As a VFAC member you are able to take advantage of a competitively priced training package which includes twice-weekly supervised group interval workouts and a complete running program tailored to your needs by running coach John Hill.
Whether you are interested in middle to long distance running or multi-sport; an elite competitor, competitive amateur or a recreational runner, John will challenge you with a program that will see improvements in all facets of your running.
Interval training, hill repeats, tempo runs, endurance mileage and rest are combined as part of your training program and are given out along with targeted times and distances. John is able to follow and plot your progress through weekly supervised interval training sessions. Balancing mileage, intensity, and rest ensures the training programs are successful.
Training in a supportive and encouraging environment is one of the club’s principle goals. The club meets twice a week for supervised training sessions:
Thursdays: at 6:30 pm, leaving the parking lot adjacent to Brockton Oval in Stanley Park aiming to start the workout about 7pm in the trails (if you’ve walked or taken transit, you can usually leave your belongings in the trunk of someone’s car). Workouts consist of a warm-up run of around 3 km, followed by intervals in the trails of Stanley Park; or if it’s after sunset, on the Seawall or on the roadway in the park. The distances range from 600m to 4 miles per interval, and vary from perfectly flat, through gently rolling, to hills. Each member is given a target time to complete each repeat, which are usually run as staggered starts with similarly-paced runners. The total distance of the intervals is typically between 5 – 7 km, although this can increase to around 10 km for those training for a marathon.
From mid-January to mid-March, Thursday evening workouts are held at the track at Point Grey High School (see below).
Saturdays: at 9:30 am targeting a 10am workout start, at the Track at Point Grey High School located at 38th Avenue and West Boulevard in Kerrisdale, or Memorial South Park off East 41st St close to Windsor St. We do a group warm up of about 3 miles before starting the workout, which consists of a variety of track repeats e.g. 300, 400, 800 meters. From late-October to mid-March, alternate Saturday workouts are replaced with interval sessions in Stanley Park (see above).
Please see the club calendar to confirm the location of upcoming workouts.
Drop-in is allowed for a small fee ($15). You may contact the club first if you plan to attend one of the scheduled workouts.
Last but certainly not least: after the workout many members go for either coffee/breakfast (Saturdays) or beer/food (Thursdays) at local establishments. As well as a chance to relax and socialize with other club members, it’s also an opportunity to discuss your training with John and to obtain a two-week training plan.
The map below shows where we meet and also where the various workouts start, in case you don’t make it to the warm-up. Just click on an icon for a description.
View VFAC Stanley Park Locations in a larger map
