Michelle Cupersmith – Las Vegas Running Coach
From: $90.00 / month and a $19.00 sign-up fee
Run with purpose. Run with joy. I’ll help you accomplish your running goals while managing a busy schedule.
Description
Las Vegas running coach Michelle Cupersmith’s philosophy is to train with a purpose and get uncomfortable. Her specialties are on the roads and the trails, from the 5k to the marathon, and she’s helped a wide range of runners, across different ages, abilities and life constraints.
LEVELS: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced
TYPES: Road, Trail, Track
DISTANCES: 5k/10k/Half Marathon, Marathon
TRAINING PLATFORM: Google Docs
TRAINING PLAN: Individual, customized training plan
COMMUNICATION: Unlimited email, unlimited text, unlimited phone
RESPONSE TIME: Within 48 hours
LOCATION: Las Vegas, NV
IN-PERSON SESSIONS: Yes, meet within Summerlin. At a minimum all sessions include a form analysis, warm up with dynamic stretching, main workout (could be a hills, speed, long run – whatever you want!) and cool down with static stretching. These sessions are designed to meet your specific needs and goals. Before meeting, you’ll be asked for an overview of what you want to accomplish so Michelle can structure the hour accordingly. Please reach out to Coach Michelle if interested.
SPECIALTIES
My goal is to help you find joy in running, while training with purpose. I’m skilled in road and trail race distances from 5Ks to marathons and know how to work around a busy schedule. Kids, full time job, travel – you name it, I’ll figure out a way to still get training in. I enjoy working with runners of all levels and experience. If you are motivated and want to improve your running, whether it’s completing your first 5K or beating a PR, I’m here to guide you.
PHILOSOPHY
Train with purpose and get uncomfortable. To be successful and crush your goals, each workout in your training program needs to have a purpose – want to be faster, prepare for a hilly race, or simply establish a running foundation? Each run in your training program serves a purpose to ensure consistent progression as an athlete, while limiting the risk of injury or burn out. I take pride in making sure your unique training plan is designed for you, and each workout is helping reach your goal.
I also believe progress comes when we get outside of our heads and get uncomfortable. You can do hard things. You are capable of more. I’ll push you to accomplish goals you once thought were out of reach. All you need to do is trust the training plan. Always remember nothing is more gratifying than finishing a run you thought was impossible.
COACHING EXPERIENCE
I have been coaching and advising runners of all abilities and levels since 2007. My coaching experience started with creating 5k and 5-mile training plans for friends and family who wanted to get into running and didn’t know how. Since then I’ve helped friends improve their half and full marathon times by teaching them how to structure their training, incorporate strength workouts and practice fueling.
I also started a kids running program in Las Vegas for 10- to 12-year-olds. My own kids have seen me bring home medals, attend races and block out time to run. As they’ve grown, they’ve asked to run with me. This inspired me to create a running program for kids, something which didn’t exist in Vegas. It not only allows them to run with me in a structured manner, but also gives other kids the same opportunity to participate in a physical, lifelong activity.
ABOUT ME
I currently reside in Las Vegas, NV with my family and two children. As an 11-year-old all the cool kids wore fancy running shoes to school. I wanted to be cool and asked my parents for a pair of blue and green ASICS. They agreed to buy them as long as I also used them to run. I reluctantly agreed and soon found myself running with my dad on weekends.
What started as an obligation, turned into something I enjoyed. I joined the track team and was a sprinter in High School, participating in regional and state tournaments. In college I transitioned to longer distances and eventually in my 20s to half and full marathons. Running has always been my hobby, my outlet, my passion. I’ve run to find peace in my life, I’ve run to mull over hard decisions, I’ve run through both of my pregnancies and even run to simply have ‘me’ time. When people ask what I do for fun, I only have one reply – I run.
BIG INFLUENCES
My family and children are my biggest influences. My family is my rock, supporting and encouraging me to test my limits and push harder. My children inspire me to train daily and keep improving. I want them to continue believing every parent goes out for a long run on the weekends or wakes up at dawn to run before work, and one day they will too. I want to teach them physical activity is not a luxury; it is essential for self-care and building mental strength. That failing when trying new things is OK, they are works in progress and each success has the same importance and value as each failure. I’m their example, their baseline for normal and I want them to grow up believing they are capable of doing more.
RACING HISTORY
I have raced everything from sprint distances to a 6 hour ultra. I’ve completed 4 marathons, countless half marathons, 10Ks and 5Ks. For most of my running career I was too afraid to race. My own fear of failure took over and I didn’t sign up, worried I wouldn’t PR or finish on the podium. It took years for me to shift my focus from racing others to racing for the joy of racing. Not every race is going to be great, but every race I finish is another accomplishment in my journey to become a stronger runner mentally and physically.
CERTIFICATIONS
- RRCA Certified Running Coach
PRs
- 5k- 20:51
- 10k- 42:03
- 10 mile – 1:06:20 (Red Rock 10 Miler)
- 1/2 Marathon- 1:30:25
- Marathon – 3:11:26 (St. George Marathon)
- 6 Hour Ultra Marathon- 37.2 miles in 5:47:54 (Happy Hippie Harvest Run)
CONTACT MICHELLE
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.
SOCIAL
Dom –
Michelle has been coaching me through my first marathon. The initial call went great. She asked pertinent questions to understand my goals, experience, and current fitness level. We also worked out the best way to communicate and she is very flexible to find a way that works best. The call didn’t feel rushed and she answered all my questions. She was very realistic with me from the get-go about what most achieve in such a short timeframe but also understanding that I was willing to try my best and to help me as much as possible. Overall first impression is that she’s very professional nice to talk to.
