Whether you’re a new athlete, plateauing, looking to build a support system, want to improve, and/or want to be competitive at the top level, I’d love to help! Some other areas I can help with include:

• Speed
• Endurance
• Power
• Strength and weight lifting
• Plyometrics programming
• Durability
• Dexterity (balancing multiple sports)
• Technique
• Fueling
• Hydration
• Race and adventure calendar
• Race and adventure pacing and strategy
• Mental game
• Accountability
• Integrating science with practice
• Injury management and return from injury
• Overall health

Logistically, you can expect the following when working with me:

• I provide an individualized training plan, or you provide a plan.
• I review data, adapt the plan, and respond to questions daily.
• We meet virtually as needed (usually every 2 weeks), for check-ins, extra Q&A, race prep, and overall development.
• You have the option to join a local team Strava group for in-person group meet-ups.
• Discounted nutrition support from Mountain Sports Dietitian.
• My cat and I give you endless support and belief!

My mission is to work in partnership with athletes to help them get what they want to out of sport, such as enjoyment, camaraderie, challenge, dexterity, competition, health, and/or other things.

My coaching values include:

1. Care: I care about you, and I care about sports. I hope you can participate in sports for as long as you’d like to. You’re doing hard work, and equally hard adapting, and I’m here to support you and help you have fun along the way!
2. Collaboration: We’ll work together to personalize your training based on your goals, stressors, training age, physiological profile, biomechanics, time, and equipment accessibility, among other things. Please ask questions so we can learn together. I’m open to new ideas and welcome your perspectives.
3. Challenge: Some challenges that I work through with most athletes are fueling, hydration, heat management, and fear of long, hard, or even easy sessions. Other challenges can include consistency, injury, and falling short of goals. I’m of the opinion that learning how to manage challenges spurs growth not just in athletics but also in life.
4. Commitment: I’m committed to understanding you and your journey as an athlete as best I can. We’ll find a sustainable plan that enables long-term success.

I have 3+ years of experience coaching high school through masters athletes, novice and advanced athletes, athletes with full-time jobs, children, and other responsibilities, pregnant and postpartum athletes, and athletes with physical disabilities.

The athletes I’ve worked with and I have trained for many races and adventures. Here is a sampling:

• Road running: CIM (BQ), San Francisco Marathon and Ultramarathon, Eugene Marathon, Napa Valley Marathon, Baystate Marathon, Philadelphia Marathon, Hartford Marathon, Cheap Marathon, Manchester City Marathon, Charles River Marathon, Brooklyn Half Marathon, Oakland Half Marathon, Berkeley Half Marathon, Monterey Half Marathon, Beach to Beacon 10k, Lake Chabot 5k.
• Trail running: Mount Ascutney Vertical Backyard, Rim to River 100, Pine to Palm 100, Javelina 100, Bandera 100k, Lake Sonoma 100k, Marin Ultra Challenge 50M, TARC Fall Classic 50M and 50k, Stone Cat 50M, Mammoth Trail Fest 50k and 26k, Headlands 50k, Rodeo Valley 30k, Canyons 25k, Broken Arrow 23k, TARC Blue Hills 12k, Loon Mountain Vertical Kilometer, 5-10k XC races.
• Triathlon: Ironman Lake Placid, Ironman California, Ironman Canada, Bear Lake Brawl 70.3, Napa Valley 70.3, Santa Cruz 70.3, Happy Valley 70.3, Santa Rosa 70.3, Patriot 70.3, Cal Tri Austin.
• Adventures: Burrito League, Bike Everesting, White Mountains Pemigewasett Loop.

Hi, I’m Serena! I am enthusiastic and curious about all things sports and coaching. The athletes I work with primarily seek adventure and competition in running and triathlon races. They’ve celebrated 5k personal-records, 100-mile ultra finishes, first open-water swims, championship qualifications, and big life events! In addition, I publish a training-related Substack and have helped create content for the female athlete-centered Huzzah Hub.

I graduated from Harvard with a B.S. in Engineering Sciences (and a “minor” in Lightweight Rowing!) and received my M.D. from the University of California, San Francisco. During medical school, I also completed a M.Sc. in Bioengineering at the University of California, Berkeley studying biosensors. When I decided to transition from medicine to coaching, I participated in the year-long Coaching Fellowship for Rowing Leadership in Boston. I now live in the Bay Area with my husband and cat.

Aside from the amazing athletes and people I get to work with, some things I am grateful for include: Methods sections of papers. Two-thirds into a race distance. The smell of redwoods after it rains. The texture of focaccia dough. Muir and the Mountain route on Zwift. Post-mountain pizza. And Team RunRun!

Steve Magness, Some Work All Play (SWAP), Carmichael Training Systems (CTS), Evoke Endurance, Purple Patch Fitness, Mario Fraioli, Matt Fitzgerald.

I race for fun, challenge, and community. Parkrun 5ks, trail ultras, multi-day adventures, they’re all difficult for different reasons, and I love them all. I also enjoy switching it up and doing one triathlon (usually a Half or Full Ironman distance) per year.

• NFHS Fundamentals of Coaching
• Advanced Certificate in Rowing Leadership
• Doctor of Medicine (MD), University of California San Francisco
• Master of Science (MSc), University of California, Berkeley

• Fastest 5K run: 21:05, sending it down a trail one day
• Fastest 100M run: 21.5 hours
• Most elevation in one day: 29k feet on a bike
• Most vert in a week: 54.5k feet hiking/running
• Most carbs per hour consumed during activity: 100g/hr

• Standards, Goals and Expectations
• The Dextrous Athlete
• Wildfires and Health Education Hub