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Learn to train with purpose for YOUR body and goals. 

The Women's Running Academy Mentorship is a 12-week group coaching and education program to help female runners ditch the cycle of injury and burn out and finally make real, consistent progress towards their goals.

 

Round 5 doors are closed. Join the waitlist for the next round.

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You love running…

…but you have this nagging feeling like you haven’t yet reached your full potential. Or maybe you feel like those days in are your past and you’ll never get there again.

Maybe you are wondering if you’ll ever break this plateau or pass that nemesis mileage where the wheels seem to always fall off in your training and the aches and pains (hip, knee, IT band, feet…) or pelvic floor symptoms inevitably creep back in. You feel heavy, clunky, or inefficient in your stride, like there is something you are missing.

You know there are strategies out there to improve your performance but there are so many variables to manage between the running programming, strength training, and recovery that you end up feeling like you are aimlessly going through the motions.

There is a better way!

With a little knowledge, focus, and strategy you can streamline your efforts so that every workout gets you one step closer to your goals (no precious time or energy wasted)!

You can feel strong, powerful, and efficient in your stride and run that dream distance, hit that PR, and enjoy every minute!

FACTS

​Runners need to strength train!

Strength = Stability
Strength = Power
Strength = Efficiency
Strength = Resilience

Deficiencies in strength are typically a major part of pain in runners (IT band, knees, hips, pelvic floor symptoms…). Stretching and foam rolling won’t "fix" you.

You know this… but you also JUST want to run. I get it!

Maybe you just don’t like the strength training at all, maybe you struggle to find the time to efficiently incorporate it with your running, or maybe when you do you end up with soreness that you feel negatively affects your running performance, or maybe some combination of it all.

I got you!

The Women's Running Academy Mentorship is unlike any other training program you've experienced before!

It's time to ditch the cookie cutter running programs and stop simply going through the motions with your strength workouts.

​It's time to train like an athlete and unleash your true running potential using my 4S System.

 

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My 4S System

Specificity to the Demands of Running

We’ll look at the demands of running and use specific form cues combined with intentional strength training to minimize energy lost with each step and improve your running economy.
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You’ll learn to not just absorb ground reaction forces but to store them as elastic energy to propel you forward while staying strong and stable with every step!

Streamlined Running Programming

We’ll program purposeful miles with purposeful pacing into your week using my “3 Key Runs” so that you are getting the most possible out of each run (it’s not just about logging the miles for the sake of logging miles).

We’ll make your miles count, so that you can make room for other major players like rest and other forms of athletic training (*ahem* strength training).

Strength Training

We'll use intentional strength training to fine tune your body to capitalize on instead of fear those ground reaction forces

We’ll train with both the demands of running and the needs of your specific body in mind.

Strategy for Your Body

We’ll get to know your body through targeted assessments and identify your potential movement limiters or energy leaks with running.

​Over time we’ll hone in on the specific strategies your body needs so that you can train efficiently - no wasted effort.

WORK SMARTER NOT HARDER

 
It's cliche but also true.
 
Whether you started early in life or relatively recently running can quickly become an invaluable part of your life.

I started running relatively early in life with my mom and her “running friends.”

Little did I know at that time how important having my own group of running friends would become to me someday. Even if at this point most of them are virtual.

In high school, I ran track and cross country. My uber competitive streak must not have been fully developed yet because I found every reason to cheat my workouts and do less.

...or it might have been that I didn’t understand the why behind all of the workouts. It’s tough for me to get motivated to do something unless I really understand “why” I’m doing. For that reason, and for those of you like me, I include the why behind all that we do in the Mentorship.

In grad school, a switch flipped. A group of friends and I decided to run our first half marathon together. "Sure, I’ll try a half, but I'll draw the line at a full.” Famous last words, right?

I ran the half, and then another, then another and before I knew it, I caught the bug. I needed to try a full.  At that point it was only still a mild obsession.

After my first full and a few beers, pleasantly surprised by my performance, I asked my significant other at the time if he thought I could qualify for Boston. I “only” had to shave 20 minutes off my time…

...well, I think THAT’s where my real obsession began because … HE LAUGHED AT ME!

It. was. on. after that! I read every book on running science I could find; I hired a coach and less than a year later I got my first BQ!
 
 
 

Fast forward through many, many more years of running, two career changes (engineer to teacher to now), and two children. Now as a certified personal trainer and running coach, pregnancy and postpartum corrective exercise specialist, and eternal student of all things running and movement science, I help women ditch the cycle of injury and burn out and finally make real, consistent progress towards their goals.

