Coaches
Mark Batres - Head Coach
I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to be part of the Claremont Cross Country family. I have a deep passion for running and love sharing the knowledge and expertise I’ve gained in my 30 year running career.
I started racing at the age of 8 years old, and am still racing competitively today. In high school, I competed for Don Bosco Tech and helped lead our team to a CIF Div III Cross Country State Championship in 1999. I continued my running career at Cal Poly Pomona where I was a five time NCAA Div II All-American. After college, I went on to race professionally and set personal records of 2:19 in the marathon and 1:05 in the half marathon. Later in my racing career, I transitioned to obstacle course racing and ultra running, which continue to pique my interest.
Throughout college, I began my ongoing quest to learn the science of endurance training- I've studied, and continue to study the philosophies of the most effective coaches of our time to broaden my understanding and ability to build winning programs. I began coaching in 2008, as Head Cross Country coach for Nogales High School, stepping away in 2012 after my son Mark was born. I started a remote coaching business, MGB Racing, where my wife Natalie and I have helped hundreds of athletes around the world reach their athletic goals. I also coach the local youth running program, Claremont Nighthawks. I have the joy of coaching my two boys, Mark and Nico. They are incredible runners and it brings me tremendous joy to share this gift with them and the community.
Natalie Miano - Assistant Coach
Brody Henderson - Assistant Coach
Hello everyone! My name is Brody Henderson, and I recently joined the Claremont Cross Country Team as the Assitant Coach. From a young age, I admired sports and grew up running with all the local programs, from Coach Snoopy's team to El Roble and later with Claremont High School; and I was Captain my senior year. After high school, I ran my first year at Mount Sac Antonio College, and recently have just transitioned into running for fun; and have been focusing my admiration for sports into obtaining my doctorate in Physical Therapy.
As a former runner on the Claremont High team, I am elated to have the opportunity to support fellow runners in discovering their spark for running while challenging themselves to grow in the sport and have fun while doing it. I am eager to begin and can't wait to see what these future athletes accomplish; Go Pack!