Now that we’ve been training for 3 months together, I’m so glad I have her in my corner. She is very responsive and checks in to see how certain runs went and how I’m feeling to we can ramp up or scale back. She’s helped me understand what to expect on longer runs beforehand so that I’ll be successful. Under her guidance, I’m sure I’ve avoided lots of pitfalls and potential fatigue and injury. Because she dials in the training just right so I’m getting the volume needed for the marathon while minimizing risk.
I highly recommend Michelle and as I progress as a runner after this marathon I’ll definitely ask her to coach me again.
Adrian Williams –
I absolutely love working with Michelle. The program is well designed, challenging but realistic. She is super supportive and incredibly responsive. She gives great advice, hints and tips. I am looking forward to achieving future running goals with Michelle.
Celia –
Michelle is an incredible coach. My physical therapist and doctors recommended I find a running coach for my recovery. She was very understanding about my unique challenges, and goals; this was really reflected in the training plans created. Communication was always amazing, and Michelle has a way of making you feel like you’re the only client she has. She would take it upon herself to schedule phone calls to check in and make sure I was being challenged, but also comfortable and see if there was anything else she could do for me. She helped me with diet information, form, and overall just expanded my knowledge. Highly recommend!
Lynda Russell –
I am loving my engagement with Michelle. I signed up for her coaching as I am planning my first half marathon in Feb 2023 and whilst I started doing 10km using online training plan, I really wanted personalized coaching as I increased my distances. I am loving the experience and the support. During the first weeks she has been coaching me towards a 12K (which was yesterday) in which I PR’ed and exceeded my wildest expectations on time! 12 weeks now to the HM and I look forward to working through the plan. Not only do I love having someone who builds the plan, but Michelle has also done coaching on fueling and exercises. Her support is highly responsive and always very understandable. I would highly recommend her!
scott davidson –
Really incredible coach. I am a para athlete and Michelle jumped in and helped me prepare for a race and distance that no other para athletes like me have completed. We had a short time to prepare and Michelle got me prepped with distance, recovery, fueling and more. I was able to complete this distance.
Eddie Grier –
Michelle is my 1st online running coach. Of course I had track running coaches in MS & HS, plus college but never a online coach. Right now I’m currently a few weeks into my fall training cycle for Dallas in December. This will be my 7th marathon, the 6 before I did my on thing with help from seeing other training plans online and following them to the best of my ability. Prior to the fall cycle, Michelle started me off with several weeks of base training introducing me to workouts that I personally never done. For myself it’s a new look and I have enjoyed it so far. I have 2 races left before my A race (Dallas). Strength work & fuel for running learning that aspect has been good for me as well! We still have work to do to hopefully achieve a big goal of mine for a couple years that I have been chasing. Coach Michelle has been great & very encouraging to this point for me…looking forward to the next 3 months before Dallas!
Hayim Mizrachi –
I started working with Michelle to train for my first 1/2 marathon. She asked tons of questions to uncover my goals and organized a training program accordingly. During training she had a lot of good wisdom to share along the way, which you would expect from such an experienced coach. What was not as expected is that Michelle checked in on me if I missed a check in. It showed that she was invested in my outcome. The result was that I completed the 1/2 beating my time goal and I felt that I ran strong during the run and finishing the run.
So now I am training for a full marathon. When I told Michelle this would be my next pursuit she made sure to explain just how big of a commitment this would be. During training, Michelle has been there, just as invested with just as much experience and quality coaching.
I’m a couple weeks out from race day. Michelle is proactive about scheduling a call to make sure I’m ready. I’ll let you know how it goes!
Crystal Jones –
I have been working with Michelle for a few months now and my pace has already improved. That was the main reason I was looking for a coach. But with her, my form, nutrition and hydration has also greatly improved. It’s very easy to communicate and get in touch with her. I have learned so much about running even in the short time we have worked together.
Bonny Gardner –
My experience with Michelle was very positive! I found Michelle to be very knowledgeable and helpful. As a beginner runner, she was able to meet me where I was, and design a training schedule that was realistic to meet my goals. In a little over a month, I was able to run farther than I ever had in the last 10 years running on my own. I am excited to continue working with Michelle to help me meet my running goals. Michelle is very organized and responsive. I especially appreciated the phone call check ins. I would recommend Michelle to any new or seasoned runner looking to attain new running goals. She is a great accountability partner and running coach.
Chase Krien –
Michelle is guiding me through a half-marathon training plan right now and I love working with her. From the beginning I asked her to assume I knew nothing about running. She has helped me with stretches, running fuel, gear, strength workouts, you name it. I’ve enjoyed having someone to talk to when I have issues or questions pop up, as not knowing if I’m attacking my training correctly was one of the biggest holdbacks to me increasing my running distances. One of my favorite things about having Michelle as my coach is the typically rapid turn around if I shoot her a text or email on something (I try not to abuse this privilege!).
Kerri Ann Hulet –
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I first looked into an online coach – My initial telephone conversation with Michelle went very well. I could tell immediately that she was experienced, friendly, and committed to helping me reach my goals. Since then, Michelle has exceeded my expectations. After one month of working with her, I eagerly signed up for an additional 6 month period – I knew I needed Michelle to help me accomplish my goal of completing my FIRST marathon! During the past few months, Michelle has given me advice for stretching, warm up exercises, fueling during long runs and even completely changed up my training plan (and offered an empathetic ear!) to give me some time off my feet when I struggled through an injury. She’s also coached me through a half marathon at high elevation. I would highly recommend her! ????