My name is Paul Bonfanti and this is going to be my first year as a We Rock Coach.  Up until my early forties, my main sport was Ultimate Frisbee, in which I competed at the National Championships 9 times and the World Championships twice.  Back then, I ran a few races, but I always thought that running was a necessary evil to get in better shape, and when I stopped playing competitive ultimate, I stopped running regularly.   And then We Rock came along.  My daughter Nadia started last year, and I started running at some practices, and now I’m a coach, excited to train for my first ever marathon.

We Rock is just an amazing program.  Watching Nadia and her teammates develop from doing 1 mile to 26, and watching her determination and confidence grow has been amazing.   My daughter Sofia ran the trail program, and seeing her announce “I kind of love creek crossings” has been so much fun!  I can’t wait to be a part of encouraging the athletes to show themselves how strong they really are, and that they can do hard things.

My favorite We Rock race:

Definitely the 20 mile We Rock Race.  Last year I was an aid station volunteer and it was so great to see the kids at about the 8 and 12 mile mark seeing them push through the miles, and then to get to the end to see their pride when they finished!   I’m looking forward to doing it myself next spring.