GET FIT: On the Run - Running groups help members stay motivated

They each had different reasons to try running. For Mihaela Neagos, it was to relieve stress during law school. Dave Navarro had his 40th birthday looming, and Brittney Sly wanted to rehabilitate her knee after surgery.

But they soon found they had one thing in common: They each needed help to reach their goals.

Mihaela Neagos

Mihaela Neagos, 30, started running four years ago as a way to relieve stress during law school.

She started on a treadmill then took her training outside. She ran a 5K then advanced to a 10K. Her aim was to run a half marathon before turning 30. One week before her birthday, she ran the Rock-n-Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon on Dec. 6.

The race took place during finals, and she compared the intensity of the training to studying for the Bar exam.

"I took it as seriously as I could," she said. "You have to be very smart about allocating your resources."

She finished just shy of her goal time of two hours.

She was proud of her accomplishment, but once she returned to Carson City after graduation and joined Sierra Race and Running, she learned how much better she could do.

After training with the group, she cut 9 minutes and 37 seconds off her time at Reno's Rock-n-River Half Marathon in March.

"I was able to set a more realistic goal," Neagos said. "I was pushing harder and obtaining better results."

The group also served as a support system for her new passion.

"Your old friends don't understand why you'd have bruises on your feet or spend four to five hours out running," she said. "Being in a group of people who share the same commitment makes you realize you're not weird."

She is now training with Sierra Race and Running owner Nicole Johnston to run the Seattle Marathon in November.

"Running with a group just gives you the confidence and the right tools to outrun yourself," she said. "It completely changed my life."

Dave Navarro

About a year ago, Dave Navarro made a goal to get in shape before his 40th birthday this April.

He started working out at a gym, but wanted something more.

"I needed a goal," he said. "I needed something to work toward."

The sports field coordinator for the Carson City Parks and Recreation Department, Navarro has always loved the outdoors. So he wanted a way to improve his fitness while enjoying nature.

He decided to run a marathon, so he joined the Sierra Race and Running training group to prepare.

"As soon as I started training," he said, "my goal changed. Not only was I not physically ready for it, but I also found out it was a big mental challenge."

He decided a more realistic goal would be a half marathon. And after running the city's 5k at the opening of the bridges on the Mexican Ditch Trail in July, he was glad he made the change.

"After I ran that race, it felt to me like I'd run a marathon," he said.

He reached his goal in March running the Rock-n-River Half Marathon in Reno.

He continues training with Sierra Race and Running and logs about 15-18 miles a week. He plans to run another half marathon in October.

Brittney Sly

After playing volleyball for five years, Brittney Sly, 18, injured her left knee and had to have reconstructive surgery.

"I still tried to play volleyball, but my knee was always hurting," she said.

So she quit playing sports. But she noticed she started to gain weight, and her knee wasn't improving. Her doctor suggested she try jogging.

Last May, she and her mother, Michelle, joined the 10K training group offered by Tom Wion, manager of the former Fleet Feet store.

"It was really tough," she recalled. "I started by just trying to run five minutes. I tried to build up more time, and eventually I got to an hour, two hours."

She decided to train for a half marathon, and make it her senior project at Carson High School.

She researched the best nutrition to fuel distance running, how to avoid injury and how to subdue her natural competitive spirit so as not to burn out right away.

Within a year, she ran the Shamrock'n Half Marathon in Sacramento in March.

"It definitely took me that long to get ready for it," she said.

Along the way, she dropped 20 pounds and found a new sport she plans to continue for the rest of her life.

"I love it," she said. "It's something so easy to do. Well, there's always good days and bad days, but you can just walk out the door and get started."