As trail runners, we often look for ways to improve our training, racing performance or general enjoyment on the trails. Whether you are a beginner training for your first trail race, trying to get your daily nutrition dialed in for long runs, or even an elite athlete attempting to qualify for a U.S. National Team, hiring a coach or attending a camp is a great way to take your trail running to the next level.
To help you achieve your trail running goals, we have compiled a list below of coaches and a searchable database of trail running camps. Read on and check it out!
Trail Running Coaches
Having a coach is a good way to receive guidance from someone who knows about psychology, has built training plans, studied physiology or has been a professional trail runner themselves. A coach can tell you when you need to reduce your training so you don’t get injured, or give you some extra motivation if they believe you are capable of running more miles. A coach is also someone who is there to give you training plans to reach your goals and the motivation to follow those plans. Often coaches are there to give you moral support even if you don’t think you need it. They will hold you accountable for reaching a goal that you have set for yourself, even when you don’t feel like lacing up your shoes.
So, if you are ready to start the new year off right and hit the dirt with a new trail running coach, we have compiled a list of talented coaches to choose from below:
Andrew Miller – Andrew Miller Coaching – Whether you are a new runner or experienced, running should be fun! We are here to help you reach your trail and ultramarathon goals and have some fun along the way!
Corinne & Graham Shalvoy – Shalvoy Running – email – (training schedules). At Shalvoy Running, we believe that running helps people become the best versions of themselves. Whether new to the trails or a seasoned Ultra Runner, we take a personalized, positive, and customized approach to your training. We offer affordable 1:1 plans tailored to your lifestyle and goals. We believe in frequent communication with athletes and a long-term approach that will keep you loving running for life!
Jade and Nick – Lightfoot Coaching – email – (training schedules). Endurance coaching, gait analysis and sports psychology for athletes of all levels
Adam Merry – Run Merry Coaching – email – (training schedules). Good things take time and running endurance takes years to cultivate. It is earned through hard work, dedication and finding joy in the process of training. Let’s have fun while we’re doing it!
Tyler Andrews – Chaski Endurance Collective – email – (training schedules). Chaski Coaches are all current or former elite competitors themselves and, through the support of the collective, are able to continue to train and compete at a world-class level while sharing their knowledge and experience with their athletes. Thanks to our rigorous in-house coaching curriculum and required certifications, our world-class team is qualified to coach you to your best at any distance and any surface.
Conquer the World Endurance (ATRA member) – email – website – CTW Endurance offers coaching and training for every endurance sport. We offer custom running and strength training plans for every distance from 400m to 50miles.
Vicki Hunter – Rally Sport Boulder – email – (training schedules). Vicki is a certified Foundation Training Instructor as well as a Certified Lydiard Running Coach, Level II. She coaches athletes of all levels and abilities and is particularly attuned to the needs of ultra-runners.
Jack Kuenzle – Uphill Athlete – (training schedules). Jack is an endurance coach excited to help athletes reach their potential in the mountains and beyond.
Terry Chiplin (ATRA Member) – Active at Altitude – email – (training schedules). Terry is a Positive Running Coach and Lydiard Certified Coach providing sustainable training, positive focus, emphasizing the importance of play, and helping athletes become the best possible version of themselves. Terry is the director for training camps held each summer in Estes Park, Colorado; women’s running camps and co-ed trail running camps.
Chris Grauch – Mountain Runner Coaching – email – (Custom training plans, race planning, personalized support). Mountain Runner Coaching is all about helping you achieve your running goals, on the trails and on the roads. This is accomplished by utilizing multiple proven training methodologies, continually analyzing your running data and making adjustments as needed, and creating a personalized training plan that works for you in your unique life situation.
Stephen Littlewood (ATRA Member) – Ultra Flunkie Running Company – email – No Two People Are Alike So Training Programs Should Not Be Either.
Jessica Riojas Schnier – Smiles and Miles Coaching – email – (1:1 Coaching). The goal of Smiles & Miles Coaching is to support athletes in finding joy in the process using a balanced and integrated approach where sport supplements their life.
