“I began my training for my most recent half marathon back in August of this year. I was going through a very difficult time in my personal life and felt that I needed a goal and a realistic way to achieve such. In short, I needed coaching and accountability.
To say that Sarah has been anything but amazing is an understatement. When we began this journey together, she asked all the right questions about my running history, my physical health, nutritional habits and not just about the goals that I wanted to accomplish but gave me so much inspiration through her own stories of running. Sarah is such a positive and empowering coach, always mixing up our workouts and making me look forward to “what’s in store for today?” She was very flexible in working with me based on my timeframe and the number of times per week I wanted to train. In one of my first speed sessions (where I thought I was going to die — not really, but you know what I mean), I literally did not think this was something I could do. In fact, I didn’t complete that training run as prescribed, but it was without judgment on her part; just lots of encouragement and an assurance that it DOES get easier and that I WOULD be able to accomplish this task soon, and you know what? She was right!
I went on to complete all of our scheduled training runs as instructed and am so very thrilled to say that I reached not just my one goal of a sub 24:00 PR on a 5K, but also PR’d a 10K by 11 minutes (48:12); and this last half marathon with a sub 2:00 (1:57:20, to be exact), finishing 20 minutes faster than my last best time! The interesting thing is that the only race out of those three that I really wanted to PR was the 5K. Sarah’s constant encouragement and implementation of awesome speed work mixed in with the long runs, did wonders for my running efficiency and I could not be more thrilled! She’s made me a stronger, better runner and I am so motivated to keep competing, if only with myself!
For what it’s worth, I’ve been a runner for about four and a half years, taking up this crazy journey at 48 years old. I ran a marathon on my 50th birthday and have been passionate about running since my first race, which was a 5K. I like to run and I like to win, even if it’s just to beat my last best time. Sarah is always so encouraging and positive and I would highly recommend her to anyone who’s ready to up their game.
And last but not least, even in this virtual world we’re all a part of, I feel like Sarah is not only an awesome coach, but has become a great friend as well. We may live thousands of miles apart but I feel a kinship with her and am so glad to have her as my coach!
Happy running!”