Ella Uyekawa – Flagstaff Running Coach

5.00 out of 5
(4 customer reviews)

$99.00 / month and a $19.00 sign-up fee

Joyful ultra runner excited to help beginner ultra runners + post partum mother runners of any distance!

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Description

Flagstaff running coach and Certified Personal Trainer, Ella is your coach for road half and full marathons and trail ultras, and for new moms running through pregnancy on their way to staying fit during pregnancy and working towards new running goals afterwards.

Contact Ella

LEVELS: Beginner, Intermediate
TYPES: Road, Trail
DISTANCES: 5k/10k/Half Marathon, Marathon, Ultra
TRAINING PLATFORM: Final Surge
TRAINING PLAN: Individual, customized training plan
COMMUNICATION: Unlimited email, unlimited text
RESPONSE TIME: Within 24 hours
LOCATION: Flagstaff, AZ
IN-PERSON SESSIONS: No, online coaching only

SPECIALTIES

Whilst I enjoy working with a wide range of runners, I have a particular love of coaching post-partum runners and newer/first time ultra runners! I have found great joy seeing those under my coaching flourish as their confidence and strength grows.

PHILOSOPHY

My philosophy of running has changed a lot over the years. As a ‘type A’ personality, it has taken time to shift from the ‘rules’ of running to the pure joy of it. While I still love to create schedules and set goals (structure is the trellis on which we grow), I have grown in the freedom of running.
During a particularly beautiful trail run, I had the words “be grateful, be present, enjoy the process” run through my mind. Since then I have used those words to re-center myself as I run, taking time to be grateful for the smallest things, to be present to my surroundings, and to remind myself that training is a process and that I can enjoy the journey not just the ‘destination’ of the next race. What a gift to be able to run!
All of my programming is individualized for each athlete based on numerous factors including available training time within your (and your family’s) life, current fitness level, and current goals. All training plans will be adapted based on how life throws us changes!

I believe that clear expectations are an important part of any coach/athlete partnership.

What you can expect from training with me:

  • Daily communication (mainly through Final Surge, but can be via text/phone/email)
  • Personalized training program
  • 2-4 weeks worth of training at a time (always with flexibility!)
  • Running form/gait video check
  • Suggestions on fueling strategies surrounding running (further work with nutrition must be done with a registered dietician)
  • Shoe recommendation and gear suggestions
  • Emphasis on rest + recovery. Training from a place of rest.
  • Warm ups and cool downs
  • Core and leg strength workouts if wanted

What I expect from my athletes:

  • Regular communication
  • Timely feedback on activities though FinalSurge (the more feedback, the better I coach!)
  • Honesty with how you are doing!

COACHING EXPERIENCE

Running Coach since January 2022
Personal Trainer since January 2019

In 2021 I started my coach certification and simultaneously hired my own Team Run Run coach. I wanted to experience the impact of having a coach myself and ended up wondering why I hadn’t hired one earlier! What a fantastic difference it made to have someone constantly in my corner and available to chat about things that only another ultra runner would understand! I hope to be that encouraging coach for others.

ABOUT ME

Born and raised in Australia I grew up riding horses and playing soccer, never really enjoying running. When I was 16 I developed a rare blood disorder and had to have a bone marrow transplant. That was a very challenging and transforming season of my life which left me with a zeal for life and adventure, never wanting to take my health for granted.

After doing a few years of 5k fun runs, it wasn’t until I was 22 that a friend suggested I join her in training for the Melbourne Marathon later in the year. I had never run farther than 5k and couldn’t quite comprehend running a marathon, but I was up for the challenge! During that process I fell into a great rhythm with running and experienced the enjoyment of training runs and the discipline required to reach such a goal. Since then I have worked my way up to ultra marathons currently up to the 50k distance. I have a love for the trails but incorporate road running into my training (esp if I don’t have a trail buddy!).

I currently live in Flagstaff AZ with my husband and our baby boy. I love eating great food (burritos and Thai food!) and am currently starting a new chapter in my life of being a mother runner!

BIG INFLUENCES

A lot of the people who inspire me are not household names. I’m inspired by the people who keep persevering despite the difficulties. I am particularly inspired by runners facing health issues, those running for a cause bigger than themselves and mothers who can still train for ultras whilst raising their children!

