This year marks an incredible milestone for Coach Rosie as she celebrates five years with Runcoach.

Over the past five years, Rosie has helped countless runners and walkers achieve goals they once thought were out of reach. From first-time finishers to seasoned marathoners, her thoughtful coaching approach, attention to detail, and genuine passion for helping others have made a lasting impact on the Runcoach community.

To celebrate her five-year anniversary, I sat down with Rosie to reflect on how the running world has evolved, what she's learned along the way, and some of the athletes who have inspired her most.

Q: Looking back over the last five years, what are the biggest changes you've seen in the running world?

Rosie: The two biggest advancements I've seen are definitely carbon-plated shoes and high-carbohydrate fueling strategies.

The impact of carbon-plated footwear on performance is undeniable, but if I'm honest, it's the evolution of fueling that fascinates me most. We're learning so much more about how athletes can properly fuel before and during training and racing, and it's completely changing the marathon experience for many runners.

I love helping athletes work through the trial-and-error process of finding what works best for them. When you see someone successfully execute their fueling plan and avoid hitting the wall in a marathon, it's incredibly rewarding.

Q: What has changed most for you personally during these five years?

Rosie: Last year I became a mom, and that has been the biggest change of all.

The arrival of my son, Leo, has completely transformed my life. It's been an amazing journey, and it's given me a new perspective on both running and coaching. I'm still pursuing my own competitive goals, but now I have the added motivation of seeing him waiting for me at the finish line.

Q: What do you enjoy most about coaching through Runcoach?

Rosie: Without question, it's watching athletes exceed their own expectations.

Many runners start with goals that feel intimidating or even impossible. What I love is seeing them consistently show up, trust the process, and gradually chip away at those goals. Then one day, something that once felt unattainable becomes reality.

Seeing the confidence and satisfaction that comes from achieving a goal you've worked hard for is one of the most rewarding parts of coaching.

Q: Is there a particular athlete story that stands out?

Rosie: There are so many, but one athlete who immediately comes to mind is Paul Nolan.

Paul competes in the 70-74 age group and completed marathons on six different continents last year. That's impressive enough on its own, but what makes his story special is who he is outside of running.

Paul is a devoted father who learned Mandarin after adopting his daughter, and now the two of them often travel together to races around the world. Watching him continue to pursue ambitious goals while sharing those experiences with his family has been incredibly inspiring.

Thank You, Coach Rosie

Five years of coaching means five years of early-morning race nerves, breakthrough workouts, marathon celebrations, setbacks overcome, and countless finish-line moments shared with athletes around the world.

Coach Rosie has been an invaluable part of the Runcoach team, and we're grateful for the expertise, encouragement, and care she brings to every athlete she works with.

Congratulations on five amazing years, Rosie. We can't wait to see what's next.

Something shifted this spring - and it wasn’t just the weather.

At the Boston Marathon, we saw fast times across the board. Some pointed to ideal conditions - and that’s always part of the story. But then came the London Marathon. No tailwind. No excuses. Just historic performances.

Sebastian Sawe ran 1:59:30.
Tigst Assefa ran 2:15:41, setting a women’s-only world record.

So what connects Boston and London? It’s not just talent. It’s not just shoes. It’s fueling. 

The Carb Revolution Is No Longer a Theory

For years, endurance athletes were told to limit carbohydrate intake or “train low.”

That thinking has flipped - completely.

At the elite level, the focus now is maximizing carbohydrate availability in both training and racing. Here’s what we’re seeing:

• -Sebastian Sawe took in around 115g of carbs per hour, plus a pre-race gel
• -Yomif Kejelcha used high-carb fueling strategies throughout competition
• -Charles Hicks reportedly took in over 150g per hour at Boston
• -Holly Archer has shown lower perceived effort at higher carb intakes
• -Louise Small averaged over 120g per hour in racing

This isn’t marginal gains anymore. This is a fundamental shift in how endurance performance is built.

Fueling Is Driving the Training

The real breakthrough isn’t just what’s happening on race day - it’s what’s happening in training. Higher carbohydrate intake allows athletes to:

• -Train harder
• -Recover faster
• -Maintain consistency week after week

Instead of digging a hole with every hard session, runners are actually supporting the work required to improve. That’s a big shift. Fitness is no longer limited by how much discomfort you can tolerate - it’s supported by how well you fuel.

Why This Changes Everything

This isn’t just about elites running faster times. It’s about why they’re running faster. When fueling improves, everything downstream improves:

• -Better session quality
• -More stable energy levels
• -Fewer breakdown cycles
• -More consistent progression

We’re seeing it across the board - marathoners, triathletes, cyclists. Better fueling leads to better training. Better training leads to better performance.