Chris Dunn – Ascend Endurance Coaching, LLC – email – (training schedules, performance nutrition, race planning). Chris is a Master’s prepared Exercise Physiologist with over 25 years of personal and professional experience in endurance sports.
Max Darnell – Alpenglow Endurance – email – Alpenglow is an endurance running training service and community. We get after it on roads, trails, and wherever there is an adventure.
Scott Jones – Becoming Ultra – email – (training programs/beginner to elite). Masters degree Exercise Physiology, NASM. Sports coach from novice to professional for 20 years. Specialities are trail and ultra runners. Podcast and virtual/live coaching with Becoming Ultra.
Ron Bowman – Bluepoint Race Management – email – (training schedules)
Brian Wieck – BQuick Running – email – (training schedules)
Loretta Tobolske-Horn – Ornery Mule Racing – email – (training schedules, nutritional consulting)
Jason Koop – Carmichael Training Systems – email – (training schedules, nutrition). Professional ultramarathon and trail running coaching for runners of all abilities. With over 60 professional endurance coaches, we have a coach to suit your needs.
Isabella Janovick and Vera Stepina – Ghost Runners Coaching – provides customized running + nutrition plans.
Jeanne Cooper – Cooper’s Conscious Steps – email – (training schedules)
Paul DeWitt – DeWitt Coaching – email – (training schedules)
Lisa Smith-Batchen – Dreamchasers Outdoor Adventures – email – (training schedules)
Stephanie Howe – Endurance by Stephanie – email – (training schedules)
Nate Houle & Hayden Hawks – Forca Running – email – (training schedules)
Misty Krug – Fueling With Real Food – email – (nutrition)
Richelle Criswell – Happy Treading – email – (training schedules). Richelle has 10+ years of training and racing experience to draw up to help you get started on the right foot towards your running goal. Whether you’re just getting started or have done a couple races on you own and want a partner to help you to your next achievement, Richelle is happy to listen, encourage, and coach you.
Calum Neff – Hardloop Endurance – email – (training schedules, group runs, beginner/elite). Private Coaching: All distances, All Terrains, All Ambitions.
Megan Lund-Lizotte – Hit the Ground Running – email – (training schedules, group runs, nutrition)
Maria Dalzot – Inspired Eating – (nutrition, coaching). Weekly plans, direction and guidance to get ready for your next trail or mountain race.
Adam Chapman – Integrative Endurance – email – (personalized family & individual coaching). Integrative Endurance specializes in personalized family and individual coaching services, along with race planning and strategy for endurance athletes. Collectively we have lives, families, and responsibilities. These obligations will come in the way of your training, but our goal is to plan for these dynamics. Our mission for athletes is to ensure we establish and build a healthy relationship with your fitness.
Patrick Gallagher – Two Rules Running – (Pay-to-Play, Group Workouts, Personalized Coaching Plan). Coach Patrick personally understands the need for a work/life/health balance and enjoys providing the structure and opportunities for others to reach their goals. He is well aware of the struggles of balancing a full-time job (he has been an English teacher for over 20 years), academics (he received his Masters Degree in Educational Leadership in 2014), raising children, and training for races. Blending over a decade and a half of running experience, countless hours of researching running and mental training, and a passion for helping others, Coach Patrick’s program and workouts can help you become a better runner and athlete.
Karl Meltzer – KarlMeltzer.com – email – (training schedules)
Lisa Rainsberger – Kokopelli Racing Team/Rainsberger Athletics – email – (high school/youth). Kokopelli Racing Team – Head Coach Lisa Rainsberger, High School and Youth coaching, racing and personal training.
Kristian Morgan – Kristian Ultra Run Coaching – email – (training schedules)
Andrew Simmons – Lifelong Endurance – email – (Trail & Ultra Running, 1:1 Coaching, and Training Schedules). The mission of Lifelong Endurance’s coaching is designed to help every athlete become the best version of themselves through the sport of running. Taking a more holistic approach to coach the athlete where they are in life, balancing family, work, and sport.
Lauren Jones – Life’s 2 Short Fitness – email – (training programs/training groups/beginner/women). Colorado based beginner centric trail running programs and training groups just for women with options to trail for local and destination trail races. BS in Exercise Physiology and Sports Performance. Exercise specialist, American College of Sports Medicine. Colorado native trail and runner for 20 years.
