Learn more about our expert team of coaches dedicated to helping you train smarter, stay healthy and achieve your goals!
Position: Founder
Years Coaching: 15
Best PR: 2:22 Marathon
Position: Head Coach
Years Coaching: 10
Best PR: 3:37 1500m
Position: Podcast Host and Showrunner
Best PR: 2:30 Marathon
Position: Coach + Instagram Manager
Years Coaching: 6
Best PR: 1:12 Half Marathon
Position: Coach
Years Coaching: 9
Best PR: 2:37 Marathon
Position: Coach
Years Coaching: 11
Best PR: 2:21 Marathon
We Love Running As Much As You
Jeff began coaching in 2005 while a member of the Hansons-Brooks professional team.
He’s had success at all levels of coaching; high school, college, local elite, and everyday runners. Under his tutelage, hundreds of runners have finished their first marathon and he’s helped countless runners qualify for Boston.
“I believe that no matter your level in the sport, running a personal best or achieving a goal is one of the greatest feelings you can experience. Guiding athletes to this experience and watching them succeed is what drives me to always be working to make you run faster. I have a true passion for helping runners of all ability levels reach their running goals. I take pride in bringing the knowledge I’ve accumulated from some of the best coaches in the world to runners everywhere.”
I currently live in beautiful upstate South Carolina! But I was born in Houston, Texas. Still have a bunch of family down there.
I was a bit of a jack of all trades in sports as a youngster. Good at pretty much all of them, but not great at any of them.
But I had one special talent – I could RUN!
The gym mile was a piece of cake. I actually got made fun of for always winning it.
So I finally went out for track. By the end of high school I was a Footlocker Cross Country Finalist (top 40 cross country runners in the country).
Then in my collegiate career at Virginia Tech, I was a 4 time NCAA All-American, sub 4 minute miler, USA Championships finalist, and Olympic Trials qualifier.
Fun fact: I was in competitive show choir in high school. Front row. Jazz hands
My Coaching Philosophy:
1. Consistently good > occasionally great
I like to phrase this with athletes like I’m their teacher grading them on the A-F scale back in school
I’d rather you get B’s week-in-week-out than a few A+’s followed by a string of C’s and D’s.
2. Volume + threshold are king
I want athletes running as much total mileage as (1) they can handle and (2) their schedule allots.
#1 is expansive – I want people recovering well between the workouts (not exhausted workout-to-workout) AND I want them able to function in every day life. No sense running 60 miles/week if it leaves you with no energy for your family or your job.
Within that mileage, I’m a huge believer in threshold training. You train with me, you’re gonna do a lot of it. But I think the vast majority of runners (and coaches) do it wrong. A threshold workout shouldn’t be this hard balls-to-the-wall workout. It should be controlled.
3. Speed kills – but sprinkle it in
I love speedwork. Strides, hills, sprints.
But I treat it like salt. Salt is delicious and necessary – but too much of it and you’ve ruined your meal.
4. The “little things” aren’t little things at all
You gotta take care of your lifestyle outside of running.
People will say “but so and so eats cookies and donuts and sleeps 5 hours a night and runs pretty fast!”
Yeah, well he’d run a lot faster if he cleaned it up! 🙂
If you’ve listened to any of my podcast episodes, you may already know that I’m British. If you haven’t, you’ll soon find out from my use of English terms, which occasionally cause confusion (pants are underwear, here!).
As a runner, I’m naturally suited to the long distances and, one of my claims to fame (or embarrassments), is that I basically run the same pace for anything from 10 km to the marathon!
For most of my running career so far, I’ve been focused on the marathon distance and my 2:37 PR is definitely the one that I am most proud of. However, more recently I have started to dabble in trail ultra running. I’m hoping to complete my first 100 km this year! I’m most at home running in the mountains with my Springer Spaniel, Kenneth who does many of my easy miles with me.
I’ve been coaching since studying Exercise Physiology at University and love to combine both the art and science of coaching to help my athletes reach their goals. I also have a special interest in helping athletes avoid, and return from, injury. A healthy, happy athlete is their fastest self and my philosophy revolves around this fact!
Hometown: Fargo, ND
Current Residence: Flagstaff, AZ
I’ve run cross country and track since middle school. After competing in college I moved up to the marathon and fell in love with the trail/ultra running scene in the SouthWest (United States).
Favourite distance: On the track: the 1500 or mile, on the roads: the marathon, and on the trails: 50k or 50 mile!
Performance most proud of:
As head xc coach at a high school in Goodyear, AZ, I grew the team from 7 to 40+ runners and helped the boy’s and girl’s team qualify for the state meet for the first time in school history.
My own would be running a 2:21:21 at the 2022 California International Marathon after a three year hiatus due to Covid and running mostly trails/ultras.
Your coaching philosophy:
Pick bold, long-term goals that excite you and give your training purpose! Compete often leading up to those goal races, but in low-stress, fun race environments. Try not to get too caught up in the numbers and take breaks between racing “seasons” to recharge the mind and body. I enjoy running alone, but for me running is all about community – so run with others whenever possible!
Fun non-running fact (a non-running hobby or hidden talent maybe): When I was a high school English teacher I often rapped and “freestyled” for my students in class. Since then I’ve made hundreds of rap music videos about running for my YouTube channel Trail GangstAZ, some of which have been featured by Runner’s World, Canadian Running Magazine, and more!
I started my running career by being overly competitive with my older sister, aiming to just beat her in middle school track. My first love was soccer and I had dreams of playing collegiately and beyond. However, that changed as I entered high school. I almost didn’t run at all because I wanted to focus on soccer.
Thanks to the coaches I had through high school in both soccer and track/cross country I was able to enjoy both of these sports to the fullest before ultimately choosing running and going on to become an All-American and Olympic Trials Qualifier.
I’ve always valued the great coaches I had throughout my career. I also had the influence of my grandfather who was a lifelong coach. As a coach I’ve taken what I learned from those who made me successful in my own running and from experiences, both good and bad, I’ve had as an athlete to help others.
I love being a part of community and connecting with others. Helping other realize their potential and build confidence through running is what drives me as a coach and runner.
I’m the host of RC’s Run to the Top Podcast and the team’s unofficial Canadian representative. I live in Toronto, where I first developed my love of running through primary school cross-country.
Since finishing my business degree, I’ve caught the marathon bug and never looked back. I raced my first marathon in 2019 and over a few years lowered my PR at the distance from a 3:16 to 2:30.
I can often be found pounding the pavement before sunrise even in snowy Canadian winters because I love the challenge and the pursuit of self-improvement.
My favourite part of podcasting is that I get to share this with others and be a part of a community that helps to bring out the best in each other. For me, running is all about community and even though workout splits in miles still make my head spin, I think running is a common language we all share.
When I’m not running or putting together podcasts, I work full-time as a Loyalty Marketing Specialist and contribute to gear guides at the Canadian Running Magazine.
I’m also a hot sauce fanatic and still consider it a performance-enhancer despite what other runners have said.
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