Meet the Team

Thom founded Marathon Tours & Travel in 1979 and has been the front-runner in destination marathon travel ever since. His previous professional experience with British Airways, Air Canada and a tour wholesaler enabled Thom to start a career that combined his knowledge of the travel business with his passions for running and adventure.

Thom has also been featured in Runner’s World, the front page of The Wall Street Journal, on the cover of Travel Agent magazine, and named  the top specialist in running-related travel nine times by Condé Nast Traveler magazine. Thom personally leads groups to marathons in London, Madagascar, France’s Bordeaux region and more including Antarctica where he is the race director and expedition leader for the Antarctica Marathon® and Half-Marathon.

A former president of the Greater Boston Track Club, Thom has run 62 marathons around the world with a personal best of 2:30:45. An avid golfer, he holds a 6 handicap and admits that he is hopelessly addicted.

Jeff first found Marathon Tours & Travel as a client while pursuing his interest for international adventure travel. He is respected for being an innovative corporate and philanthropic leader with a passion for helping clients accomplish their goals.

Prior to joining Marathon Tours & Travel, Jeff enjoyed a 28 year career in various client centric leadership roles at Morgan Stanley. Jeff is a middle of the pack runner who enjoys a good challenge – like earning the Abbott World Marathon Major Six Star Medal twice and becoming a Seven Continents Club Finisher at the 2019 Cape Town Marathon

In addition to completing 44 marathons, Jeff is also an avid climber, skier and paddler. Jeff is a proud member of the Oceanites Board of Directors, President of T.O.U.R.S. (Tour Operators United for Runners), a Founding Board Member and Past President of the Make A Wish Foundation in North Texas, and recently concluded ten years of service on the National Board of Back on My Feet.

Nicole joined us in 2011 with eight years of professional experience in international and domestic group travel and flight management. From middle school age, she has had the travel bug and loved being on the road and exploring new places.

With a year abroad and sometimes intentionally getting lost on a quaint cobblestone pathway in Belgium or Germany, it was the true history and beauty that struck a chord within her that keeps her travel passion still alive. Nicole currently manages marathon trips to Berlin, Rome, Reykjavik and Tokyo and also serves as Administration Manager.

Samantha White joins as the team’s Vice President of Operations, a new senior leadership team role based in the Boston, US office. Samantha has more than 15 years’ experience in the active adventure travel space, previously as Managing Director of the student travel brands StudentCity, Real Gap, and Trek America and most recently as North America Director for the adventure travel experts Explore Worldwide. In her spare time, she loves exploring new places, and enjoys walking, running, swimming and tennis.

With more than twenty years of experience in travel logistics, conference planning, and marketing it has been a dream to blend her passion of running and travel with her career. Karen has completed 30 marathons, including Boston (2011, 2022, 2023), one ultra-marathon, and many half marathons and local races. She earned her Abbott Six Star Finisher Medal in London (April 2023).

Karen is certified as a running coach with Road Runners Club of America, a member of USATF and Marathon Maniacs, is a Certified Meeting Professional (CMP), earned her MS in Marketing Communications from the University of Kansas and BS in Economics/Finance from Bentley University. In addition to working on Marathon Tours & Travel marketing efforts, Karen manages our programs to Bermuda, Israel, Kenya, the Italy Coast to Coast Relay, Madagascar, Scotland, Athens and supports our U.S. packages to Big Sur and Boston. She is always looking forward to the next adventure!

Brendan is Destination Sport Experiences’ Managing Director in the UK.

Brendan graduated from the University College of North Wales with a degree in Banking and Finance and has been working in the travel industry since the mid-1990s. Brendan helped found Destination Sport Experiences in 2021 and has overseen Marathon Tours & Travel, Sportive Breaks and Tri Travel join the company since its foundation.

Brendan is a keen athlete and during his time as Managing Director has also run in the New York City and London Marathons, as well as cycling in many locations around the world. He recalls with fondness the start of the 2019 NYC Marathon as “great as I managed to slip into the tail end of wave 1, so virtually had the Verrazano Bridge to myself going across it, although I was eventually gobbled up by the Nike shod Wave 2 runners in Brooklyn a few miles later!”