Travis Macy & Brandy Erholtz – Macy Endurance Coaching – email – (trailing schedules). Relying on years of experience in competition, coaching, and teaching, Coaches Travis Macy and Brandy Erholtz provide comprehensive, personalized, high-communication and data-driven endurance coaching. They use the TrainingPeaks platform, which goes far beyond the spreadsheet in supporting data analysis, communication and programming. Macy Endurance Coaching works with a smaller number of athletes to provide a higher quality of service.
Matt Daniels – Matt Daniels Running Club – email – (training schedules)
Michael Wardian – Michael Wardian Coaching – email – (training schedules)
Jessica & Ryan Knapp – Miles To Go Endurance – email – (training schedules)
Amber Reber & David Fuentes – Rise Runner – (training schedules). Offers holistic coaching for youth and adults of all levels, encouraging development in body, mind, and spirit.
Aaron Saft (ATRA Member) – Mr Running Pains – email – (training schedules)
Jacob Puzey & Amy Golumbia Puzey – Peak Run Performance – (training schedules, nutrition)
Ewen North – Revolution Running – email – (programs & personal schedules)
Rob Krar – Rob Krar Coaching – (training schedules)
Michelle Yates (ATRA Member) (pictured below: Michelle racing at the 2011 World Mountain Running Championships) – Rugged Running – email – (training schedules, nutrition)
Jimmy MCcaffrey – Run JMC – email – (trail schedules, beginner/novice, 5k to ultras)
Peter Fain – Run on Dirt Endurance Coaching – email – (training schedules, nutrition)
Camille Herron & Conor Holt – Run with Camille Coaching – email – (beginners to elite level coaching for all running events and ultras). Whether you are training for your first 5k, tackling a marathon, or running an ultra, we have a proven method that can help you become the best runner you can be. We offer both digital training programs and personal monthly online coaching to individuals and groups.
Sage Canaday, Sandi Nypaver & Ray Nypaver (ATRA Member) – Sage Running – email – (training schedules, nutrition)
Sarah Lavendar Smith – Sarah Lavendar Smith Coaching – email – (training schedules). Highly individualized coaching for mountain/ultra/trail and long-distance road running. Sarah is the author of The Trail Runner’s Companion: A Step-by-Step Guide to Trail Running and Racing, from 5Ks to Ultras. She has been coaching professionally for five years and specializes in helping road runners transition to trail, sub-marathon runners graduate to ultra distances, and ultrarunners train for stage races.
Shawn Bearden, PhD – Science of Ultra – email – (training schedules)
Steph Christensen – SCV Coaching – (sports nutrition, training plans, fitness testing)
Ian Sharman, Ellie Greenwood, Magdalena Boulet, Zach Bitter, Liza Howard, Sean Meissner, Joe Uhan & Stephanie Howe Violett – Sharman Ultra Endurance Coaching – email – (training schedules, nutrition). Offering coaching with training plans, nutritional advice and stride coaching/analysis from a highly experienced team. They help runners of all levels of skill and fitness with plenty taking on new distances or challenges and have coached winners of major events like Western States 100, the IAU 100 km World Championships, Leadville Trail 100 and the Marathon des Sables.
Liza Howard – Sharman Ultra Endurance Coaching – email – (training schedules). Training schedules with a focus on moms and beginners.
Megan & David Roche (pictured below at the 2017 Trail World Championships) – Some Work, All Play (SWAP) – email – (training schedules, daily support). The SWAP coaching style focuses on improving speed, long-term development, loving the process, and life-long contentedness.
Derrick Spafford, Sara Montgomery & Lisa Leskien – Spafford Health and Adventure Coaching – email – (training schedules). Expert coaching for trail and ultra runners of all ability levels.
Trisha Steidl – Steidl Running – email – (training schedules)
Jason Fitzgerald – Strength Running – email – (custom running plans and topic-specific training programs) Jason Fitzgerald is a USATF-certified coach, host of the Strength Running Podcast, and the 2017 Men’s Running Magazine Influencer of the Year with coaching experience since 2010. His coaching philosophy centers around holistic, well-rounded training to achieve peak performance races.