Specific athletes who inspire me include Courtney Dauwalter, Emelie Forsberg, Kílian Jornet, Hillary Allen, Jennifer Farr Davis and Scott Jurek to name a few.

Podcasts that inspire me:

  • Run Hard, Mom Hard
  • Trail Society
  • The Freetrail Podcast with Dylan Bowman

RACING HISTORY

I started taking on half and full marathons in 2014. Since then I have lost count of how many half marathons and marathons I’ve done! Most memorable would have to be races with Vacation Races at Yosemite Nat Park and Joshua Tree Nat Park. My husband and I love traveling for races!

In 2018 I did my first ultra, a 50k in Australia before moving to the US. In 2020 I did a self supported ultra during COVID, and in 2021 I did two 50k events including my first Skyrace (whilst pregnant!). I’ve also enjoyed trying out OCR, sprint triathlon and duathlon events.

CERTIFICATIONS

  • UESCA Certified Running Coach
  • ACE Certified Personal Trainer
  • CPR/First Aid
  • Registered Nurse (Australia)

PRs

  • Half Marathon: 1:57
  • Marathon: 4:03
  • 50k Ultra: 6:37

CONTACT ELLA

Finding a coach who is a great fit for you is really important. We encourage you to email your coach prior to signing up so you can connect, communicate, and ensure a good athlete/coach fit.

Give us a brief history of your running, and this can include what distances and/or races you’ve run, how long you’ve been running, any past or present injuries, if you’ve worked with a coach or a specific training program before, etc.
Any short term or long term goals?
Describe your ideal coach/athlete relationship.
Any questions/comments for Team RunRun or the Coach in general?

SOCIAL

4 reviews for Ella Uyekawa – Flagstaff Running Coach

  1. 5 out of 5

    Stephanie Bouman

    Working with Ella as my coach has been instrumental in helping me to regain my love of running after some difficult personal setbacks last year. Her encouragement and positivity have helped me to improve my mental and physical running game. Highly recommend to anyone looking for a coach with bucket loads of empathy and grace mixed in with enthusiasm and technical know how.

  2. 5 out of 5

    Heather Mathias

    Where can I find the words to describe how awesome Ella is?! She is one of the best coaches I’ve ever had, hands down. In the past 2 months of working with her, I’ve shaved nearly 3 minutes of my average mile. She’s currently training me for a marathon in march and because of her dedication as a coach and her way of motivating me, I feel stronger every day. She stays in touch and is always providing feedback which is both important and what motivates me. She’s always positive. I’ve recommended her to my wife who recently signed up with her, and is nothing but thrilled by the level of coaching. Ella’s the bomb.com!

  3. 5 out of 5

    Helen Jane Middleton

    Ella has been a fabulous coach, I started working with her a few months before my second marathon as I wanted to try and improve my speed and with her help I was able to get 35 minutes off my time!
    Not only did she help we achieve a PB and start working towards my longer term goals, she is great to work with. I live in Australia and she goes out of her way to make sure we can connect regularly to discuss strategy and plans, is always giving me encouragement and direction on how my runs and training are going, and works around my very busy life style! She is great at checking in on not just my training, but my overall wellness and ensuring I am getting adequate cross training, rest, nutrition, etc to ensure I can continue to push for my goals without going too hard.
    I highly recommend her to everyone!

  4. 5 out of 5

    brittfischer8

    Ella is amazing. She definitely takes all the awkwardness and annoyance out of coaching that some may find from other coaches. She is willing to work with you work with your life, work and race schedule. The workouts she assigns for you are manageable and comfortably hard to help push you to the next level. She is constantly checking in to make sure that the numbers are right and that I am feeling okay after my runs. She is great at recommending other types of workouts such as yoga, Pilates, strength training, cross training, and more. I’ve been an avid runner for about five years. In that time I’ve ran anything from a 5K to a marathon. I then suffered a really hard year; first giving birth to my daughter then facing a severe injury. I’ve wanted to get back to running a marathon and I want to do it safely and with the right training. While I was scared to even run a half marathon with Ella I have progressively gotten faster in all my half marathons back. Also, she has helped me realize that I can run a marathon again and that I am just as good of a runner as I was before and I’m still going to be better in the future. Ella is helping me work towards my goals and helping me see that the goals I have aren’t too big that I was just thinking small when it came to them. I would HIGHLY recommend her.

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