In his spare time, Brendan loves cycling, both riding and following the professional scene. He has previously competed for Great Britain at Mountain Bike Orienteering when he was younger, which he describes as “a lot of fun!”

Allyson joined the Marathon Tours team over five years ago after enjoying a successful start to her career in the hotel industry. As a Group Sales Manager at The Langham, Boston, Allyson learned about Marathon Tours and their role with the Boston Marathon. Allyson now manages our hotel partnerships around the world by delivering exceptional value and service related to the lodging we offer our clients. While assisting with hotels for many of our international trips, Allyson also manages Boston, Chicago, New York, and our Sydney hotel program.

During her time at Endicott College, Allyson studied abroad in Florence, Italy and fell in love with travel and Italian cooking. She travels as often as she can with her family, and enjoys hiking, cooking, and being active outside.

Ann joined the Marathon Tours & Travel team after spending five years working as Group Sales Manager for a domestic tour operator specializing in train travel. She has now been a member of the team for eight years and hopes to continue to expand her knowledge of the world. Since her seventh grade world geography class, she has had an interest in learning about all the world has to offer.

During her time majoring in geography at the University of New Hampshire, her love of travel really kicked into high gear after spending a semester abroad in Australia. Let’s just say it was love at first flight! She has completed several half-marathons, 10K and 5K’s around the globe and in her local community.

Ann currently manages trips to Bhutan, Dragon Challenge, Comrades Ultra Marathon, Rio de Janeiro, Big Five, the Australian Outback, Sydney, Cape Town, Dublin and Patagonia in addition to being an Oceania Cruise Line Specialist.

Born and raised in Canada, Marcie discovered the magic of road cycling in grade six after earning a 10-speed bike selling oranges for her school fundraiser. Although active in soccer, basketball and rowing during her school years, she admits that physical activity took a backseat to a career in design.

While raising her kids in New England, she rekindled her love of cycling in 2016 and, as a personal challenge, added running and swimming in 2018 to compete in her first 70.3 Triathlon in Prague, CZ to celebrate her 50th birthday. Since then, she has completed two full and five half distance triathlons; and a number of gravel and CX races. Her love of travel and cycling has spurred her to ride her bike more than 24,000 miles in the last six years including multi-day adventures across Czech Republic and three different states. She has circumvented Lake Champlain and conquered mountains in Austria, Canada and the US on two wheels.

Though competitive in nature and fueled by the excitement of a new venue, Marcie found that her greatest joy in racing Triathlon came from the challenge of planning for the unexpected and getting to know people along the course, hearing their stories and motivations and finding out their “WHY”.

A self-admitted “Jack of all trades”, Marcie comes to MTT with work experiences as both a bicycle mechanic and a producer of custom cycling endurance apparel. Marcie currently manages running packages to Big Five, Petra, Iceland Volcano, Polar Circle, Midnight Marathon, Lost City, First Light, Queenstown, Great Wall, and our very own Patagonia Running Festival. She is excited be a part of your journey and to help you to achieve your “WHY”.

Christine has been working in the health and fitness industry for more than 25 years. Christine is a Registered Massage Therapist, Multisport coach, rehabilitation and personal trainer and a Registered Clinical Counsellor. She operates her own coaching and counselling business and works part-time with the Health Authority in BC. Most recently Christine works with athletes as a Mental Performance coach helping athletes with the mental side of sport to enhance performance.

Christine has worked as a Multisport coach since 2007. She has trained athletes of all levels in long distance swimming, marathons, ultra runs, sprint, Olympic and lronman triathlons. Christine has completed 10 Ironman races, qualified for the World Championships in Kona, has run multiple ultramarathons, ultra swims, and was the first woman at Ultraman 520 in 2019. Christine also does contract working as an Adventure Concierge, driving zodiacs in Antarctica and on the east coast. Christine has been working with MTT as a trip specialist since 2012 and recently joined the MTT Team fulltime!

MaryKate joined the Marathon Tours & Travel team after receiving her B.A. in Sport Leadership & Administration from UMass Boston. Prior to completing her degree, MaryKate spent five years as a stewardess in the private yachting industry where she developed strong skills in customer service, travel logistics, and cultural immersion while exploring the world on the high seas. These remarkable years fueled her passion for travel and led her to a new hobby: marathon running. MaryKate has completed multiple marathons including Boston (2022) and Chicago (2023) as well as a variety of ultramarathons including the Comrades Marathon (Back to Back finisher 2018-2019). She also enjoys playing tennis, skiing, swimming, and searching for the best cup of coffee in town. She is excited to bring the knowledge she has gained from these experiences to the team where she will assist in cultivating many unforgettable trips.