Ian Torrence, Emily Harrison-Torrence & Eric Senseman (ATRA Member) – Sun Dog Running – email – (training schedules). Each athlete in their community is unique, which is why they only provide coaching and training plans, specifically tailored to the individual runner. They work with athletes of all experience levels, backgrounds and schedules. Whether you’re a beginner, elite or find yourself somewhere in between, Sun Dog Running wants to work with you and has experience with all surfaces and terrain — 5k, marathon, 100 miles or stage race, they coach runners for any distance.
Tayte Pollmann – Tayte’s Coaching – email – (personal coaching) Tayte’s motivation for coaching is to support everyone, beginners to elites, throughout their unique journeys as runners. Tayte’s training plans cater to each athlete’s unique situation and training preferences, while focusing on long-term development and life-time enjoyment of running.
Matt Urbanski, Sarah Pizzo, Uli Steidl, Elizabeth Carey, Ashley Nordell, Masazumi Fujioka, Olin Berger, Maxx Antush, Yvonne Naughton & Keith Laverty – Team RunRun – email – (training schedules, all race distances, beginner to advanced). Team RunRun connects runners with great coaches. With over 40 coaches to choose from, we provide online running coaching for all distances from the 5k to marathon, to 200 miles, for the road, track and trail, and for all levels from beginner to advanced.
Ryan Ghelfi, David Laney, Brett Hornig, Jenn Shelton, Camelia Mayfield, Alex Nichols & Cole Watson – Trails and Tarmac – email – (personal coaching). Trails and Tarmac coaches runners of all abilities. They have well rounded expertise and work with runners training for all distances on both roads and trails. All of their services are centered on fully customized training and personal coaching relationships.
Ann Trason – Trason Running – email – (training schedules)
Trail running legend & coach Ann Trason helped with our Western States Trekker project in 2016.
Martin Cox – VO2max Coaching – (training schedules)
Brittany Charboneau – Mercuria Running – email – (training schedules)
Yassine Diboun – Yassine Diboun life on the Run – email – (training schedules)
Eve Rebennack – Rising Mountains Coaching – (training schedules, Group Runs)
Taylor Thomas – Thomas Endurance Coaching – (training schedules, personal coaching)
Alison and Sam Naney – Cascade Endurance – both have been coaching since 2005, and started their business in 2012. The pair coaches runners, skiers, and other endurance athletes of all levels and interests, and are both particularly interested in growing and supporting youth opportunities. They are planning on offering youth camps in 2024 and are starting a youth program in their local area in 2023.
Hillary Osborne – Blaze Strength and Endurance 1:1 run coaching to help you thrive through movement and be a strong athlete. Hillary is a UESCA certified ultra running coach and NSCA certified personal trainer.
If you have additional trail running coaches to share, please email: [email protected] and we’ll include it on this list.
Trail Running Camps
Are you looking for a trail running camp to attend in the new year? Camps can be just what you need to motivate, educate and connect with trail runners just like yourself. Camps can teach you proper running techniques, skills to help improve your running, connect you with nature and allow you to meet people who also love trail running.
Camps come in a wide variety of locations and often cater to different kinds of trail runners. There are camps in rugged locations like the Run Alaska Trails camps held in “The Last Frontier.” Colorado based Active at Altitude hosts camps for beginners and camps for women only. Camps for youth runners are a great way to foster the love of the great outdoors and gain an appreciation for the trails, especially in the digital age.
Think of a camp as a vacation for adults or a fun “life experience” for kids. A majority of the camps are run by or have elite-level athletes in attendance and have certified coaches so you can get advice from the professionals who have honed their craft in the trails and mountains. For example, past Ultra Runner of the Year, Michele Yates hosts her Rugged Running Camps in the Colorado Rockies.
Check out our list of over 130 camps located in 10 U.S. states as well as some epic international destinations. You’ll find camps specifically designed for youth, adults, women, beginners and expert trail runners.
Click here to find the camp that’s right for you!
If you know about a trail running camp that is not in our calendar, please email: [email protected] and we’ll add it to our database.
