Woohoo, guess what, I’m offering coaching for trail and ultrarunners!
When I started running trails and ultras in 2013, I remember how daunting it was to get into the sport. Coming from road marathons, things were very different. Aid stations had PB&J sandwiches and potato chips and tequila, trekking poles suddenly appeared, and races had insane amounts of vertical gain and loss. I couldn’t follow my usual marathon methods for pacing, and I could never get any sort of turnover going on the rooty, rocky terrain. My quads were absolutely destroyed after my first trail race, the Iron Knee, on Vancouver’s gnarly North Shore. But I was instantly hooked. It was the hardest, most addictive kind of running.
Now, I’m excited to be able to share my learnings and lessons from my first 13 years as a trail/ultra runner, still totally addicted.
I’ve had some great coaches to learn from over 20+ years of running, including Percy Perry from the Coquitlam Cheetahs Track & Field Club in my youth, to UBC Track & Field coaches in university (I was the weakest member of the squad attending NAIA National Champs), to Vancouver’s legendary marathon (and beer mile!) coach John Hill in my twenties, and David Roche, as a trail/ultra running specific coach. I’ve applied my favourite parts of their systems and philosophies to my own training, which has led me to over 40 ultra-marathon finishes, 3 Team Canada experiences, and most importantly of all, a happy, fun-filled, and major-injury-free life. Building on these experiences with the ultrarunning coach certification from UESCA Sports Coaching Academy, I’m so excited to support you and your goals in 2023 and beyond! Whether you’re fired up about a big race, improving your health, or an ambitious self-propelled adventure, I’m excited to help you get there.
To give you a better idea of what I’m like as a coach, here are some articles I’ve recently written on training and racing:
–Ideas for Optimal Post-Race Recovery
–How to Use Heat Training to Thrive in Warm Weather Ultras
–Favourite Trail Races in the Pacific Northwest
–How to Train for Ultras with a Baby
More to come!
Option 1: Ongoing Coaching ($200 CAD / Month)
Join or learn more by emailing me! woodside.a <at> gmail.com.
- Personalized training plans that optimize your unique goals, interests, and lifestyle. As a toddler parent myself and someone with
interests outside of running, (interests postponed until child becomes independent :p) I’m excited to help build you a plan that gets you the best results in the most efficient amount of time, and help you continue to prioritize the other things you love. - Ongoing research on your specific goal race/objective and the terrain/temperature/elevation and other unique factors specific to your goal, and incorporating those details to create an optimal training plan
- Ongoing adjustments to your training plan as life changes! The schedule will serve as an ideal target, but things happen, and we need to adjust as we go. You may get tired, or have a sick kid, or want to go skiing on a pow day…
- Receive a detailed training journal where we can communicate about day to day training with notes, feedback, and encouragement! I will be reviewing and commenting on your training journal every day (Monday-Friday) to see your progress and make any adjustments as needed.
- Option to email whenever you have questions, or need to change the schedule. I will respond within 24 hours (Monday-Friday), and likely much sooner unless I am away (and I would let you know with ample notice).
- Phone and text message conversations as needed
- Email or phone-based advising before goal race/adventure, to collaborate on strategy (including pacing, nutrition, gear, mindset, etc.).
- Help with discovering the optimal places to do the specific assigned workouts in your city/town, and adapting based on the weather and conditions.
- Detailed analysis of weekly workouts if desired, and if you use a tracking device and app such as Strava or another system.
- Help with identifying suitable cross-training modes if desired/necessary and working into the training plan. (For example, new parents may want to integrate hikes with a baby backpack or nordic skiing with a chariot.)
- Help with identifying suitable expert/s as needed, such as physiotherapists, Registered Massage Therapists, running-specific nutritionist, performance psychologist, etc.
- Suggestions on strength training, yoga, mobility, and other self-care activities if desired, for enhancing enjoyment and minimizing injury risk.
- Help with goal setting, brainstorming ideas for new goals/races/adventures/FKTs that get you fired up, and adapting goals as needed.
No startup fees, and you can totally pause your membership if needed.
Option 2: Goal Race Training Plan ($300 CAD)
Join or learn more by emailing me! woodside.a <at> gmail.com.
- Customized 4-6 month training plan for a specific goal race/adventure
- Training log template that you can use going forward!
Experience:
- UESCA Certified Ultrarunning Coach (completed November 24, 2022)
- 20+ years of running experience, including track & field, university, road marathons, trail/ultrarunning, and Fastest Known Time (FKT) runs
- Over 40+ ultrarunning races completed in Canada, USA, Europe, and the Middle East, and countless mountain runs and adventures, with some decent results, plus a lot of good failures! Some favourite races that I’ve done include Lavaredo by UTMB 50 Mile, HURT100 (2x), CCC 100k by UTMB, Golden Ultra by TransRockies (4x), Squamish 50k (2x), Gorge Waterfalls 100k (2x), Cascade Crest 100 Mile, and Red Rock Canyon 100k.
- 3x member of Team Canada (2x 50 mile trail championship team in Portugal and France, 1x road 100km team in Qatar)
- Organizer and lead coach of multiple teen girls and women’s adventure camps from 2015-2020, with a focus on trail running, hiking, and stand up paddling during trips to locations such as Anvil Island, Lighthouse Park, Grouse Mountain, Lynn Valley, and the Sea to Sky Gondola.
- Experience coaching pool running, which can be a helpful way to gain fitness with no impact, and for injury recovery (although it is boring, so bring a friend!)
- Volunteer member of my local search and rescue organization from 2020-2023
Areas of Expertise:
- Balancing athletic goals with many other life priorities
- Dealing with iron deficiency and relative energy deficiency
- Training for heat, altitude, and other factors
- Adventures
- Fastest Known Times (FKTs)
- Training through winter & snow
- Support on adapting your goals and continuing to be active during pregnancy
- Returning to running postpartum after the biggest adventure ever, of having a baby!
- Pool running, as a way to train for injury-prone athletes and injury recovery