 While I haven’t run another marathon since becoming a mom, I have PRed in every other distance since. I look at the race photos from that hard earned Boston Marathon and KNOW I could smoke her.

I think it’s partly the experience and education I’ve built up and partly because I’m a mom.

​Because of, not in spite of.

In motherhood, now more than ever, I have to train with efficiency and strategy!

Efficiency first! The engineer AND the mom in me thrive on efficiency. No wasted time or effort!

Having babies also brought to light some biomechanical inefficiencies. They reared their ugly head in the form of constant hip, knee and back pain and pelvic floor symptoms. I had it all!

I firmly believe these inefficiencies were holding me back from reaching my full potential well before my child bearing years. For many women the stress of pregnancy simply reveals the invisible ink that was there all along. Addressing those inefficiencies not only eliminated my symptoms, it made me a stronger, more efficient, and more powerful runner overall.

This refers back to my 4S System where I said the goal is to minimize energy lost with each step. I think of energy lost as both energy you can't use to move forward AND energy lost typically means force is poorly distributed across your joints - which can lead to pain, injury or pelvic floor symptoms. That is where the purposeful strength training for the demands of running and strategy based on the needs of your body can make a HUGE difference in the way running feels.

 

 

In my Women's Running Academy Mentorship, I’m going to coach you through this 4S System that's not only helped me but hundreds of other runners.

Step by step, week after week we'll apply the system together so that by the end of the 12 weeks you've confidently ditched the cycle of injury and burn out.

​AND, through the education along the way, you'll have all the tools to continue to apply it to make real, consistent progress towards any goal you set in the future.

 

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HERE'S EXACTLY WHAT YOU GET

A full set of purposeful running programs ($679 value*)

 
Each run is planned out specifically (distance, pacing, warmup and cool down) so that you know exactly what to do each day and get the most out of your training.

The programs include both base building and base maintenance plans to complete during the 12 weeks, race specific training plans for your big goals after this base building/maintenance period, and the guidance on choosing the best plan for you.

​We'll meet you where you're at now and train specifically towards any big future goal. The runs are all purposefully paced so that you can get the most out of every mile as you improve your endurance, speed, and running economy.

Weekly, purposeful strength workouts fully prepare your body for the demands for running ($525 value*)

 
Two “required” and one “bonus” strength workout per week including mobility, strength, and plyometric training tailored specifically to that demands of running and the needs of your body so that you can plug up any energy leaks and feel stronger and more powerful in your stride.

The workouts will be progressed intentionally through a full training cycle beginning with strength in foundational movements, building on that strength with power, and tapering ahead of a race. Yep! You need to taper your strength workouts too!

​Each workout will include written cues and a full playlist of videos to follow along so you are fully equipped to master each movement.

Weekly educational modules that include resources and actionable steps to effectively incorporating the topic of the week into your training ($750 value*)
AND
Live, weekly group calls to recover/review the educational materials and provide you the opportunity for feedback and questions so that you can confidently apply the strategy yourself ($1,400 value*)

 

The first 6 weeks will be more geared towards understanding the needs of your body and the demands of running and how to adapt the strength training specifically to those needs.

The second 6 weeks will focus more on the logic behind my programming and the formula I use to put it all together (and all the templates you could ever need).

I’m basically turning my whole training system into a plug-and-play formula for you to use and apply to any goal. Crush this 12-week goal and leave with all the strategy and tools you need to crush the next (and the next, and the next...)! 

Bonus live presentations from 4 amazing guest speakers to support you as a whole person and athlete ($500 value*)  

 
We will have a registered dietician, a mental health specialist, a yoga instructor, and another hot topic for the women's running community.

A private Facebook group for questions, accountability, sharing additional resources as needed, and creating our own intimate space in the greater virtual running community.

A membership portal with all the resources, workouts, and recordings from mentorship that you will have access to forever.

 
 

$649 or 3 Monthly Payments of $223

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**Value calculated based on my rates for 1-on-1 coaching. The beauty of a group coaching model like this mentorship is that it is more efficient (cost and time) for everyone! Prices are in USD.

12 WEEKS OF EDUCATION AND ACTION

​The weekly lessons, live group calls, and accompanying resources include all the education and tools you need to understand your unique body and train with purpose for your goals!
 

We’ll lay some foundations so that everything we build from here has context within the demands of running.

This is the core of it all, literally. It's so important we are spending 2 weeks on it! Learn to intentionally transfer energy through your core and master your breathing to increase your performance.

