John Hancock Marathon Challenge: RunningMatters

The John Hancock Marathon Challenge: RunningMatters Training Program (previously known as the John Hancock Employee Training Program) was created by TRACS in 1996 as a turnkey operation that provides the necessary expertise and tools to train everyday people with little or no athletic experience to run the Boston Marathon. This program not only allows John Hancock employees to leverage the connection between their employer and the Boston Marathon, but also provides them with the opportunity to train appropriately to compete in the world’s oldest marathon.

Led by Fred Treseler and Bill Squires, two internationally recognized running coaches with 86 years of combined coaching experience, each participant receives a comprehensive training manual created by TRACS, as well as individualized training schedules, seven lunchtime clinics with multimedia presentations, and three supported long runs on the Boston Marathon course.

Since 2005 all lunchtime clinics have been webstreamed and broadcast to John Hancock and Manulife employees across the globe in Canada, Japan and the United States. Providing such access to the program continues to help establish and reinforce global connections between John Hancock and Manulife colleagues by extending the benefits of the program beyond the John Hancock office in Boston.

John Hancock Marathon Challenge results

The John Hancock Marathon Challenge Program has helped thousands of employees train for and complete the Boston Marathon, regardless of previous running experience. About 30% of participants are novices to the sport of marathoning, yet the program yields a 99% completition rate in its 15-year history.

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