From the Gazelles...

Words about Gilbert

Gilbert is a wonderful example of someone who has taken a near death experience and turned it into a lifelong mission. He has been my friend and coach for about three years now. He has taught me a lot about not taking life for granted and how to use my unique talents to the best of my ability.

I am very proud of Gilbert and what he has created in the Austin community. I was one of three founding members of "the Gazelles" and when I look at the network of runners that has been created to date, I am amazed. It takes a lot of commitment and hard work to be a Gazelle - often times I've wondered why I continue to work so hard. Well, it's because of who Gilbert is, how inspiring he is to each of his "students" and the circle of friendship that is created within the running group. The magic is Gilbert though - his kick butt attitude, his animal analogies and encouraging spirit - that is what brings us all together!

I hope Gilbert one day achieves his Olympic dreams and that I will be at the sidelines supporting him in the same way he has supported me as an athelete and friend.

Love ya Gilbert and thanks for your friendship.

Anjanette Gonzales
1-13-08

Enjoying the journey

Early in 2004, one of my friends told me I should try Gilbert's Gazelles training group. At the time, I hadn't met Gilbert, but I had seen him lots of times. He would be flying by on the trail in the afternoons or cruising toward the finish line at the races while the rest of us were still on the way out. I figured there was no way I'd be able to hang with _that_ group. After a couple months of hearing about it, though, I agreed to give it a try.

I didn't know what to expect. For the first several months, I ran way too fast trying to somehow prove I deserved to be there. Gilbert kept telling me to slow down and work on my form. I didn't know any better and thought I could fake it. Gilbert just wants everyone to stay healthy and be happy running. I wish I'd learned to listen to these things sooner than I did.

When I started out, I had a lot of things I could improve. I was about 30 pounds heavier than I am now. I wore the wrong clothes when I ran. I ate all the wrong foods. I wore the wrong kinds of shoes and socks. I avoided the gym. I ran through pain thinking it would go away. I ran all my runs as fast as I could cover the distance. It didn't make any sense to me how an easy recovery run could do more good than a rest day. Around that time, I had to take a walking break to make it around the seven-mile loop at Town Lake.

Once I started really taking Gilbert's advice, I've stayed healthy, my speed has improved by leaps and bounds, and I've been enjoying it more and more each day. I never had any idea how much I would enjoy this once I got the hang of it. I originally just wanted to get in shape. When I finally learned to listen to my body, use the right amount of effort on the workouts, recover properly, and do all my homework, I started getting better and seeing real results. Now I can't wait to wake up early in the morning to go to the workouts.

Gilbert is an inspiration. Knowing what he's experienced in life and seeing him show up every morning wearing a big grin on his face reminds me just how lucky I am to be able to go out there and have fun. Some running days are better than others, but Gilbert's taught me to enjoy them all.

Now when I see new people in the group and hear them asking if they can improve I know the answer is yes. I've lost a lot of weight. I've taken more than an hour off my marathon time. I've taken six minutes off my four-mile time trial time. I have so much more energy now throughout the day. I'm still getting stronger and faster, and I'm still learning new things. There is work involved, of course, but we're all here to support each other. We don't all run the same speed, but every person out there is working just as hard as the next. I hope I can inspire others to take some of those same steps I did.

In this group, I've met some wonderful people and had some great experiences. Gilbert has taught me to run in a way that is easy on my body, and he's given me the skills and confidence to go out and race to new personal bests. Most of all, though, I've learned to enjoy every minute of it and have a good time along the way.

Alex Pasadyn
11-1-07

Learning so much

I can not believe a year has already gone by since starting with Gilbert’s Gazelles. I started “running” as part of my martial arts training a year before joining Gilbert’s Gazelles. I really began to enjoy running but was always coming up with some sort of injury from running. I looked on the Run Tex web site at the different running coaches. I liked the web site that focused on core strengthening and preventing running injuries.

My first class was in the middle of December of 2005. When class began that morning it was dark and cold outside. I was thinking to myself if this was something I really wanted to do. It was not long into the class that I realized I had a lot to learn and what I was doing was all wrong. I thought running was toe to heel and I shuffled my feet along hardly raising my knees. I was challenged both physically and mentally in a way I had never experienced before. I was intimidated by the other people in class because they had been students of Gilbert’s in the past.