With each stride, your body goes through a cycle of absorbing and propelling. The hips (including the pelvic floor) play an integral role in doing this efficiently (without losing energy).

This week will include lots of time to play and feel. We'll connect all the pieces - hips, core, pelvic floor - and practice how they work together with every stride.

Pronation and supination are not bad words. We need to do both efficiently to get the most out of each stride! This week we'll work on both strength and mobility in your feet.

Do your right and left feel or move differently? This week we’ll talk about why that might be and some strategies to feel more balanced.

Learn my secret weapon for minimizing the stress on your body while maximizing performance. You’ll be practicing these exercises starting week 1, but this week you’ll understand why.

We’ll look at gait and what additional clues it can provide for the development of your strength training program and how what we've been doing all along ties back to your gait.

I've been doing it for you up until this point. Now I'll walk you through the logic behind selecting the exercises your body needs most so that you can train as efficiently as possible.

I provide you with your running plan from the beginning. Now I'll walk you through my strategic formula so you can apply it to any future goal. Plus, all. the. templates. you could ever want!​

We’ll take everything you learned in the first 11 weeks and put it together in my complete training formula.

A full library of supplementary content including training with your menstrual cycle, more specific pelvic floor education, breathing for performance, and recordings of past guest speakers.

 

Ditch those cookie cutter running programs and stop simply going through the motions with your strength workouts that keep you spinning your wheels.

Instead, learn and apply my 4S System with streamlined running programming, strategy based on the needs of your body, and purposeful strength training for the demands of running so that you can crush your goals.

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MEET OUR GUEST SPEAKERS

These are the guest speakers from last round. Expect a similar set of topics with a few new faces this round. 

JEN SCOTT, RDN, LD
FUELING FOR RUNNERS

Jen has been a dietitian for over 17 years, runner for 24 years, is a RRCA certified running coach, & mom of three.

She is passionate about nutrition, specifically sports nutrition, and helping athletes develop healthy relationships with food, fuel, movement, and their bodies.

She is a Boston qualifier & long time jogging stroller user. Her favorite running memory is winning first overall woman in a local half marathon while pushing her (then) 4 year old son.

 
IG: @marathonmama_rd

JULIA BALTO, MS, NBC-HWC
NERVOUS SYTEM REGULATION

Julia is a trauma-informed coach, somatic practitioner, and speaker. She helps high-achieving women and queer folks get out of their heads and heal burnout for good so that they can show up for their big, bold lives feeling grounded, energized, and authentically themselves.

Her holistic approach draws upon the science of the nervous system, subconscious mind, and somatic bodywork. Clients have said working together feels like ‘some kind of witchy brain magic’ with powerful shifts occurring in just 1-2 sessions integrating years of therapy, medication, and self-help books. 

She lives in San Diego, CA, and offers virtual and in-person coaching, speaking, retreats, and workshops.

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IG: @juliabalto

LAUREN SHELTON, PT, DPT, OCS, RYT-200
YOGA INTEGRATION

Dr. Lauren, movement enthusiast and yoga educator, holds a Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Duke University. She trained at Mayo Clinic Florida, becoming an orthopedic specialist. Her recent focus on Postural Restoration reflects her fascination with holistic body approaches.

At Mayo, she engaged with the Hypermobility Clinic, prompting her to teach yoga differently. She focuses more on stability over excessive stretching.

Lauren founded Loa Movement, a virtual membership uniting dynamic movement and strength training. Alongside being a toddler parent, she's a recreational runner, having completed 10+ half marathons and multiple trail races.


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IG: @dr.lauren.shelton

ALUMNI PLANEL
USING THE 4S SYSTEM

I'm shaking things up for our 4th guest speaker this round of the Mentorship. Instead of having an outside speaker, I'm planning to have 3-5 past participants come talk about how they have been using what they learned in the mentorship months & even years later.

I know the mentorship is A LOT. I do help you synthesize and narrow in on a 1-3 big rocks for you in the end, but I think it would be really helpful to hear from others too.

Plus a full library of past guest speaker recordings.


More on nutrition from a panel of registered dietician, some additional education from pelvic floor physical therapist, and other incredibly inspirational members of the women's running community including Roberta Groner, Sophie Power (aka. ultrasophie) and Ali Feller (aka. Ali on the Run).

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Frequently Asked Questions

 
If you have any other questions, do not hesitate to reach out. Send me an email here.

Women's Running Academy

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