My Running Story
Unlike some run coaches, I am not, and never was, a pro athlete, I didn’t run track or cross country in high school or university, and I’ll likely never podium in a big race.
However, I am super passionate about running and have made big accomplishments over the past few years. In 2014 I ran my first half marathon in around 2:05 and the thought of ever running sub 2 hours seemed impossible. But almost a decade later at age 33 and exactly 1 year and 1 day postpartum I ran a half marathon PR of 1:41, almost 20 minutes faster then I thought was ever possible for me.
Me and my daughter, Eve, at the Hamilton Road 2 Hope Half Marathon 2023 - where I PR’d one year and one day postpartum!
But let’s back it up… My running story begins in high school when my best friend Mandy introduced me to running. Her aunt and uncle were (and still are!) big runners, so Mandy ran her first half marathon when we were in high school. One night when we were hanging out we randomly ran for whatever reason - it was only a few blocks down the street but it felt awesome! Shortly after that we decided to train together for our first half marathon together. We never ended up running that race but that’s where my love of running began.
After training for my first half marathon in high school, I ran on and off in my twenties and made a lot of running mistakes. I didn’t fuel for my first few half marathons, I went as fast as possible, I thought runs had to be longer than 30 minutes or they didn’t count, I ran very sporadically, and the list goes on.
In 2019, I ran for my third half marathon. The race was the Fredericton Half Marathon and over 10 years after Mandy and I ran down the street one random evening we finally ran our first half marathon together!
Me and my best friend Mandy running Fredericton Half Marathon in 2019
While I was in Fredericton I saw a lot of Halifax Road Hammers - a team of runners that included Mandy’s aunt and uncle - and I was in awe. They were so fast and confident and had such praise for their coach. I wished I could be part of a team like that, but I was no where near fast enough or good enough of a runner to have a run coach, I thought. That race I PR’d with a time of just over 2 hours. I thought running faster than that just wasn’t possible for me.
It wasn’t until in 2020 during the pandemic that I, like a lot of people, started running more consistently. Gyms were closed and running was a great stress reliever. I finally decided to reach out to Coach Lee of the Halifax Road Hammers, the team I was so enamoured with the year before in Fredericton.
I ran a virtual half marathon in 2020 in under 2 hours - something I didn’t think was possible!
Within a few months of working with a run coach I broke the 2 hour half marathon!! Since then I’ve continued to make huge strides (pun intended) in my times, and more importantly, I am running consistently, injury free, and enjoying it!
Having a run coach really motivated and inspired me and fuelled my love of running so I decided to pursue a career as a run coach so that I can help others, especially other women, crush their goals and love the sport like I do!
So if you’re a runner with goals of hitting a PR and running for enjoyment without injury I think we could be a great fit!
