Member Profile: Kelley Peregoy, 60

Kelley Peregoy met Brian Clarke by chance at a social event, where they got to talking about health and fitness. Having recently undergone back surgery, Kelley – a former gymnast and river rafting guide – expressed his desire to get back into shape. So when Brian invited him to participate in his endurance training program with the assurance that he would increase his stamina and strength, Kelley accepted.

“I’m not a group person and I don’t like going to the gym,” says Kelley. “Most fitness coaches are like drill instructors and I didn’t want that. I also didn’t want to work out and then be sore for a whole week. But Brian challenged me by saying that he could keep me injury-free and I wanted to see if that was true.”

That was back in January 2024. Since then, Kelley has not only been a regular at the three weekly workouts, but he’s currently serving as the Honolulu location director for the Monday and Wednesday workout groups. He’s also training to run the Honolulu Marathon in December, after successfully completing a half-marathon in April in only three-and-a-half hours.

“It was really nice because I came in with no race experience, and Brian really guides you. I wasn’t a runner, but for him to teach me strategies and workouts made a huge difference. He always teaches that if it’s painful, you’re doing something wrong. That’s how he keeps us injury free.”

“I like going to the workouts because they keep me accountable,” he adds. “When I know other people are going to be there, it helps me to show up. I tell people that 90 percent of success is just showing up. I could probably do the workouts on my own and still get a lot of the benefits, but when someone’s counting on you to come, you feel different.” Kelley notes that he’s only missed the regular weekly training when he’s off-island – and even then, he tries to participate via the audio conference call.

Before his back surgery in October 2022, Kelley could barely climb a flight of stairs, with only 25 percent use of his right leg. Today, he’s up to 80-90 percent and can easily hike a trail without getting winded – something that wasn’t possible when he began the program. In addition to the race training, Kelley has participated in the 7 Habits of Effectiveness and Sensible Eating educational courses. Given his high cholesterol, the Sensible Eating course has helped him realize that he needs to think about eating and his relationship to food in a different way. 

“Even though I’m training for the marathon, the marathon isn’t one of my goals,” Kelley clarifies. “You may walk and run your whole life, but just because you do it doesn’t mean you know how to do it. After running the Hapalua Half-Marathon, I now see that a lot of people don’t have a strategy, they just run until they’re tired. At mile six, I picked up speed because I felt good, and when we got to the hills I felt good because I knew the correct technique for running hills. You have to train, but you also have to practice your posture, your balance, your form. 

“Brian explains to us that when we run a race, we’re going to make a time, and that time tells us where we’re at with our fitness level. It’s just a gauge. We can then decide if we want to be faster or slower than that. I don’t have a beach body but I have sustainability, mobility and balance. I’m building strength, I’m healing, things are happening in my body. Brian’s really good about supporting your goals in a sustainable way and teaching you to listen to your body while also paying attention to your limits.”