Haley joined the Marathon Tours & Travel team after working multiple years in the Hospitality and Tourism Management industry. She lives every day with a great sense of adventure, passion, and curiosity – which travel brings to life. After living in England for a year and exploring as many countries as possible, a love of trip planning emerged. She now hopes to help as many people as possible experience the world. When she isn’t traveling she can be found running, photographing, designing and playing volleyball. Haley manages trips to Marrakech, New York (United Half), London, Cape Town, and Havana.

A graduate from Northeastern University with a degree in Sports Leadership, Joyce joined Marathon Tours & Travel in a supportive role as an administrative assistant. She has always been passionate about travelling and sports and is more than thrilled to create new adventures with the team while helping clients create lasting memories! To her, there is nothing better than being able to combine her passion with profession. With experience traveling to multiple countries and studying abroad in Europe, she wants everyone to have the opportunity to experience and explore an unfamiliar territory while doing what they love­—running!

Oliver Mack Jr is a recent graduate of Syracuse University, with dual undergraduate degrees and a Master of Business Administration, he brings considerable marketing experience across multiple industries. A digital marketing specialist, Oliver possesses a suite of digital marketing skills, spanning across social media, advertising, web management and SEO and email marketing. With an innate passion for sports, Oliver is perfectly placed to lead on targeted marketing strategies, to help drive the brand to the next level.

Marie grew up in England, however lived nearly 30 years in South Africa. She is now back home in England and enjoying time spent with her family and exploring the outdoors. She sees herself as a ‘Mum’ and a social runner with a competitive and stubborn streak! She has some road cycling experience as well.

Marie tells the story that her couch was her friend until 2005 when she guided a group of runners on a trip to the London Marathon. Whilst on the train from the Expo, other passengers started to include her in their good luck wishes (even though she explained she was not running the marathon). The next day, she noticed that runners are all shapes, sizes, ages and vowed to start training after the trip.

London Marathon 2006 was her first marathon and will always be the most special to her. Since then, she has completed numerous marathons around the world and ultra marathons (Comrades & Two Oceans). She has 37 years experience in the travel industry in many different roles. Her passion remains helping clients reach their goal and creating their own sporting memory.

Sarah has always been a lover of sport for the unique way it unites people and instils a sense of community. So much so, she was able to explore sport tourism as part of her degree. After graduation, she joined a leading adventure travel tour operator and spent six wonderful years working on amazing worldwide products and itineraries, across some major brands in the industry.

She feels very fortunate now to be working amongst giants in the sports travel world, with a team of passionate and knowledgeable people. Sarah said the one and only downside is her continuous FOMO. She has already upped her running miles, inspired by challenge seeking customers.

Her weekends are usually filled with country walks (including pub breaks) with her husband, or out running with her dog on the trails of Yorkshire and visiting family. If there’s a Liverpool FC win in there somewhere, then that’s an added bonus!

After finishing a degree in Tourism Management, Amy got the travel bug. She has visited some amazing places in the past few years, from the British Golf Open to watching a League 2 football team in Vietnam and working two seasons in Ibiza.

She is trilled to now be able to combine her passion for sports and travel into her job. She loves being part of people’s sporting experiences and seeing them achieve their goals. In her free time, you’ll find her playing football (soccer) or trying some new random activity!

Gillian Bedrosian is a race timer with over ten years experience in eight countries. This is her first time with Marathon Tours. She is excited to meet the participants and celebrate them finishing their race.

Gillian started race timing as a summer job while studying biomedical engineering and never stopped. Race timing has given her many amazing opportunities including spending her birthday timing a triathlon in China and timing a marathon where 14 Guinness World Records were broken. When not working on the computer at the finish line, Gillian works as a project manager in Ottawa, Canada. She loves to travel and enjoys a good patio.

Matt is a Colorado based photographer with very diversified interests. Having acquired a bachelor’s degree in Wildlife Management from the University of Arizona, his main passion is wildlife photography.

