Arete Endurance is our mission to help endurance athletes be all that they can be.

Arete ( aa r eh t EE ) is a Greek Word that means excellence. It covers athleticism but also means reaching your highest potential of mind, body, and soul. To be all that you can be with what you’ve been given. This name was chosen because it represents my coaching philosophy that high performance is a balance of the three. After years of coaching endurance athletes from the just off the couch to an athlete dreaming of reaching the Olympics, my goal is the same; to help you reach your highest potential knowing that it takes much more than a training program.

About Me (Greg Penner)


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I have been involved in endurance sports for most of my life as a competitor, race director, and coach. What started as a boy racing the school bus home grew into a young man chasing mountain bike cross country racing across North America. From there that turned into Marathon running and Triathlon. Driven to see how far I could go in each sport has given me the opportunity to compete in some of the most prestige’s events in the World. Highlights Include:

  • Cross Country Mountain Biking: Achieved World Cup Status as a Pro/Elite
  • Running: Several podiums at MB Marathon (1:13 1/2 Marathon PB, 2:36 Marathon PB), Run in Boston, NYC, and Chicago Marathons, 50KM Road PB 3:20, 100KM Gravel PB 8:11
  • Triathlon: Ironman Hawaii World Championship, 70.3 Ironman World Championship
  • Ultras: Canadian Death Race (125KM Run), 100KM, R2R2R2R,  597KM in 24 Hours on Bike, Several “Shorter” Ultra’s, Mantario FKT)

For the past 14 years have been co-race director of Let’s Run Steinbach, an event that aims to inspire people to live active lifestyles. 10 years ago. I started helping people for this race by Launching the “I Can Do 5” Training Group. With its growth I began to coach age group runners and triathletes of all abilities. For the past 4 years have been coaching with Triathlon Manitoba to help develop our top Junior athletes. (Nominated for Coach of the year in 2017). Also have created a training program for kids to prepare them to run a 2KM event at Let’s Run Steinbach, a program that has had a lot of success within schools and families.

I coach because I love to use my experiences and passion to help you reach your goals. I know what it is like to juggle family, work, and a busy schedule yet still reach for your very best in sports. I coach because I know the transformation that happens when someone aims to give their very best and believe I can help with that pursuit. The word Arete perfectly describes my belief, that true success is achieved by working on body, mind, and spirit. Whatever your goals are I create realistic, challenging, and flexible training plans based on a lifetime of experience and knowledge.

I’m still very involved as an athlete and believe a coach should lead by example and experience.

I am married to Tanya and have one son Isaiah.

I use TrainingPeaks (Certified Level 2 Coach)

https://www.trainingpeaks.com/coach/areteendurance

Certifications:

Swim: Swim 101 – Trained

Cycling: Ready to Race!, NCCP Technical Mountain Bike I, II

Other Courses: MED, RIS Leaders, Developing Athletic Abilities, Basic Mental Skills

Email at greg@areteendurance.com

About Me (Gord Funk) 

My origin story is the opposite of Greg’s. I never considered myself an athlete growing up, and only dabbled in running throughout college and the early years of family life. For me, running was a simple post work 7km stress reliever. Fast-forward to today, where Ultras are common, and the idea of running a Boston-qualifying time is passe, clearly something has changed.

Looking back, my evolution as a runner has been a reflection of those around me. In the early days, it was a friend at Toastmasters who encouraged me that if I could run a 1/2 marathon, I could run a full marathon. And from there, into the trails, and so on. Moving back to Canada in 2017, I discovered Arete and the track sessions. This engagement led to a reframe of my understanding of what training was, and how running could be a communal experience. Through working together with Greg, 2021 was a year of PB in every distance from 5km to 50 miles, and this a the young age of 47!

My long-term passion has been working with people and seeing them break out of self-imposed paradigms that no longer serve them. I naturally see the big picture, and my IT training has honed the ability to dive down into the details while remaining aware of the overall context. As well, I have a natural curiosity about why things are they way they are, and a robust enthusiasm for life.

Through working with Greg, I’ve lived the results of his systems and know them to work. I love working with motivated people who know there’s more for them – more not just in terms of PRs, but in the whole of life. While this coaching focuses on the physical, the interplay with the complexities of life allows a broader and nuanced conversation to develop, one that impacts more than just the training programme.

