.

This stay was shorter than my past visits, but gave me enough time to catch up with some old friends, make a few new acquaintances, get in a great run at Moses Cone Park, and again enjoy the atmosphere of their beautiful mountain location. I have had the opportunity to see many of the elite training programs this country has to offer and I still strongly believe that this is the best run program there is. I'd like to congratulate Zika and Pete on the success that they've had, and also thank them for letting me poke my head in on a few occasions.


Next Stop: Washington DC