Recently retired from 30 years as a high school Biology and Chemistry teacher, Matt is now free to travel and spend more time in the field.

Matt also enjoys all forms of human powered outdoor recreation in all seasons. Rock climbing, ice climbing, mountaineering, cycling, skiing, and backpacking are among his favourite pursuits. Matt has run two marathons as well. He resides in Colorado with his wife and two children. Matt serves as one of our Antarctica Marathon and Half-Marathon guides.

Eric Juneau is an emergency physician practising in Vancouver, BC, Canada. He is board-certified in family medicine and emergency medicine, and also practises in critical care units. Areas of medical interest include disaster medicine and trauma care.

When he is not working he can be found downhill skiing or hiking in the beautiful British Columbia backcountry. He will run (jog) up to 10km when pressed but you are unlikely to find him doing laps around the race course

Born and raised in Great Britain, Jacqui has worked on and off in the travel industry for more than 20 years. She has traveled extensively and lived in numerous countries around the world including Dubai, South Africa, Jakarta and Uruguay before settling in the U.S. in 1980.

Passionate about running and adventure she has completed more than 50 marathons and has competed in ultra events such as the Leadville 100, the Himalayan Stage Race, Alaska’s Iditasport 100 and 350 and the Yukon Arctic Ultra, to name a few. Addicted to the outdoors, Jacqui lives in Boulder, Colorado where she enjoys trail running, hiking, climbing, winter sports and yoga. One of her most memorable experiences is spending the summer of 2010 rehabilitating lions in Zimbabwe.

Katerina is a Czech girl living in Los Angeles. Her favourite hobbies include eating, cooking, running, yoga and travelling. She is always excited to meet new people, learn more about different cultures and experiences of others. She first was introduced to Marathon Tours & Travel in Prague in 2018 when she worked for the Prague Marathon, then paths crossed again at the Los Angeles Marathon. She is excited to bring runners to Berlin and Prague to share exciting places, food and creating unforgettable stories through sport.

Will has plenty of experience in the running world, both as a participant, and in event operations working for DMSE Sports since 2015 on events such as the Boston Marathon and Falmouth Road Race. Prior to DMSE, he worked for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health as an infectious disease epidemiologist.

This year is Will’s second time to Antarctica with Marathon Tours. While he doesn’t have any marathons under his belt, he enjoys racing anything from 1-mile to the half marathon. He is also an avid hiker with a passion for food and travel.

Leonie Stander is a medical doctor in rural South Africa, practicing as a GP with general Surgery as special interest. She has always been a keen adventure traveler, combining her travels with running, hiking and skiing. She is a three-time Comrades finisher and most recently completed running a marathon on all seven continents when she finished the 2016 Antarctica Marathon. Her special interests are astronomy, geology and music. She is most proud of climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Catherine is a family nurse practitioner in Charleston, SC and works with children who undergo open heart surgery for congenital defects on a regular day. The other days she is in search of running adventures and challenges near and far. In the last 5 years she has completed a full Ironman triathlon, Rim2Rim2Rim Grand Canyon run, and completed all Seven Continents. She is, however, most proud of being a mother to two boys!

When she is not running with her tribe in Charleston or abroad, she can be found spending time with family and friends, painting, or pushing her limits with photography. Marathon Tours has been her “dream job” so that she can help others pursue their life long dreams!!!

Following a 37 year career as an attorney and trial judge, Joan welcomed the chance to encourage and support others in pursuit of their running goals. A decades long runner, Joan entered her first race only recently; much to her surprise she wondered why she waited so long!

Although she loved growing up outside New York City, Joan realized over time that she was more suited to a jeans and tee shirt lifestyle. She has called Cape Cod home for over 40 years, relishing the many advantages the outdoor life offers. Beach combing, bird watching, British television, golf, gardening and shellfishing are some of the activities she enjoys- not necessarily in that order! She now spends part of the year in Maui in her newly completed dream house.

Matt West comes to Marathon Tours from DMSE Sports, a leading road race management company. Currently the Senior VP of Operations, Matt handles the day-to-day operations as well as directing many of DMSE’s events. With more than 15 years of special events experience, Matt has focused on creating new events, course and venue management. He has been a part of the operations staff for more than 200 races, including playing a key role in all the B.A.A. events.