I had a lot going through my mind after the first few classes. I decided I had committed to this training group and I needed time before I saw improvement in myself. There were some classes on Meridian that the beginner group and Marathon/Half Marathon group trained together. I was amazed at the strength and speed of all the people around me. I decided to focus on myself and do the best I could each class. I was here for myself and not to compare myself to other people.

It was maybe the second week of class the Gilbert suggested weight training as part of becoming a better runner. I felt I did not have time for this and did not think it was that important. Before starting with Gilbert I had problems with Plantar Fascitis, IT Band problems and was always sore. I also had very tight hamstrings and did not even know this. As time went on I started to develop IT problems again. Gilbert stressed again how important the weight training would be in preventing injuries and also stressed I needed to stretch more and stretch properly.

I finally went to the gym along with a few other runners and Gilbert went through the different types of training I needed to do and how to do these. I had decided to weight train at least three times a week. I was sore when I went to the gym the first time. I warmed up by running on the treadmill for two miles. I remember how sore I was from class when I went in the gym that day and was really dreading doing any weight training. I was and still am amazed at how the weight training actually helps relieve soreness. I had one leg a lot weaker than the other leg and did not realize this until doing my weight training. I now feel a lot more balanced when I run.

After this I had decided to stay with Gilbert’s Gazelles for at least a year. I had so much to learn and so much to correct I knew this would take time. After a few months in the beginner group Gilbert had talked to me about moving into the Marathon/Half Marathon group. I had seen these people train. The Marathon/Half Marathon people scared me. I never dreamed of going further than 3 miles at a time and I still could not run all the way to the top of Wilke. I have nothing but respect and admiration for the Marathon/Half Marathon training group.

Finally, a few months ago I decided to move into the Marathon/Half Marathon group. Again I am being challenged like I had never been in my life. I have actually made it through each class. Everyone has been so helpful and encouraging. I learned that the look they had when I would watch them train is a look of determination and focus. I feel very lucky to be in a group with such special people.

I still shake my head at thinking I can actually go 7 miles, do strides after those 7 miles, and get to work before 7:30am. I really enjoy the long runs on Saturday morning. It feels so good to leave Run Tex with a group of people and be able to run 14 miles. I never dreamed of this. It is so neat when we are all coming back down Lake Austin Blvd back to Run Tex and seeing the other running groups just leaving for their runs.

I am really excited about being a second year student with Gilbert. I actually made it for one year and am stronger than I ever have been in my life. I have signed up to run my first half marathon and am actually looking forward to running in my first marathon. Gilbert’s Gazelles has given me what I wanted and more than I could have ever imagined. I actually look forward to running and enjoy it more than I ever thought I would. I have actually gotten used to waking up early to run. I know running helps me get through my difficult days of work. I have even lost more weight without trying since being in the Marathon/Half Marathon group. I feel Gilbert’s Gazelles has also helped me grow stronger mentally.

I am very grateful to Gilbert and all my fellow Gazelles for all their help and encouragement. I could never put into words how much Gilbert’s Gazelles has helped me with my running and other areas of my life.

Belinda Hornyiak
1-7-07

Woke up before the alarm......

....for the first work out. I was so nervous driving to the 6:00am meeting at RunTex. A friend had talked me into joining the Gazelles "to get faster". I could not believe I had actually registered & got up at that ungodly early hour to go run! But I had paid my money & I was going to get my money's worth! I did. The first work out was the infamous "Circuit Training" at Austin High School Track. I was so proud that I had completed the work out! It was like running a PR! I loved it. It is the difference that sets the Gazelles apart from other training groups in Austin & I had trained with several. That was 4 years ago. I still train with the Gazelles. I have never met a more caring, positive & gracious person than Gilbert Tuhabonye. Gilbert says "once a Gazelle, always a Gazelle." Believe it!

Kenny Hill
7-16-06

Becoming a one hundred and eighty pound Gazelle.

