GBRC Weekly Track Workouts
GBRC’s track workout season begins Wednesday March 18th with our new coach Christopher Fredlund! After 27 years our previous coach, Craig Bartlett (above), has handed off the baton to Christopher for the 2026 season. Christopher is co-founder of The Aerobic Group which offers individualized coaching for recreational, intermediate, and competitive runners. Christopher is a dedicated runner with deep ties to the Bellingham community (Squalicum High School) and competed at the Division I level at Loyola Marymount University. Reach out to him for any coaching and running questions or support!
The GBRC weekly track workout is open to all GBRC members! Non-members are welcome to participate in a couple workouts before joining the club. Workouts are open to all ability levels and paces, ages range from 13—70+! These workouts are designed to be progressive and build upon the previous workouts. In general, we start the year with slower-paced (“Tempo” runs = “comfortably hard”) runs of longer duration (up to 22 minutes continuous) and we gradually build to shorter repeats (1-2 minutes) at higher intensity (“Mile” pace or even sub-mile pace = “hard”). We begin with a thorough warm-up and finish with cool-down laps and core-strengthening exercises (“UTA’s”).
The UTA acronym comes from one of the most successful marathon runners of all time – Uta Pippig. The 1990 Berlin Marathon was her first major marathon win which she repeated in 1992 and 1995, as well as three victories in Boston and a win in New York City. Uta founded and supports several charities including Take the Magic Step Foundation, an organization that is committed to helping disadvantaged children and young people.
We have a very dedicated and supportive core group. Those who regularly attend the workouts, see the greatest gains in speed and fitness. We are a long-distance running club, we are not sprinters. However most long-distance runners tend to run at the same pace, day after day. These workouts are an excellent way to practice “switching gears” and to experience the thrill of “lifting” as you increase your speed.
Time: Every Wednesday, 6:00–7:00pm (subject to change) beginning mid-March and ending mid-October. We suggest arriving about 10-15 minutes early to warm up and be ready for the workout.
Location: Varies during the year from Civic Stadium, WWU (summer), Sehome High School, Battersby Field, etc. WWU parking note: After 4:30 there is free parking in parking area ‘C’ across the street from the Wade King Student Recreation Center. Do not park in lots immediately adjacent to the track!
Workout: Every Tuesday, before the Wednesday night workout, a group email is sent to all GBRC Track Workout members indicating time, location and description of the workout. Again, time and location varies, so remember to always check!