What This Means for You

No, you don’t need to jump straight to 120-150g of carbs per hour. But the direction is clear:

• -Underfueling is holding a lot of runners back
• -Carbohydrates are not the enemy - they’re a tool
• -Training adaptations improve when energy availability is high

The key is doing it correctly for your body and your training.

The Bottom Line

We’re entering a new era of endurance performance.

Records that once felt untouchable are starting to fall - not because athletes suddenly got more talented, but because they’re finally fueling in a way that supports their potential.

High carbohydrate fueling is leading that shift. And for the first time in a long time, performance gains are coming from something that also supports better training consistency and long-term development.

That’s a change worth paying attention to.

Running is tough on the body—in the best way. Every mile logged, hill climbed, and interval crushed is a step toward becoming stronger. But progress doesn’t happen during the workout itself—it happens during recovery. Whether you’re a new runner or chasing a PR, prioritizing recovery is one of the smartest ways to stay consistent, healthy, and improving.

Here are our top recovery tips and tricks for runners:

1. Don’t Skip the Warm Down

We build a warm down into your training plan for a reason—it matters. That short jog and bit of movement afterward helps your body transition out of hard effort, reduces tightness, and sets you up for a smoother recovery.

2. Refuel Within 30–60 Minutes

Your body needs fuel to rebuild. Aim for a mix of carbs and protein after your run—something like chocolate milk, a smoothie with fruit and Greek yogurt, or a sandwich with lean protein. The sooner you replenish, the better your muscles recover.

3. Hydrate Like It’s Your Job

Even mild dehydration can affect performance and recovery. Replace fluids lost through sweat, and don’t forget electrolytes—especially after long runs or hot-weather workouts. If your urine is pale yellow, you’re in good shape.

4. Sleep: Your Secret Weapon

If recovery had a gold standard, it would be sleep. Aim for 7–9 hours per night, and prioritize quality sleep after long runs or hard workouts. It’s the cheapest performance enhancer out there—and one of the most effective.

5. Stretch and Mobilize Daily

You don’t need to become a yogi, but 5–10 minutes of dynamic mobility or light stretching can go a long way. Focus on hips, hamstrings, calves, and quads. Foam rolling can help release tension, especially after tough sessions.

6. Rotate Your Shoes

Using multiple pairs of running shoes—especially if you run daily—can give the cushioning more time to recover and reduce injury risk. Alternate between models or just keep a second pair in rotation.

7. Easy Means Easy

Recovery runs should feel comfortable—not like another workout in disguise. Keep the effort low, resist the urge to chase pace, and let your body absorb the work from previous sessions.

8. Listen to the Signals

Soreness is normal; sharp or persistent pain isn’t. If something feels off, don’t push through it. Backing off for a day or two is better than being sidelined for weeks.

9. Take Rest Days Seriously

Rest days are training days. Give your body the chance to rebuild and adapt. Plan for at least one full rest day per week.

Final Thought: Recovery Isn’t Optional—It’s Strategic

You’re not being lazy by resting—you’re being smart. Consistency over time is what leads to breakthroughs, and recovery is what makes that consistency sustainable. So train hard, but recover even smarter. Your future self will thank you.

When race day arrives, your training isn’t the only thing that prepares you for success—it’s also how you fuel and hydrate before and during your run. Nailing your race nutrition strategy can be the difference between hitting your PR and hitting the wall. In this post, we’ll explore key strategies for race fueling and hydration, so you feel confident, energized, and ready to perform at your best.

The Role of Fueling and Hydration

Before diving into the specifics, it’s important to understand why fueling and hydration matter:

• Energy Provision: Carbohydrates are your muscles’ main fuel source. Proper fueling ensures that your glycogen stores are topped off, delaying fatigue and helping you maintain your pace.

• Hydration: Even mild dehydration can affect performance. Staying properly hydrated helps regulate body temperature, lubricates joints, and supports overall endurance.

• Mental Focus: A consistent nutrition strategy can help keep energy levels steady, warding off the “bonk” and keeping you mentally sharp during the race.

Pre-Race Fueling: Building a Solid Foundation

Your race nutrition journey starts days before the event, but the critical window is the final meal or snack you have before you take on the course.

1. Carbohydrate Loading:
   In the days leading up to your race, aim to increase your carbohydrate intake. This doesn’t mean loading up on sugar alone, but incorporating whole-grain pasta, rice, quinoa, fruits, and vegetables to maximize your muscle glycogen stores.

2. Pre-Race Meal:
   Plan to eat a carbohydrate-rich, low-fiber, and moderate-protein meal 2-3 hours before the race. This might look like:
   • A bowl of oatmeal with bananas and a drizzle of honey
   • A bagel with a light spread of peanut butter and jam
   • A smoothie with fruit, a scoop of protein, and a bit of yogurt for digestion
   These choices are designed to provide energy without weighing you down.

