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Photo: Dave Holland

Trevor Hofbauer will be toeing the line in Hopkinton for what will be the first Patriots’ Day Boston Marathon in three years. The 2020 Olympian, second fastest Canadian marathoner of all-time (2:09:51), and Mile2Marathon coach shares with us how his build’s going, his recent move out west, and what he’s excited for come race day.⁣

We’re a little over 5 weeks away from the big dance in Boston. How are you doing? How excited are you to toe the line in April?

I am well! Training up to the Boston Marathon has been so enjoyable, and I am quietly excited. There’s still a lot of work to do over these coming weeks and I’m dialed into the day to day process.

Toeing the line of Boston is a goal I’ve had for years now, and I’m thankful it’s now. Everyone knows the Boston Marathon, even people who don’t run, so there’s a lot of eyes on it. I call it the People’s Olympics. Being able to step on the start line of a race as prestigious as Boston only means one thing – great things will happen.

  • First Half. Photo: everything.you.got
  • Peachland Views. Photo: everything.you.got

Coming off your Olympic run you’ve made a few big changes in your life. For your Strava followers this will be old news, but you’ve made the move from Calgary to Peachland, become a coach with Mile2Marathon and joined the BC Endurance Project with Richard Lee as your new coach.  First off, how’s your transition to Peachland going and what brought you out West?

Just a few changes to say the least, with more to come. The transition from Calgary to Peachland is going well. I LOVE Peachland and hope to make it a permanent home one day, since it’s so peaceful and relaxed. I’m originally from Port Moody, with family still in the lower mainland, so when I decided to move from Calgary, I wanted to live somewhere closer to them and friends in Vancouver, without losing that connection to Calgary. The Okanagan allows me to be 6.5/7hours away from Calgary and 3.5/4hours from Vancouver, and opens a door for family and friends to visit the Okanagan as well.

  • Post Workout Carnage cc: Maurten & Saucony. Photo: everything.you.got
  • Peachland Views. Photo: everything.you.got

You garnered a lot of headlines after your 2:09 marathon win at the Canadian Championships in 2019 and a few of them circled around your minimalistic training styles sans GPS watch. How has your training changed since making the switch to Rich? Do you still try to run more effort based?

Good question! I still run effort based for all of my easy runs and most of my workouts, but have enabled more data on my watch now for some specific workouts that require distance or pace. The biggest change since making the switch to Rich has been the structure of the workouts. My workouts in the past were all minutes based, and now they’re distance based. The change has been effortless, as I’m all in and will adapt to change.

Coaching has a way of giving you a new perspective and outlook on the sport. I’m curious to hear how you’ve enjoyed coaching with Mile2Marathon?

Coaching with Mile2Marathon has been enjoyable so far. I admire the community that has been built across Canada and the ease of sharing thoughts with the other coaches (Evan, Luc, Justin, Tony, Kevin, Dylan) to grow and incorporate new ways of engaging with our athletes. Coaching has given me a new perspective and a new admiration for training. I can structure my training easily on a day to day basis, so seeing or hearing that some of my athletes train at 5am or after their kids go to bed develops an admiration for their grit.

Photo: everything.you.got

Athletes are always interested to hear how the elites fuel and the strategies they employ on race day. Ahead of Boston what does your fuelling strategy look like?

That’s still a work in progress to be honest. In Toronto 2019, I felt that my hydration set up worked well, but utilizing the same strategy in Tokyo 2021 made me feel bloated for a lot of the race. It seems my body can’t tolerate as much fluid any more so I’m working on adjusting that. But what I can say is that my strategy is consistent, and I incorporate hydration and gels into my training on a regular basis to get used to the consumption while running. 

Coming off a half marathon PB at Vancouver’s First Half, training seems to be clicking quite well. Do you have any races lined up ahead of Boston, or are you just training through?

Thanks! I’m happy with how training has been going. I’ll be racing the Comox Valley Half Marathon on March 13th (as a long training session), then all eyes will be on THE BOSTON.

Lastly, as a Saucony sponsored athlete what’s your current shoe rotation right now? What shoes will you rock on race day?

Saucony is making great shoes right now! Most of my time is spent in the Triumph or Ride for easy runs, the Endorphin Shift for when my legs feel absolutely trashed, Kinvara for shorter and harder workouts, Endorphin Speed for longer intervals and tempos, then the Endorphin Pro emerges for race day. In Boston, I’ll be wearing a white pair of the Endorphin Pro+.

Big thanks to Trevor for taking the time to chat and share a bit of his journey to Boston with us. From all of us at Mile2Marathon we wish him the best of luck in Comox and the remainder of his build to Boston.

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