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Meet Dan Daly, Our New Racing Team Coach

With help from our friends at Nike, our Racing Team has continuously been built off of the mix of camaraderie, training, and racing. Open to runners of all shapes and sizes, members of the team enjoy Nike team gear, planned monthly social events, discounts on signature events and Chicago Endurance Sports training programs. Now they have another aspect to enjoy, Dan Daly, seasoned local veteran and new full-time coach.

For those who do not know Dan Daly, he is our lead coach for the Boston 365 program, 27 year head cross country and track coach for The Latin School of Chicago, and is the current coach of our Bank of America Team Tag Heuer program. Not to mention he has 40 fast marathons under his belt.

Like most runners, Daly tried his hand at other sports such as football and baseball in grade school and according to his own standards, "wasn't very good", so he assumed he was a bad athlete. He then decided to run track as a sophomore in high school and it went well, so his teammates suggested he run cross country as a junior. Then he met with a group and ran more often for the social and competitive aspects.

"I played football and baseball in Grade school and wasn't very good, so I assumed I was a bad athlete. I decided to run track as a sophomore and it went well, so my teammates suggested I run cross country as a junior. That was the best decision of my life."

Taking the lessons he learned in high school, Daly wanted to give back and pass on his experiences. "I wanted to somehow reach kids and share the positive experiences running had brought me. I met the coach the at the Latin School of Chicago and volunteered to help", said Daly. He has since moved into the head coaching role after four years and is now in his 27th season.

One of the lessons he hopes to pass on to our Racing Team is one not to be forgotten. "The number one goal is to have fun. If you are not having fun along the way then why do it?", said Daly. "Of course we live in a goal focused society at the youth and adult level and everyone has aspirations , but if you don't enjoy the journey then it's a hollow victory."

"My favorite mantra is "run like a turtle". That doesn't mean run slow, it means run smart, run smooth, run steady, run strong."

When asked how he will deal with such a wide variety of paces and experience levels on our team, Daly is confident his experience coaching those from high school students to adults give him an edge. "I think my years of experience as a coach and as a local runner who raced often provide the foundation for me to help others now. I've seen a lot, I've coached a wide variety of personalities, and that experience helps me serve the current athletes very well."

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