Deserae Clarke – Phoenix Running Coach (she/her/hers)
50% off 1st month! 50% off 1st month! I coach athletes of all abilities and backgrounds with a holistic approach.
From: $150.00 / month and a $19.00 sign-up fee
Running Coach Description
Hi, I’m Coach Des, a Phoenix running coach and lifelong runner with 30+ years on the road and trail, and a coach who believes running isn’t just a sport, it’s a way to rebuild yourself from the inside out. I help runners of all bodies, backgrounds, identities, and experience levels find strength, confidence, and joy through supportive, personalized training.
Whether you’re training for your first 5K, pursuing a PR in the marathon, exploring your first trail race, or testing your limits in ultras, I’ll meet you where you are and help you grow from there.
If you want a coach who listens deeply, adapts training to real life, and creates a safe, inclusive, empowering space, I’m your person.
🛠 What You Get (Coaching Services)
Every plan is completely custom — built for your body, your goals, and your life.
✔ Fully personalized training plan (5K → 250 miles)
✔ Trail, road, hybrid, and mountain training
✔ Strength & mobility routines
✔ Heat adaptation
✔ Injury prevention and smart progression
✔ Weekly updated plan
✔ Unlimited text/email communication
✔ Fueling & hydration strategy
✔ Race planning + pacing strategy
✔ Video form review (optional)
For athletes in the Phoenix area:
✔ Optional in-person sessions or form check-ups
💬 Communication Style
I’m a high-touch, high-support coach:
- Unlimited texting and emailing
- Consistent, thoughtful feedback
- Guaranteed response within 24 hours
- Often same-day support during key training cycles
I’m here to help you stay consistent, confident, and connected to your goals.
I’m also offering a 12 week virtual group program designed for runners preparing for an fall ultra who want structured guidance, practical education, and a supportive community along the way. It starts mid-June, with more information and sign up availability here.
*** 50% off First Month of Coaching – Coupon Code: 50%clarke ***
Specialties
🧩 Who I Coach Best
I work especially well with:
🏃♀️ Beginners or returning runners
who need confidence, structure, and compassion.
🌈 LGBTQIA+ runners
looking for a safe, affirming, judgment-free coaching environment.
🔥 Busy professionals & parents
who want smart, flexible training that fits their real life.
🌄 Trail & Ultra athletes
needing help with long-run strategy, problem solving, vert, heat, and sustainable volume.
🥇 Road runners (5K → marathon)
wanting results without burnout or injury cycles.
Philosophy
Running should make your life bigger, not smaller.
I build training around your real life — work, kids, stress, identity, recovery, mental health — so you can grow consistently without burning out.
My approach is built on:
- Inclusion & belonging (LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, beginners, returning runners)
- Strength + mobility for longevity
- Injury-prevention-first programming
- Realistic, flexible structure for busy adults
- Confidence-building & mental resilience
- Sustainable progression, not crash cycles
- Honest, supportive communication
My athletes describe me as responsive, trustworthy, grounding, and invested.
Coaching Experience
I am a runner first who got into coaching to share my passion with others:
- Over 3 decades of running for over 30 years and
- Almost a decade of formal coaching
- I have helped individuals:
- Start running
- Get back into running after a hiatus
- Reach marathon PRs
- Finish their first ultra, or build to their longest ultra
- Improve their trail racing performance
- In-person group coaching experience
I’m also proud to say that my client base is diverse in many aspects, and I have found ways to relate personally to each one of them.
About Me
Running changed my life and made me a better person, and it continues to do that every day. I became a coach to share running with others, and to extend the inclusion and acceptance I’ve found in the running community.
In addition to coaching, working a day job, and running I am a mom to two active teenage boys. I love going on adventures with other badass women, reading and try to take a “Yes, and…” approach when I’m invited to try new things. This has led me add “rugby player” and “longboarder” to my athletic titles over the past year.
I’ve lived in Kenya for study abroad and Ghana during my Peace Corps service. I am a desert rat who happened to be born somewhere else, and Arizona has been home since the minute I stepped out of the sliding doors at Sky Harbor into the 115 degree dry heat. I made it official when I completed Cocodona 250, a race that allows participants to visit some of the most beautiful places in Arizona by foot.
At one point in my life I was a single mom, working full time, earning my masters degree and training – I understand busy athletes.
