We have a team of dedicated coaches who are committed to helping you achieve your fitness goals.
Coach Gael
Gael Henville resides in Boston, is a marathoner and running coach. She is a 50-year-old mum of one and has been an athlete for 35 years. She began running track at 8 and converted to distance running 28 years ago to lose the last of her pregnancy weight. She runs 10-12 races annually; locally and in several states. To date, she has raced 108 events from 5Ks to marathons; She has also participated in a half-Ironman relay. In 2018, she completed her most challenging race, the Extra-Terrestrial Midnight Half-Marathon in Rachel, Nevada. It required racing in a different time zone, in Area 51, at high elevation with 6 miles up, and the remainder of the course down in pitch black open roads. She shares this with you so that you know that “whatever you desire, can be accomplished. All it takes is the courage to start, the strength to endure and the resolve to finish. Never quite on your dreams!”
Gael has been the head coach for several running groups, including a project with Saucony. She is now the head coach for the esteemed Road to Wellness 5K race in Boston. Here is recent press coverage highlighting her contribution to our race. Our running clinics are offered during the months of June-August and all sessions are free. Our four diverse coaches are capable of leading the front of the pack to the back.
“My objective when I present on a lifetime of fitness is not to create another me, but to enable one’s optimal fitness at their level. To demonstrate incrementally, that you can become what you believe; to reveal your very best awesomeness. Note that my training plans are comprised of various forms of exercises as running alone does not lead to and maintain weight loss. I endorse strength training, particularly strength and agility HIIT, indoor cycling, Yoga, Pilates and so on. No matter your appearance, pace, gait, attire – I always have had a great admiration for those who embodied the courage to start, the strength to continue and the resolve to finish. It is now your turn. Dare mighty things for yourself and live out Bold!” Coach G.
Coach Yvel
Yvel Joseph, a lifelong athlete and student of life, exhibits his passion for health and fitness every day. A Brooklyn native, Yvel’s passion for fitness stems from being a track student/athlete in high school at Brooklyn Tech as the NY state champion in the 800M and placing 4th at the USA HS National Track & Field Championships. He was recruited to run at Northeastern University, where he became a champion in mid-distance sprints (500M, 800M, 1000M). A Certified Fitness and Life Coach, Black Belt Martial Artist, and USA Track & Field Level 1 Coach, Yvel has been promoting health through fitness in the community for years. In 2013, he started the Performance Fitness Scholarship 5K with his fraternity, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., which raised funds for student-athletes’ college tuition. A year later in 2014, he won the Masters USA Track & Field Championship in the indoor 800M run.
Starting in April 2018, “Coach Yvel or Coach Jo,” as he is referred to within the community, began instructing a Tuesday morning program for the men residing in the Askia Academy. The Wellness program has expanded to the John Flowers House and My Sister’s House, three of the Dimock Center’s on-campus residential recovery homes. Through boot camp exercises, physical fitness challenges and basketball, Yvel has built a friendship with these men and women on their road to recovery and wellness, providing them with the necessary tools to live a healthier and productive lifestyle.
As one of the coaches for the Road to Wellness 5K Trainings, Yvel’s passion towards fitness and wellness stems from his question: “How do I move people? And how do I help people achieve their goals?” Yvel believes that having goals and pursuing your goals can be seen as a means of living life. “Inspire! Invigorate! Can Do!, as opposed to can’t.” These are just some of the ideals Yvel imparts as a life coach and we are incredibly grateful to have him as one of our community leaders. His life’s mantra: LOOK ALIVE ALWAYS!!!
Coach Ivy
Ivy Taylor started her run journey with the intention of combatting diabetes and high blood pressure so she headed to Franklin Park and began the Couch to 5K program. 12 weeks later, she ran her first 5K and was medication-free.
Since 2011, Ivy has run races in her hometown of Boston, MA and has traveled to multiple states to participate in charitable races. She has successfully utilized the Jeff Galloway Run, Walk, Run Method to complete numerous 5K’s, 10K’s, and a ½ marathon in high-altitudes, on hilly terrain, in pouring rain and sweltering heat.
Ivy is a member of Black Girls Run! Boston. Black Girls Run! is a national organization whose mission is to encourage ALL (especially African-American women) to make fitness and healthy living a priority. As a member of this running community (family), Ivy has been blessed with women who encourage her to run her race at her pace and have fun and maintain a chronic disease-free lifestyle.
Coach Trevor
Trevor A. Garrick, CPT, C.S.C.S., Certified Health Coach is an experienced Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist through National Strength and Conditioning and a Certified Personal Trainer and Certified Health Coach through the American Council on Exercise. Trevor boasts having over 20 years training experience with an impressive service range. Trevor’s clientele spans from beginners and intermediate Trainees entering the fitness realm to boot-camp groups and elite athletes competing on National and International levels. As a Trainer, Trevor understands the biomechanics for achieving excellence through the provision of personalized attention and customized fitness programs. Trevor has worked with numerous collegiate and post collegiate athletes providing specialized training in strength and conditioning; as well as, speed, quickness, and agility training across a multitude of sport specific programs. Additionally, Trevor is the Co-Principal Owner of Performance Fitness and Training, LLC. As a former Jamaican Olympic hopeful, New England and Greater Boston Track & Field Champion athlete at Boston University. Trevor earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration.
Coach Adam
Adam Marks has been in the health and wellness industry for over 12 years, with vast experience in personal and group training, team and individual coaching, wellness and nutrition guidance, and gym management. A graduate of Boston University’s School of Communications, Adam is also a Master Trainer with the National Academy of Sports Medicine and is pursuing an M.S. in Health and Wellness Education from the American College of Education. In addition to personal training and coaching, Adam serves as a Community Coordinator and Advisory Board Member for Healthy Kids Running Series; co-chair for The Curley School Health and Wellness Committee; a board member for The Friends of Kelly Rink in Jamaica Plain; and a part-time blogger for the American College of Education.
As an aside, Adam is an avid reader and enjoys highlighting and taking notes on all of the books that he reads. Feel free to follow him on Medium, where he gives quick book reviews and shares his notes – many of which are directly related to health, wellness, stress relief, breathing, and exercise in general.
Adam is very much looking forward to working with all of you this summer to help you achieve your goals and push you to be the very best that you can be as we work towards the 5K in September.