He is proud to be the Finish Line Manager for the B.A.A. Boston Marathon! While not a speed demon on the roads, Matt has pounded the pavement in more than a few 5Ks, 10Ks and Half-Marathons. Matt has been part of the Marathon Tours team in Antarctica for the past three years and looks forward to many more to come!

Paul is an avid athlete and former lronman competitor. He is a seasoned veteran of the Antarctica Marathon and of traveling around the Antarctica Peninsula. When he is not traveling, he builds homes on the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, his home for 30 years. An accomplished marathoner with a 3:04 PB, his real passion in sport has been competing in lronman Triathlon events around North America.

He has completed 10 events and twice competed in the lronman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii. Paul is a private pilot and enjoys flying in the mountains of British Columbia and exploring the coastal areas in his Cessna 182.

Bill Serues has been in the travel industry for over twenty years. He has guided Marathon Tours clients to events on seven continents . As a competitive runner, he has nine Boston Marathons finishes among his many races and has also served as a race director, club president, timer and any volunteer job that needs attention for his running clubs in Pennsylvania and South Carolina.

For over forty years he has been a member of the US Professional Tennis Association and has played and coached at all levels of the game. He now calls North Myrtle Beach, SC his home.

Born and raised in Chicago, Stephanie started running in elementary school, breaking city records at the age of 12! Job opportunities facilitated a move to Italy and, since then, she has been globetrotting, learning French and German, perfecting her Italian and most importantly running marathons along the way. Her first race with Marathon Tours & Travel was in Antarctica in 2015 where she enjoyed the penguins cheering from the sideline and when she become part of the Seven Continents Club.

Stephanie is excited to be a part of the Berlin Team and is looking forward to supporting and inspiring other runners achieve their goals.

Alyssa Yell is a professional writer on the outside, and an insatiable adventuress on the inside. Alyssa was introduced to Marathon Tours & Travel by way of Iceland, and fell in love with Marathon Tours while crossing the Drake Passage on her way to Antarctica, which remains her favorite place she’s visited. Her yearning to combine travel, running, and beautiful scenery is undying, and she brings an enthusiasm for exploration and a desire to see the world on foot to those around her.

Alyssa lives in the hills of San Francisco, California, and has completed dozens of marathons and ultramarathons on nearly every continent. When she’s not hitting the trails, she can be found backpacking, kayaking, and scheming up her next adventure.

Sonja Viljoen is a medical doctor in Kroonstad, South Africa practicing as a GP with a specialty in anesthesiology. Sonja has a 250 acre farm where she breeds white lions and has herds of other animals roaming her property.

She is a two-time Comrades finisher and completed her goal of running a marathon on all seven continents when she finished the 2016 Antarctica Marathon. She has spent a good part of the last four years roaming the world seeking running adventures.

Jane Serues has enjoyed working with Marathon Tours for two decades. Having been a runner for over 40 years, she has completed 25 marathons, including the inaugural US Women’s Olympic Marathon Trials in Olympia, WA in 1984 (her PR of 2:46).

With a degree in Physical Education, Jane has been a teacher and coach and continues today leading a nationally-recognized women’s beginner workshop called First Strides®. She has been a race director and worked in advertising at Runner’s World magazine. Jane and husband Bill now reside in North Myrtle Beach, SC where she is active with her running club and golf.

Gil has been playing and competing in sports through most of his childhood. It wasn’t until 2013 that he decided to start running marathons. Armed with a Galloway training program book and a couple of running magazines, he began training for the L.A. marathon. He finished with a time of 4:02. That wasn’t good enough, so he continued to train and eventually whittled that time down to 3:03. This qualified him for the 2015 Boston marathon, where he ran his first sub three hour finish of 2:58. Still very new to the sport, he continued to pursue and challenge the distance with faster finish times.

He went on to complete the remaining Abbott World Majors, earning the six star medal in 2017 through Marathon Tours. He continues to race and is an RRCA certified running coach, helping others to achieve their own goals.

He enjoyed interacting with and appreciated what Marathon Tours had to offer and asked how he could be a part of the team. From there he began assisting the group with upcoming trips for the next waves of runners pursuing their six star and seven continents medals.