Sarah started her running career later in life. Never having done anything remotely athletic, she joined a training group with her friend to run the Monument Avenue 10k five years ago. She realized that the greatest part of the whole event was not the race but the training. Every training run was a chance to go farther and the success of each week was exhilarating. Three years later she took on the task of running her first marathon. After five months of training, Sarah completed the 30th running of the Richmond Suntrust Marathon two days after her 40th birthday. Sarah's favorite event to date was the 2008 Shamrock 1/2 Marathon in Virginia Beach where she ran a personal best. Sarah has gone on to coach the Monument Avenue 10K novice teams for two years and has helped many people design running and training programs to help them achieve their goals. Sarah's specialty, however, is in talking with beginning runners – in particular women - who have never completed a race before. Sarah believes that if you wonder if you can do it – you are already at the starting line.

Sarah is a certified running coach through Road Runners Club of America.  She is a qualified and enthusiastic coach for people of all running abilities and all distances.  Her specialties are the couch potatoes and the runners looking to have the breakthrough runs that are life changing.  She utilizes many coaching tools that are designed to make training fun and pressure free

Sarah lives in Midlothian with her super supportive husband Todd (also a marathoner) and their son Dean who has several medals to show for his races.

"A runner is someone who runs; it's that simple and that grand. Be that someone. Be yourself. Be your own runner." -Mark Will-Weber

Running has often been called the perfect exercise. It is not utilizing a machine but your own feet, heart, lungs and body weight. You can not lean on it like a bike or stair master and you can only rely on your strength and will to finish. Elements get in your way and impede your progress. Those elements can be external like rain and heat and they can be internal like hydration, nutrition and rest. On the day that all elements click, most people feel as if a good run is akin to flying.
Running is meditative, rhythmic, social, spiritual and healing. It is also hard. Not everyone can run and many people choose not to run. If you have elected to run you are part of a very special club. The friends that you make along the way will be your friends for life.
You can run for many reasons. You can run for weight loss, for health benefits, for time alone, and for mental health. During the training process, most people find an inner strength that they did not know existed. They find their true selves, what they are truly made of.

Run Strong will help you to achieve more than just a medal at the finish line. You will learn about running itself as a sport and all of the technological advances that have been made that will make you stronger and faster. You will find with us the camaraderie and support that will push you through to the final mile. You will finish.