Steve Gonser

Join physical therapist, founder of RunSmartOnline.com, and runner, Steve Gonser. From running form, to foot strike, to running faster with less injury, Steve will discuss current research, while teaching you how to apply it to your own training. Whether you’re sick of being injured, searching for a PR, or simply a running nerd like Steve, this quick lecture is sure to inform and entertain.

Steve is a two-time Ironman finisher, ultra-marathoner, and frequent sub-3 marathoner. He’s analyzed the run form of thousands of athletes across the United States, while treating a large percentage of runners locally. Steve also contributes to the Buffalo Marathon Blog, reflecting on training (as a first time dad), striving for a Buffalo-PR and another trip to the .

David James

David (Dave) James is a professional mountain, trail, and ultra runner. He is a 2011 and 2012 USATF 100 Mile National Championship, and in 2011 and 2012 he was part of the Team USA World Championships. He is a winner of the Coastal Challenge Rainforest Run in Costa Rica, the Mozart 100 in Salzburg, Austria, and he holds the third fastest certified 100-mile split time in US history at 13:06:52. Dave has won ultra- on three different continents. He was also a champion at both the Operation Jack Marathon for Autism Research, and the Cuyahoga Valley National Parks Towpath Marathon. He is the course record holder for the Caloosahatchee 50K.

For over three years, Dave has also been a Team Red, White and Blue (RWB) (www.teamrwb.org) Trail Running Camp coach. From September 11 through Veteran’s Day, he was captain for a Team RWB relay that ran one single American Flag on foot across the country. He will be running the 2015 Buffalo Marathon as a member of Team RWB, carrying our nation’s flag the entire way to honor the men and women who serve in the military.

You can read more about Dave James’s other athletic accomplishments on his website “Sometimes I Run” at www.rundavejames.com.

Dave McGillivray

Dave McGillivray translates his extraordinary life journeys and athletic achievements into life lessons. For 35 years, with over 1,800 appearances, McGillivray has inspired and motivated audiences in nearly every major US city and has traveled abroad tovarious countries including Canada, Denmark, England, France, Poland, Sweden, in addition to Bermuda and the Caribbean.

In 1978, at the age of 23, Dave McGillivray’s strong desire to be an athlete led him to run across the country. The finish of that run led to the start of countless other journeys and challenges. McGillivray is unique in that he is both an accomplished athlete and accomplished businessman. He knows what it takes to complete an endurance event and also the painstaking detail and management that go into a successfully run event, from a 40,000-person marathon to a 500-person charity walk.

McGillivray is now Race Director of the B.A.A. Boston Marathon and has directed many of the country’s most prestigious races such as the 2004 and 2009 US Women’s Marathon Trials, the 1990 ITU Triathlon World Championship, the TD Beach to Beacon 10K, the New Balance Falmouth Road Race and numerous other races. He addresses audiences with a motivational account which is not only about running…it’s about what’s possible if you believe in yourself and your own ability to do the seemingly insurmountable. McGillivray recently competed in his 9th Hawaii Ironman Triathlon World Championship and was featured on NBC Sports.

Vicki Mitchell

Vicki Mitchell will share her tips, insights, and expertise on training; she enters her 16th year with the UB program in 2014-15 and serves as the director and head coach of the men's and women's cross country and track & field programs, a position she's held since 2002-03. Mitchell has led the track & field programs to new heights during her tenure. Only 12 school records stand that have not been broken or matched under her guidance, including several records in events that are no longer contested. Mitchell's student athletes have set 28 school records in 2014 alone – 19 men's records and nine women's. The Bulls, both men and women, placed fourth at the 2014 MAC Indoor and Outdoor Championships.

A distinguished athlete and international competitor, Mitchell competed in the 1996 US Olympic Trials in the 10,000 run. She made her marathon debut at the 1999 Hong Kong Marathon, where she qualified for the 2000 US Olympic Marathon Trials. In 2001, she was invited to join the Fila Discovery USA training program, a program designed to develop American distance runners into elite marathon athletes able to compete with the best in the world. She has been a member of five USA national teams, including the 1993 World University Games and 1998 IAAF World Road Race Championship in Manaus, Brazil. In 2013 she was named to the WNY Running Hall of Fame, and was inducted into The Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame class of 2014.

Mary Wittenberg

As president and CEO of NYRR and race director of the TCS Marathon, Mary Wittenberg is responsible for setting strategy and overseeing the business and operations of NYRR. She will share her knowledge and insight. Pursuing a consistent growth strategy, Wittenberg and her team have elevated NYRR’s prominence and impact as they seek to lead a global running movement by making running more accessible to a broader audience. Wittenberg, the first woman to lead NYRR, and her team have expanded the organization’s commitment across the five boroughs of New York City through youth running events and community health programs—creating an unrivaled urban running model. Today, NYRR supports nearly 200,000 kids and seniors with running and fitness programs each year.

Wittenberg and her team secured a deal to return the to live national television for the first time in almost 20 years. Leaders of the pack in New York and across the United States have gained strength through NYRR’s post-collegiate running groups, and athletes from around the world come together in the — a two-year, six-race series created in 2006 in partnership with the directors of the Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, and Chicago Marathons. Wittenberg and her team have also hosted several national championships, including the 2006 USA Cross Country Championships and the 2008 US Men’s Olympic Trials Marathon.

Prior to joining NYRR, she was a partner in the law firm Hunton & Williams in Richmond, VA, and New York City. Wittenberg is a graduate of Canisius College in Buffalo and holds a law degree from Notre Dame University. She won the 1987 Marine Corps Marathon and competed in the 1988 U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon. She and her husband live a short run from with their two basketball-playing sons.

Bart Yasso

Bart Yasso has been the chief running officer for Rodale’s Runner’s World since 1987. He’s coached thousands of marathon runners through the Runner’s World Challenge. He’s also known as the “Mayor of Running”– the man who seemingly cheers on every runner across every finish line of every marathon. Bart travels nonstop to bring the joy of running to millions of people around the world. Join him here, in Buffalo, as he shares lessons, wisdom, and insights he’s learned from running in more than 1,500 races near and far. Experience firsthand not only how Bart’s training tips and practical advice make us all better runners, but also how his infectious spirit and love of life make us all better people.

Awards and Achievements: • Inducted in to the Running USA Hall of Champions. • Creator of the Yasso 800s, a workout that predicts marathon race pace by running 800 meters 10 times. This technique is extremely popular in Europe and in Italy. • Author of My Life on the Run • Runs marathons worldwide – from Boston and New York to Antarctica and Mount Kilimanjaro, and at least one in all seven continents. One of the relatively few hardcore ultra-endurance runners to complete the Badwater—at 146 miles, this race was considered the toughest run in the U.S. in 1989. • Completed two solo, unsupported bicycle rides across the U.S. in 20 days, averaging 155 miles per day.