Head Coach

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Tony Coffey
Tony has been a coach of the Impala Racing Team since 2000, serving as Assistant Coach until his appointment as Head Coach in summer 2003. He is a USATF Level II Certified Coach. He has been a competitive runner since1976 at the high school, college, open and masters levels and has completed over 20 marathons. His education background includes an MBA from UCLA and a BA from Harvard. 

Coaching Philosophy

The benefits of group training with athletes of comparable talent is that athletes at all ability levels can achieve results that might not be attainable while training alone. The group imposes a form of discipline while at the same time fostering a strong sense of team spirit. It is also important to treat each member of the group equally, recognizing that everyone can make a contribution to the success of the group and that they can each make progress towards their own individual goals.

Tony advocates the basic Lydiard model of periodization. This involves establishing long-range racing goals and building towards them throughout the year. He prefers his athletes to err on the side of being slightly under-trained and under-raced, as opposed to risking injury and illness by pushing too hard. Along this line, he uses a hard/easy, or hard/easy/easy pattern of workouts in order to keep you fresh and on schedule for your seasonal goals. The training program is also flexible to accommodate different age and ability levels.

In order to achieve the best results, you must adopt a complete training lifestyle that complements your running workouts. This includes a proper warm-up and cool-down during track workouts and races, a regular strength and stretching routine, a healthy diet, adequate hydration, and sufficient rest.

Finally, you must be process, not results, oriented. If you focus on a commitment to the long-term training process, the race results will take care of themselves and you will have a more positive experience.

Assistant Coach

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Pete Cushman
Pete joined the Impalas as assistant coach in 2007. He is also the Associate head Cross Country and Track & Field Coach at Santa Clara University. Coach Cushman brings an exceptional resume of athletic and coaching experience to the post after a standout running career at Gonzaga University.

Pete was previously the assistant coach for the cross-country and the women's track programs at San Francisco State University and was a Team Manager/Activity Leader with the Bay Area Womens' Sports Initiative.

Cushman has a MA in Kinesiology from St. Mary's College of California and a BA in Journalism and minor in Sports Management from Gonzaga University.