3. Hydrate Early and Often:
   In the hours before your start, sip water or an electrolyte-enhanced beverage steadily. Avoid chugging large amounts right before the race to prevent discomfort. A gradual approach helps your body optimize fluid absorption, ensuring that you start strong and hydrated.

During the Race: On-The-Go Fueling and Hydration

Once the race begins, sustaining your energy levels and staying hydrated can keep fatigue at bay. Here’s how to manage it during the run:

1. Fuel at Regular Intervals:
   For races lasting over an hour, plan to consume quick, easily digestible carbohydrates. Energy gels, chews, or small snacks like bananas work well. Many runners find that taking in fuel every 30-45 minutes stabilizes energy levels and prevents hitting the wall. Coach Rosie consumes 75-80g of carbohydrates per hour.

2. Hydrate Consistently:
   Most races offer water or sports drink stations along the course. Aim for small, consistent sips rather than large gulps. This steady hydration helps maintain your electrolyte balance and prevents cramping.

3. Adjust to Race Conditions:
   Be mindful of the weather and your exertion level. On hot days or during faster race paces, you might need to take in fluids and fuel a bit more frequently. Having a flexible plan allows you to adjust on the fly.

 Post-Race Recovery: Replenish and Restore

After crossing the finish line, recovery is critical for putting the pieces back together and preparing for your next run:

1. Rehydrate Wisely:
   Continue to replace fluids lost during the race. An electrolyte drink can be especially helpful if it’s been a long or particularly sweaty effort.

2. Refuel:
   Within 30-60 minutes post-race, aim to get a balance of carbohydrates and protein to jump-start your recovery. This could be a balanced meal or a snack, such as a smoothie with fruit and protein powder or a hearty sandwich with lean protein.

3. Listen to Your Body:
   Recovery is an individualized process. Notice how your body responds—if you’re sore or fatigued, give yourself the extra time to recover and rehydrate properly before hitting the next run.

Practice Makes Perfect

Fueling and hydration strategies are best honed during your long training runs. Use your workouts to experiment with:

• Timing and amounts of fuel

• Different combinations of solid and liquid carbohydrates

• Alternative hydration plans based on temperature and intensity

Finding the right balance during training will build confidence and ensure your race day plan isn’t a surprise.

Final Thoughts

Your race day. . .When we plan ahead with proper carbohydrate load, choose the right pre-race meal, stay hydrated and practice fueling strategies in our long runs, we set up for a strong successful race.

Remember, every runner’s needs are unique. Use your training as a testing ground to refine what works best for your body so that when race day arrives, you’re not only physically prepared but also strategically fueled and hydrated to cross the finish line feeling your best.

Happy racing, and may your fuel and hydration strategy propel you to new PRs!

You just ran a huge personal best in the marathon and spent the past week enjoying some well-deserved down time. You decide it’s time to start up again, but realize that post-race excitement is starting to dwindle and it’s much harder to get out the door than you anticipated. “How can this be!?” You ask yourself. “I just had a fantastic race and should be beyond excited to start again, right?” If you find yourself to be in this situation, fear not, you have a case of the easily curable post-marathon blues.

After fully investing in your training program for the past 3 months and being laser focused, it makes sense that it might be tough to get started again. I, personally, have always struggled jumping right back into full training after a marathon because I just spent the last 4 months completely focused on my goal. Oftentimes, we forget that running can be just as mentally taxing as it is physically taxing and we need to be sure to give ourselves time to recover in both ways after a marathon.

Here are a few tips to shake those post marathon blues and get that pep back in your step.

1. Throw pace and distance out the window and enjoy some unstructured training. It is mentally quite freeing to run on your own terms for a few weeks without a care in the world about pace. You will be spending quite a bit of time in the coming months focused on hitting splits, so enjoy some relaxed, care free runs and soak in the nice spring weather. Simply getting outside for a few leisurely miles can do wonders for both the mind and body.

2. Meet up with friends to keep things light and fun. Running with friends is a great way to unwind and relax. When you are chatting away, you start to focus less on how heavy/tired your legs may feel, and more on the conversations you are having. Before you know it, the run is done and you are feeling much lighter and happier than before you started. Never underestimate the power of running with friends.

3. After a few weeks, start to look at future races. I like to switch things up after a marathon and run some shorter races, like 5&10ks. It’s fun to set my sights on a new challenge and mentally change gears. Getting a race on the calendar will give you something to look forward to and help that motivation and excitement return.

So lace up your shoes, enjoy the warm weather, and shake those post marathon blues. Set your sights on a new challenge and enjoy the journey one step at a time. Happy Running!

Originally posted by Dena Evans on Feb. 6, 2014

Don’t let your running and training be hampered by arbitrary tales that may lead you off track.  If you find yourself caught in the trap laid by one of these myths, it is time to set yourself free!