While my speediest days are most likely behind me, I love staying fit enough so that our annual adventures (most recently R2R2R) can be enjoyed, not just endured. So I look forward to sharing the sweat and grit of the road and trail with everyone.

Testimonials

I met Greg in 2016 through the local running community.  I asked him to coach me for a fall marathon in 2017 and again in the spring 2018.  It’s hard to find someone with the amount of passion and dedication to the sport both personally and with helping others reach their goals.  I loved the various types of workouts  to keep my body healthy, fit and race day ready.  Our daily communication really helped me knowing where I stood throughout my training.  I really valued his feedback.  Greg knew what to say either by personal experiences or his knowledge.  His inspiration and motivation has me always wanting to better myself physically and as a person.  Greg has me believing in myself in reaching goals I once thought impossible and too far outside my comfort zone. Greg has changed me as a person.  I don’t only look at Greg as a coach but also as a good friend of mine.


I am a couch potato 6 years ago and had issues with health… blood pressure and cholesterol. My family decided to  start changing our lifestyle from choice of food to exercise. We started participating running in races and did a substantial number of races from a 5k, 10k, Half and Full Marathon.

Until one day, we met Greg Penner in one of the races and felt the need to level up our passion in running. He started offering structured training for me and my household in terms of consistency, use of tools and gadgets and knowing our goals and aspirations. Injuries were minimal during the training as well, because of constant communication with him. He became a part of our daily lives and became a family friend.

For the last two years he was my coach in all my IronMan events and also my son’s coach. We like his style of coaching and indeed very humbling to be part of his crowd.


I’ve never been fond of anything related to endurance, I grew up a rather chunky kid who dreaded the 2 lap warm up around the football field before football practice and who always struggled at 12 minute runs in junior high.

To put it simply I’m not your typical runner or triathlete, coming from a weightlifting background most efforts were 10 seconds max.

A couple years down the road through many injuries from weightlifting, I decided to take up running then slowly… biking and swimming.

I have come this far with the help of Greg Penner, he has been an inspiration and great teacher. Under him I ran my first ever full marathon and my first 70.3 race. The most important lesson I’ve learned is that sport should always fit into your lifestyle it shouldn’t distract you from important things in life whether that is work, school or raising a family.

Through Arete you learn to strive for greatness everyday, with Greg’s flexible and effective training regime no feat is impossible!


I’m a working 40 something wife, daughter and mom with 2 young boys. Greg and I have worked together for 8 months. He helped me go from sprint triathlons to a strong finish at an Ironman 70.3. 

Greg’s daily support and personal experiences set his coaching apart. He ensures you not only develop physically but also mentally when the training gets tough.

The Arete group is so very supportive and encouraging. Watching everyone grow and achieve is inspiring. While they push you, they aren’t competitors they are friends.


In the beginning of January 2016 I made the decision to hire a running coach as part of a personal goal to try to achieve a better running time and style. Greg Penner had been recommended to me by a local sports therapy clinic and I jumped at the opportunity. To say I thought I knew a lot about the dynamics of running at this point would be an understatement; I was under the impression for a long time that any formal training plan I found in a magazine would suffice. I tended to run by feel on any given day without a specific goal. I knew I wasn’t improving in regards to speed or endurance so I had come to the conclusion that that was just as far as my body could go. Thanks to Greg and his expertise, I couldn’t be more wrong.


Greg is one of the most impressive runners I know. These last 7 months that I have spent training with him have been unforgettable. His knowledge and personal experience make him an excellent choice for a coach. One of my favourite things that Greg has shown me is his ability to guide and train me to improve in a way best suited to my running style; he has helped build my confidence to a new level I never could have imagined.

He has assisted me to push my limits and train far beyond what I thought I was capable of. I am in the best running shape of my life and I have PR’d multiple times running races since I have had the guidance and encouragement from Greg.


He monitors and tracks my times online through my Garmin and sets new parameters for me to achieve and fairly critiques areas where I can improve by being more in tune with my body, to prevent more serious injuries as well as monitoring my speed vs. heart rate etc. My results and increased endurance has greatly improved in just a matter of months, thanks to Greg. I would highly recommend any runner, even if you are just starting out or at a more advanced fitness stage to look into hiring Greg as your personal coach. It has been well worth my time and effort!