When I first heard of Gilbert, it was through a co-worker who had a son that was getting some personal training from Gilbert. The kid wanted to get his speed up so that he could make the football team. This is Texas after all. I was well on my way to being an avid runner. I was always asking her about her son’s sessions, hoping that I could gleam some piece of magical running advice. Then I started talking with another co-worker who has been a race director for one of the local races for several years. He told me that Gilbert also has a training group and suggested I should give it a try. At first I thought that there was “no way”. I had run enough races to know that there are some pretty fast folks in this town, and I might be able to run for “Gilbert’s Goats”, but not for “Gilbert’s Gazelles”. One of my favorite quotes that I have heard while running in the group is that “running with the Gazelles is like altitude training”. Since I had never had any formal run training I figured I would give it a try. After I met Gilbert, I realized that I had seen him in a race before. There was an out and back and this guy “who was flying” was giving everyone five as they ran by. I remember this big-ole smile that was on his face and I gave him five as well. I did not even know him at that point.

Well, after being in the group for over a year it is safe to say that I am now hooked on the class. Running has turned into my source of inner cleansing. Gilbert’s class turns that inner cleansing into a power wash, and there are definitely times when I need that! I should mention that I am the father of triplets, because to not mention it would not serve to describe who I am (and now you know that I am not kidding when I say that I sometimes need a power-wash).

There are so many things I have learned from Gilbert. I also have a lot of respect for the man. He could be training exclusively elite runners. However he does not do that, his class (and now classes) are open to everyone. I have seen Gilbert give just as much time and attention to the slowest person in the group as he does the fastest.

When I first started the group, I have to admit I was all concerned about how he could make me faster. Now I enjoy the group for many aspects, including making myself faster, (because it is fun to run fast). I enjoy the fact that I work harder in Gilbert’s group than I would on my own. I enjoy the fact that I get to watch the city wake up in the morning. I enjoy the camaraderie of my fellow Gazelles, the whole crazy eclectic bunch. I enjoy running with folks in little packs of energy. I love the feeling of a dozen or so feet pounding the ground. I must admit I love Wilke, and Mt. Bonnell, (very big local hills that people train on) I realize this makes me somewhat strange but it is true. I like finding out that I can go farther and faster than I ever thought I could. I enjoy learning from this man who is fun to listen to, and sometimes says the strangest things. He has a way of making a hard workout seem easy / almost entertaining. I like looking into his eyes and realizing that this world is bigger than the 5-mile loop.

Results: Training with the Gazelles will definitely produce results. I have achieved a one-hour savings on my Motorola marathon time. (2003 - 4:47 | 2004 - 3:54) The kid that I mentioned in the beginning of this testimonial just recently achieved “Sophomore Athletic Scholar of the year” in his high school. He has started winning events in his track meets. Below is a quote from mom. “He (Gilbert) gave him the attitude that he could do it. Before that, he was always finishing in the middle. Never close to first.”

Jeff Sheffield
12-1-05

On Gilbert's Team

“Oh, you don’t want to join that group, they train way too fast for you. I heard they were doing Wilke hill repeats a week after Motorola last year.”

I first heard about Gilbert and the gazelles a week after I came to Austin. This guy was supposed to only work with elite athletes and the top runners in town. If you weren’t in top shape, there was no way you could keep up. There was no way I could jump into that group.

A year later, I chuckle when I think of the reputation that Gilbert has in town. On one hand, he is revered as an inspiration and a role model and on the other he is feared as a running coach. Let me set the record straight on that second point. After a year being coached by Gilbert, I have never heard him tell me to go faster on the track; I have never heard him tell me to pound out a hard workout the day after a race; I have never heard him tell anyone to run through an injury.

Have I done these things? Of course I have, I’m a runner. But my coach always disapproves. In fact, the common element of craziness in the gazelles are the gazelles themselves. We love to run, and we tend to have short term memory loss when Gilbert tells us to run our 400’s slower or to take a day off after a long run. We usually pay for this with sore muscles or a strained hamstring. Luckily we have a stretching session on Saturday mornings. If that doesn’t work, we have a number of sports medicine folks and a smattering of sports massage therapists in the group, to ease the aches and pains.

Here is what I know about my friend Gilbert and our crazy Gazelles. We meet three or four times a week and sweat together. We all run to improve our strength and our form, and we all finish the workouts. I have been on the track, the trail, and the roads with all levels of runners who work with Gilbert. He seems to have a running program for every type of runner, and there are usually two or three different workouts per class session for runners training for different distances. As far as the man goes, that’s a no-brainer. There isn’t anyone I’d rather have on my team than Gilbert.

Steve Fletcher
11-15-05