Big Influences
I feel that running should add to our lives, and that it should help us grow as people and have a positive impact on those around us. In this sense I’ve been influenced by the Megan and David Roche as well as Joe Vigil.
In life I’ve recently been heavily influenced by the late Andrea Gibson who knew that life was worth living because of the hard stuff, not in spite of it. I think running is great at teaching us that lesson.
Race History
I’ve raced everything from fast road 5Ks to 250-mile trail and mountain ultras. My own running is rooted in longevity, grit, and a lifetime of learning how to move softly through hard things physically and emotionally.
These experiences shape my coaching with lived experience: sustainable mileage, intelligent progression, real-life balance, and deep resilience.
I’ve completed 48 trail and ultra races, including 16 podium finishes.
A selection of my endurance results:
- 25K – 2:16
Pass Mountain – 11/18/2017 - 50K – 4:43
Adrenaline Night Runs – 5/19/2018 - 50 Mile – 11:29:09
Mesquite Canyon – 7,359 ft vertical gain – 3/11/2023 - 100K – 11:48
Montour 24 — 12-Hour Format – 7/23/2016 - 100 Mile – 29:08
Mogollon Monster – 20,000+ ft vertical gain – 9/15/2018 - 250 Miles – 108:08:28
Cocodona 250 – 40,000 ft of vert – 5/1/2023
These races represent years of learning how to prepare, adapt, fuel, climb, descend, problem-solve, and persevere, skills I share with my athletes.
Full racing history here on UltraSignup.
Certifications
- Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) Level 1 certified coach.
- Wilderness First Aid
- Leave No Trace Instructor
- Child and Adult CPR/First Aid/AED
Awards & Accolades
- 24+ Ultra Finishes, 17+ podium finishes
- 2017 PA Mountain Running Triple Crown “Queen of the Mountain”
Personal Records
- 25k – 2:16, Pass Mountain 11/18/2017
- 50k – 4:43, Adrenaline Night Runs 5/19/2018
- 50 mile – 11:29:09, Mesquite Canyon (7,359 ft vert gain) 3/11/2023
- 100k – 11:48, Montour 24, 12 hour 7/23/2016
- 100 mile – 29:08 Mogollon Monster (20,000+ft vert gain), 9/15/2018
- 250 miles – 108:08:28 Cocodona 250 (40,000 ft of vert), 5/1/2023
Publications
- Strength Training for Trail Runners
- Salomon Adv Skin 12 Set Hydration Vest Review
- https://trailsisters.net/author/deserae-clarke/
- Cocodona 250 mile Full Race Report
- Cocodona 250 mile Abridged Race Report
- Cocodona 250 Podcast with Extra Tomorrows
- Training for Older Athletes
- Does it Matter how I Tie my Shoes?
- Black Canyon 60k Race Report – 2/15/20
- Strength & Stretching Routines on YouTube
Britania L. –
Coach Des is fantastic! These past couple months have been my first experience working with a coach, and as a perpetual beginner runner, I am so grateful to Des for meeting me where I am, helping me stay accountable, and encouraging me to keep progressing and building confidence on my feet. With the running and strength/ mobility assignments, I can feel myself getting stronger. I’m very thankful for the guidance, structure, and support, and I’m excited to keep going. Thank you Des!
Madeline Henderson –
I cannot recommend Coach Des enough! She takes a holistic approach which is greatly appreciated and she is very responsive. If you want to take your running goals to the next level then go with Coach Des!
Rob –
Working with Des has been a blast. She has been very accommodating of my schedule and done a great job working in cycling workouts to supplement my running. I started the program at the tail end of recovering from an injury and she did an awesome job helping me optimize recovery! I truly appreciate her and her running wisdom.
Gerone Blomgren –
Coach Des takes a very custom approach to her interactions with athletes. She takes the necessary time to get to know where you are in your journey and works with you to build an adaptable plan to get you where you want to be. She is responsive to commentary and questions and imbues your training plan with a sense of confidence. More importantly, Des ‘gets it’. She understands the seemingly contradictory nature of distance runners that find joy and fulfillment in the discomfort that comes with the long miles. She’s an excellent technician but perhaps more importantly and awesome human being to work with.
Jen Triolo –
Des is great. Adjusts to your needs and very personable.
David Keating –
I’ve been with Des for about 6 weeks now. I’ve been very impressed with her weekly training plans. Its my first time using a coach and I was a little hesitant to begin with but now I’m delighted I signed up. The speedwork/hill sessions during the week are awesome and I feel that the gradual increase in total weekly mileage is spot on.
Jill Hockenbroch –
Coach Des has made a huge difference in my training and performance in just a few short months. I feel both challenged and supported with a detailed and customized plan. Recently, I ran a 30 minute PR in an ultra under her guidance! I’m excited to see what the future holds as I continue to work with her. I would HIGHLY recommend her as a coach!
Amelia Rutter –
I signed up with Coach Des in preparation for my first 50 miler later this year. I love the variety of the work outs she schedules for me and she has been super responsive to any questions or schedule changes I have had. Looking forward to many more months of training with her!
Marchea Sovde –
Des is wonderful! I am a beginner with knee and hip issues. She provided me with the perfect exercises to help me build my strength in my endeavors to become a trail runner. She is supportive and always responds to my questions. She is a great coach!
Michael Armsby –
This is my first time using a run coach and Coach Des has made that feel like the absolute correct move. She’s very responsive, the workouts are challenging but manageable and she’s adapted to my ever changing lifestyle (becoming a first time parent!). Having her has removed the guess work and insecurity about whether I’m doing the right things to be prepared for races. Thanks, Des!
Rachel Mason –
Well, I went and broke my foot about a month into working with Des (unrelated accident!), but I’ve been very happy with her so far. The marathon training plan she put together was stretching me just about the right amount, and she had clearly listened when I talked about my goals and previous experience. Des has been very good about checking in with me and coming up with a non-weight-bearing strength training plan while I recover, and is helping me remember that stuff like this happens and it’s not the end of the world.
Kelly D –
Coach Des has been an instrument of knowledge. Her expertise and ability has given me the confidence to train for my first 100 miler. Some might say I was already an “experienced” runner, but Coach Des’ training plan has already elevated my performance with proper programing including rest and not over-training. In my current program, I PR’d a marathon and won first place women’s overall in another race. Depending on your needs and wants, Des is highly approachable and has even started to coach my wife as a beginner runner too.
Natalie Halapin –
Des is the first coach I’ve worked with, and I feel very fortunate to have found such a great match right from the start. She helped me achieve my goal of running Black Canyon 100K close to a specific goal time, while providing a training plan that made sense with my all-over-the-place work schedule. I’m not new to ultrarunning, but felt like I needed some more-experienced guidance for this particular goal. She’s very knowledgeable and supportive, and I’m continuing to work with her because it’s been such a great experience. I’d highly recommend her to anyone!
Laura Mathis –
Coach Des has been very helpful and encouraging with a large goal I’ve set out for myself. She answers all of my questions and her training plans are straight forward and uncomplicated! What more can you ask for?
Luisa Pinto –
I have had a great experience with Des being my coach! She has helped me reach my goal and work through some injuries. She is super attentive and has an open line of communication. I’m glad I found her as my coach and I hope to keep running under her trainings.
Becky Tsang –
I have been working with Coach Des for a few months now and I’m already feeling results of her training plan. She has been great at checking in, adjusting as needed, and working around my goals and schedule. I like the consistency and purpose she has given to my running.
Rebecca Learned –
I’ve enjoyed working with Coach Des so far in my 50k training. She is responsive to my questions and need for advice. She helped me with some patellar tendinitis issues and tweaked my training schedule to accommodate for a week. She is encouraging when I need it. She’s given me good race fueling/nutrition advice. I didn’t want a coach that wants to always hold my hand, a “helicopter” coach. Coach Des has been exactly the kind of coach I wanted.
Lauren Hoover –
Des is such a great coach to work with. She is the perfect amount of stern and understanding. Des’ communication is consistent and thorough. I am so fortunate to have found her and my running is improving every day secondary to her program. I feel I can accomplish all my crazy goals with her guidance.
Darrell Read –
Desarae is an awesome coach. My goals were to run a 13.1 or more mile races each month but die to the covit 19 all the races were cancelled. She kept my training on point and I ran my first 50k. She has a strong knowledge on nutrition and running gear.
Carolyn Davis –
Deserae is amazing. Attentive and thoughtful in her communication and keeps me accountable. She has given me tips on form and stretches; useful advise that I’ve put to use and it’s been great. Top notch coach and I am so happy I found her!