I have the most experience coaching high school athletes in Cross Country and Track, and adults in trail racing. I have coached adults looking for fast half marathon and marathon PR, as well as the trail runner trying to compete in an 100k race. I have coached trail runners from a 10k trail run, up to a 100 mile race.

I believe runners seek coaches for different reasons, so I do an extensive interview to get to know each athlete, and what they are looking for in a Coach, but universally I philosophy as a Coach is to help guide the athlete to reach a next level in their running fitness, as well as keeping them healthy, so they can continue to enjoy doing the sport they love.

I coached Cross Country and Track at the High School level since 2018. I was a volunteer coach for one year at a College in Cross Country and Track. I have coached adult runners since 2019. I coached a Trail Running Program through Run Hub NW in 2019, and that is what got me in to coaching adults. I received my USAT Coaching Certification in 2014 to Coach Triathletes.

I grew up in Northeast Iowa, and went to a small 1A High School, where I ran Cross Country and Track. I fell in love with running early in my life, since it was a way to get my energy out in a small town that didn’t have much going on. I ended up going to a small Division three college to run Cross Country and Track in College. I received my Degree in Physical Education, and moved out to Oregon. Once in Oregon I became a competitive Triathlete, and received my Masters in Education at the University of Willamette. In 2012 I moved to Oakridge for a Teaching position. Oakridge is a small town, that does not have a pool, and not very great roads to bike on, but they have an abundance of trails. I started to run on them with my 3 year old Vizsla, and fell in love. I sold all of my Triathlon gear, and have been on the trails ever since.

Since Oakridge is where I started to run trails, I decided to put on a trail race there in 2017. On June 12th, 2026, will be the 10th time I have put on the race!

Since getting into trail running, I was able to start a Trail Running Program with the help of a running store in 2019. This was my first experience coaching adult runners, and I have enjoyed the challenge on getting the most out of each athlete, while being flexible with their daily life obstacles (kids, work, injuries, etc.)

In 2020 I was thankful enough to take over the Thurston High School XC and distance Track program. It was been amazing building up the program. Getting the kids to buy in, and watch their improvement.

Coaching both a High School team and adult athletes are rewarding in different ways. I love that I get to see the High School team each day. They are all working for one common goal, and have to work as a team to accomplish that goal. Adult athletes are rewarding to coach because how different each runner is with their background, their goals, their lifestyle, and their road blocks. It is a rewarding challenge.

I am an avid reader, and try to read all of the latest books on Cross Country, track, and distance running training. As a High School Coach, I look up to Successful High School Coaches, that have brought their teams to state titles, or Nationals. Every year I contact a few of them and have a coffee meeting with them.

After getting into trail running in 2015 I realized that I had some talent at uphill running, and enjoyed the reward of summiting a mountain. I heard of the Pike Peak Ascent in Colorado Springs, and decided to do it. In August 2016, I flew out there the day before the race thinking I could get a top 10 finish. Boy I was wrong. Once I got above tree line, I was very humbled by the altitude. I had to walk almost all of the last three miles to the top of Pikes Peak, which is over 14,000 feet in elevation. After that I made it a goal to do the best I could in this race, so in 2017, 2018, and 2019 I rented a room in Colorado Springs one month before the race, to get acclimated. During that month I tried to run up as many mountains as I could, and train at high altitudes. My training worked as I improved my Pikes Peak finish each year! From 2016 without any altitude training, but being very fit I placed 32nd place. In 2017 I improved to 14th place. in 2018 I placed 8th, and in 2019 I placed 7th overall out of around 2,000 runners! My goal was to place in the top 5 for 2020 but then covid hit, and they ended up moving the race to September, which with high school coaching I could never do.

I never got that top 5 finish at Pikes Peak, but I did see what was possible for those three years, and really dedicated my entire being to that goal, and am very proud of my accomplishment.

The Thurston Cross Country teams (boys and girls) qualified for the state meet in 2025. This is the first time since 2009 that both teams qualified together. For the 2026 Track season, I had a boy who placed 3rd overall in the 800.

My own running achievements: 7th in the 2019 Pikes Peak Ascent. 6th in 2019 Xterra Trail World Championships. 7th place in the 2021 Xterra Trail World Championships.

• 800: 2:01. 1500: 4:10. 3k: 8:50. 5k: 15:55.
• Pike Peak Ascent: 2:33
• 25k trail race: 1:40.
• 50k trail race: 4:08
• 95% ultrasignup score.