Myth #1:  If you don’t have time for the entire prescribed XXworkout, you should just skip the whole thing.

We all know the nagging pain of a day where the alarm didn’t go off, your toddler is sick, work is a fire drill, or the weather is garbage. The scheduled workout is Just. Not. Going. To. Happen.  In frustration, it can be tempting to bag everything and sulk.  Don’t.  Your schedule is the best-case scenario, and every single runner has had to punt and pivot now and again.  If the track workout isn’t an option, an aerobic run can still help clear your head, and keep you on track for either an adjusted workout day later in the week or next week’s tasks.  If the schedule calls for 45 minutes and you only have 25 minutes, your body will get a significant benefit from doing even half the work.  If you are taking an unplanned “zero” in the log, focus your mental energy on the positives – more freshness for the next session, accomplishment of the tasks and issues that have stolen your run time, and the confidence that a day or few off does not have to have a significant impact on your fitness level.

Myth #2:  Days off are for wimps.

Training hard is important to get toward your goal, but without recovery, your muscles don’t have the ability to adapt and recoup after the stress you have placed on them already.  Recuperation time allows your body to return to preparedness for the stimulus ahead and in doing so, get the most out of the upcoming challenge.  Running hard every day drives your body into a deeper and deeper hole from which it eventually becomes impossible to escape.   Build your schedule with some planned and regular rest, and the chances of you making it to the start line of your goal race will increase immensely.

Myth #3:  You will set a personal best every single race or you are not trying hard enough.

There are many, many factors that contribute to a personal best day.  An accurately (or inaccurately) measured course.  A tail or head wind.  Hills.  A bad meal the night before.  How well recovered you are.  Your bout of flu last week.  Neglecting to hydrate along the route or beforehand.  The list goes on and on.   These are not excuses, but factors which can both enhance or diminish the yield from your training up to that point.  Your actual fitness plays the largest role, but smart training includes a slight cyclical effect where recovery periods are interspersed with hard training and tapering for goal events.  100% effort each time can be a good way to practice the significant demand your body will require when it is primed for a signature day, but even top level effort each time may not always result in a new level of achievement, particularly for experienced runners who have been through the train and taper cycle in the past.  Concentrate on the quality of your preparation, the execution of your plan, and when your body is ready, you’ll have good racing habits and attitude down pat.

Myth #4a:  The more cushioning in your shoes, the better chance you have of avoiding injury.

Most athletes do not need to purchase the shoes with the maximum potential padding, structure, or stability in order to stay injury free, and in fact these shoes can sometimes impede your stride from operating at its greatest efficiency.  Each foot and every person is different.  Consider getting a gait analysis from an experienced staff member at a reputable running specialty store in your neck of the woods, and adding that info to your reasoning as you choose your next pair of shoes.  Well-cushioned shoes have indeed helped many non-runners become runners through the years, but for many athletes, other choices may serve the body better.

Myth #4b:  The less cushioning in your shoes, the better chance you have of avoiding injury.

In recent years, thousands of runners have become enamored with the “minimalist” segment of the running shoe market.  These are typically footwear with much or all of the heel lift eliminated, or shoes meant to simulate running barefoot with various ways of wrapping around the foot or articulating the sole.  While incorporating barefoot running or minimalist footwear into a larger program to strengthen the foot and lower leg can be very beneficial, these decisions must be made in context.  Injury history, the restraint to gradually incorporate this type of running, and the availability of suitable and safe terrain must all be considered.  Again, minimalist footwear have been invaluable tools for many runners, but just because you want to be one of those runners, doesn’t mean you are.  Get some input from your experienced local running specialty retailer or a podiatrist, and don’t do anything all at once.

Myth #5:  Training for a marathon is a great crash diet.

Physical fitness is a great by-product of decision to train for a half or full marathon.  Weight loss may result, but the “goal beyond the goal” should always be sustainable, healthy habits.  Athleticism, strength, endurance are all aspects of your best self that need to come to the fore in order for you to reach your race finish line.  Explicit, short term dieting and caloric reduction while maintaining a schedule of challenging running tasks can be detrimental to your training and health at best, and dangerous at worst.  We want running to be a life-long, rewarding pursuit, but we also know it fits into a larger context of healthy diet, sleep, lifestyle, and fitness choices.  Incremental changes you can live with, while adjusting to training, can help ensure that this goal won’t be the end of your training, but just the start.

Everybody’s been there: sleepless on the night before a big race.

Countless articles and anecdotal stories have been shared on this topic. Certainly, Focus-N-Fly’ers probably have an entire wing to add to the library. However, it takes a little bit of time to become comfortable and game plan your race “eve” strategies. When you do this game planning, here are some key pieces of info to keep in mind: