020 Amanda Brooks - Beyond the Clock: Running Wisdom For Middle-Of-The-Pack Runners

Episode Summary

Amanda Brooks is a renowned running coach for middle-of-the-pack runners and founder of one of the top running blogs out there, Run To The Finish. As a certified running coach and personal trainer, she’s helped thousands of runners over the last ten years run over 26,000 miles and believes running is more important now more than ever. Today, we learn why Amanda decided to be a trailblazer in the running blogosphere, launching one of the first ever blogs about running. She provides tips for staying injury-free, training healthy and celebrating all goals, big and small.

Episode Sponsor

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Key Takeaways

01:15 – Whitney Heins introduces today’s guest, Amanda Brooks, who joins the show to share her passion for writing and how she turned blogging into a career

11:33 – How Amanda fell in love with running

13:31 – Catering to middle-of-the-pack runners

18:15 – Enjoying the process and celebrating the little moments

24:23 – Amanda speaks to redefining what a ‘runner’ is

27:50 – Advice Amanda would give to new runners who are struggling with being consistent

32:25 – Why strength training is critical for runners and other best practices for staying healthy

37:17 – Common mistakes most runners make and common myths about running

41:19 – What the future holds for Amanda as she enters her forties

44:23 – How Amanda winded up in Colorado

45:33 – Whitney thanks Amanda for joining the show and lets listeners know where they can connect with her

Tweetable Quotes

“Even as a little kid, I wanted to be a writer. I wrote stories and took them into my teachers like not homework, just stories...I just knew I wanted to write.” (07:20)

“A lot of people who started a blog and wanted it to be a business immediately had no business experience. Whereas, I had ten years of leading Fortune 500 companies through projects. So, I immediately was able to respond to businesses like I was a business, and I think that shifted a lot of things.” (11:04)

“I think for a lot of people it’s a process of ‘go for the goal,’ and then have a season where you’re just running and enjoying your fitness and then go for a goal. Too often we just go from goal to goal to goal to goal. And that’s where I see a lot of the burnout and the frustration.” (18:15)

“You don’t have to run. There are ways to be healthy, and happy, and fit. But if you want to run, go to a race and look at the people crossing the finish line. They are every size, every age, every gender. If you want to run, this is one hundred percent doable.” (25:01)

“Oftentimes, it’s coming back to your ‘why.’ Pace is not your why. It’s not what makes you show up. It’s not why you started running. And then, it really is thinking about what actually brings you joy on your runs?” (36:16)