Cypress Fit – Chapter Coaches

At first, I was afraid that I would hold everyone back because at the time I couldn’t even run 1 mile without stopping. I didn’t know what to expect, but went ahead and attended my first group run. There I found out that they had several groups I could choose from that would fit my ability and pace. I continued through the season following the USA Fit training program and implementing the information I learned from the seminars on running. At the end of this first season, I finished my first ½ half marathon! After this, I was hooked and running became my exercise of choice. Since then, I have participated in 15 half marathons, 2 triathlon races, and 2 ten miler races and am looking forward to doing more.

Joining USA Fit Cypress has been one of my best decisions – I’ve learned a lot, made new friends, and achieved more than I thought possible. It’s amazing what a confidence boost achieving your goals can be.

Now as a coach and co-organizer, I enjoy encouraging and helping others achieve their goals. USA Fit Cypress is truly a positive and supportive group. Come join us! It can change your life.

I improved my diet and began walking. After a few months of walking, I began running on a regular basis. Gradual increases in distance led me to my first half marathon, which then led me to run my first marathon two years later. Now that I’ve completed the Houston Marathon 9 times, I get to train with you and share what I’ve learned.

I’ve trained with USA FIT Cypress for about 5 years now and I rarely miss a Saturday morning long run on the paths of The Bridgelands. These long runs are both social and a good way to measure your progress. The hill workouts at the Hockley Soapbox Derby Hill and the track workouts at a local high school track can make you a stronger runner. The seminars held immediately following the Saturday long runs will educate you on many of the topics critical to a successful running season, such as stretching, hydration, nutrition, running shoes, injury prevention, and more. Furthermore, there are many experienced runners in the group that are always ready to share their own experiences.

Please don’t be intimidated about joining USA FIT Cypress. We are your neighbors and friends, and we are not semi-professional runners. Everyone in the group remembers what it is like to attempt a distance that you’ve never run before. We also celebrate with you as your endurance gets stronger and stronger, enabling you to set new personal records. I look forward to running with you!

I knew my training could have been better so when someone told me about Houston Fit, I joined immediately. The group runs were much better preparation for the long distances. I looked forward to my running group and didn’t want to let them down by missing my weekday workouts or missing a long run. I had a great time at the marathon and continued to sign up every year.

When I got married, moved to the suburbs, and had kids I switched over to running half marathons and to Cypress Fit. I’ve loved having my running group out here to keep me accountable for my training and my pacing. Im looking forward to running with both new and experienced runners and encouraging each other to keep on running.

I joined USA FIT Cypress in 2011 and have been back every year since.  I keep coming back because I love how running makes me feel.  To be clear, I don’t always love how the actual RUN feels, but that feeling of getting it done just can’t be beat!  I get a sense of accomplishment from following the training plan, increasing my mileage and completing the Saturday morning long runs.  It’s something I do just for myself when so much of my other time is dedicated to family and work.

But, the thing I love most about running and about USA FIT Cypress specifically is the people.  I have met so many amazing friends through this group.  I look forward to seeing everyone on Saturday mornings and catching up with my running buddies on life events.  Everyone is encouraging and accepting and fun.  And boy do you get some great stories out of people when you’re running 12 miles together!

I encourage everyone to come out and try USA FIT Cypress.  You CAN do it!  There is a pace group for everyone, the environment is very welcoming, and you will feel fantastic when you reach that 13.1 or 26.2 goal.  Join us!

I started doing 5K’s, 10K’s and then half marathons. That led to a desire to complete a full marathon, one of my “bucket list” challenges.
I trained with Kenyan Way running group and ran my first two full marathons. I then decided to stick with half marathons for running and move to my next bucket list challenge…..a triathlon! I joined a gym with a pool and started training on my own. During that time, one of my co-workers found USAFit Cypress and we both joined in 2013. She talked me into running a couple more marathons. I was thrilled to find another running group that was closer to where I live, it sure beat driving into Houston!
I have run 4 full marathons, 11 half marathons, 6 sprint triathlons and 2 mud obstacle races.

I have really enjoyed running with the people in USAFit Cypress. Everyone is so positive and encouraging and the neighborhood is great. Come and join us in this crazy addiction we call running!

One day, I found a 30-day couch-to-5k program in a magazine. It looked like a perfect plan for me. It starts with running one minute, walking two minutes and repeats 10 times. By the end of the 30 days, you should be able to run 5k without stopping. So I gave it a try. It turned out it wasn’t as easy as I thought. But I did not give up. It took me almost two months before I finally finished that program. I still remember how proud I was when I told my friends that I had run 5k for the first time in my life. And I haven’t stopped running since.

I trained with Houston FIT in both 2008 and 2009 and really loved being part of a running group. The detailed and diversified weekly schedule not only improved my running but also made it more fun and challenging. And there’s so much more: the support and encouragement from the coaches, the seminars after the run, the water stations along the routes, the conversations with my running friends. Without all these, I don’t think I could have finished my first marathon in January this year. I had such a good time during the race, I look forward to running more marathons in the future.

So come out and join us for a run. Who knows? You may fall in love with running too.

As a kid, I was always active. I played various team sports including high school track and field and recreational tennis and volleyball in college. After returning to fitness, I’ve been able to build upon the habits and methodologies instilled in those formative years by seeking and incorporating new information in sport science. I am happy to say that I’m making progress toward my goals and love to be part of helping others attain their goals. I appreciate sharing with and learning from others, and always look forward to the next USA FIT Cypress activity.

Friday Night Bite followed that weekend where I met Coaches/Organizers Donya Brewer and Wendy Riley who were handing out flyers. I asked for Coach Donya’s email and as soon as I got home, I emailed her expressing my interest in joining the group. I was so excited to start my training in July of 2019 after two years of not running. I have run six 5K’s, three 10K’s and 7 Half Marathon’s before joining Cypress Fit and I look forward to more runs and trainings.

CyFit gives me great motivation to develop my running skills, endurance and strength. Feeling blessed and grateful, I share the same enthusiasm and encouragement to others inside and outside our running group.

If you want to change your life and develop as a good runner, Cypress Fit will help you achieve that goal!

Along the way since starting three years ago, I’ve had so many coaches and members be an amazing support system. We as a group are not super competitive, but we do strongly encourage each other along the way to help you meet your personal goals in a positive and constructive manner. It’s not about who finishes first with the group, it’s about ALL of us finishing the run and/or walk. If you do aspire to finish first, that competitive spirit will be fully supported as we all have personal goals too. It’s always fantastic to have a runner who is pushing themselves to become faster, as that also inspires others to try harder.

The heart and passion of our running/walking group begins with the two organizers, Wendy and Donya. Their commitment to us is overwhelming, so I felt compelled to be part of the team at the coach level to be more involved. My first season coaching the Orange running group began in spring of 2021, and I look forward to helping you achieve whatever it is that drove you to join our family. I’m here to support you in any way possible, and to let you know that you will not be alone. Together, we can figure this out. We all have our struggles in life, I still battle my weight issues and my eating lifestyle. So, don’t be afraid, let’s help each other overcome our obstacles and persevere to a greater future and happier life!