Nicholas S.

I have experience with coaching athletes of different ages from a wide variety of backgrounds and ability levels. I've coached both collegiately while in grad school and on the high school level back in my hometown of Sonoma. While with my alma mater our girls team won the Sonoma Valley League title. While finishing my master's degree in kinesiology, I was a graduate assistant on the cross country and track teams at Chico State where I was fortunate enough to learn from one of the best distance coaches in the country. The division 2 Chico program has a long history under the current coach of developing athletes who wouldn't have been recruited to major D1 programs into national-caliber runners during and after college and routinely beats schools such as Cal and Stanford at major cross country invitationals. In addition, I have also worked in a running specialty store and a race management company through college, so I have first hand experience with fitting shoes and gear as well as knowledge of courses and what races are worth participating in throughout California. Most recently I've began private coaching and personal training, and have coached multiple people to 30 minute + marathon PRs.

I ran collegiality for Soka University in Aliso Viejo. I graduated in 2014 with my bachelor's in psychology, an All-American award in the 5000 meters, a 4:13 mile and a 14:26 5k. While I was a graduate assistant at Chico, I was able to train with the team and keep competing on an elite level. I got my master's in the spring of 2016 and continued to train for competitive racing; since leaving college I've coached myself to a 30:13 10k on the roads and 2:22 marathon. My goal is to qualify for the marathon Olympic Trials.
Some highlights:
2018 Cal International Marathon: 2:22:44
5th Place, 2018 Dana Point Turkey Trot: 30:13
3rd Place, 2017 OC 1/2 Marathon: 1:09:19
1st Place, 2016 Run to Feed the Hungry 10k: 31:23
1st Place, 2016 Napa 1/2 Marathon: 1:14:44 (Course record)
2nd Place, 2016 Sierra Crest 30k: 2:24:52 (at 7,000ft elevation)
21st Place (7th American), 2016 Bay to Breakers: 39:51

Since every runner is different, the most important thing to me is to get to know the client's past running experience/time available to train. From there I can develop a plan that would fit best into his or her lifestyle and that would work towards their goals. I like to meet once-twice per week at a track or some type of park (usually one that has a hill) to be there for the harder interval sessions, and leave the remaining days of the week open to completing the necessary mileage that I've assigned. I believe that the non-interval days should be meant for recovery, and that the runner can chose to run as fast or slow as their body dictates. The sessions are where I would be able to watch form and recommend exercises/changes, as well as make sure the athlete understands the rest of the week's training.