Pacers…they can be the best thing that happens to you at mile 80…or the reason you’re suddenly redlining, annoyed, and questioning every friendship you’ve ever had.

In this episode, I’m breaking down what pacers are actually for (hint: not to turn you into an elite robot), when they help the most, and when they can quietly mess with your race in ways you don’t see coming until it’s too late.

We’re talking:

• What a pacer’s job really is (and how it can change hour to hour)
• Why “high energy” isn’t always helpful energy
• The biggest ways pacers accidentally hurt a race (pushing pace, nonstop talking, anxiety spirals, making it about them…yikes)
• How to choose the right pacer for your personality (quiet, chatty, hype, neutral, tough love…all valid)
• Why communication is the whole damn thing (pacers aren’t mind readers)
• When I’d prioritize pacers (overnights, late stages, harder sections…aka when your brain starts acting feral)
• Logistics that matter more than you think (especially when cell service is trash)
• A quick nod to tools like UltraPacer if you want to get nerdy with planning without losing your mind

Bottom line: pacers aren’t required, they aren’t always allowed, and they aren’t a magic ticket to finishing. They’re a tool. And like any tool…if it doesn’t match the job, it’s gonna be a problem.

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• ultraPacer: race & adventure pacing strategy
• Follow me on Instagram
• Visit my website: www.sunrisetrailscoaching.com
• Want to work together? Learn about 1:1 Coaching
• Free guide: What’s In My Pack? Download here

Aid stations can be a lifesaver… or a total time-suck spiral where you stand there eating random stuff, forget your poles, and walk away somehow less prepared than when you arrived.

In this episode, we’re talking aid stations. Not in a “here’s what to eat” generic way… but how to use them intentionally based on your distance, your stomach, your sweat rate, and your actual goals. Because aid stations aren’t about copying what the person next to you is doing. They’re about supporting your race, your body, and your brain.

What we cover:

• Why aid stations are a mental and physical stabilizer (aid station to aid station, baby)
• What’s usually at aid stations (from “minimal aid” basics to the full-on grilled cheese situation)
• The electrolyte caution nobody wants to talk about (bring your powder, use their water)
• How to assess mid-race without overthinking it: hydration, fuel, feet, and the “oh crap I haven’t eaten” moment
• The real deal on drop bags (what they are, what to pack, and why “don’t put a bunch of bullshit in there” is solid advice)
• Common aid station mistakes: waiting to eat, forgetting to refill, and losing 20 minutes without realizing it
• How the strategy changes from 25K to 50K/100K to 100+ mile chaos logistics
• How to practice aid stations in training using your car (including cooling strategies like ice bandanas and bra ice… yes, we’re going there)

And because I can’t help myself… we also talk about how aid stations are a lot like life. Pauses are necessary. But pauses without intention can drain you. So whether you’re taking a break in a race or a break in your day, the question is the same: what do you actually need right now so you can keep moving forward?

Enjoying the show?

If this episode resonated, share it with a friend who’s excited about a goal this year.
Make sure you’re following or subscribed so you don’t miss future episodes. Ratings and reviews help more than you know.

• ultraPacer: race & adventure pacing strategy
• Follow me on Instagram
• Visit my website: www.sunrisetrailscoaching.com
• Want to work together? Learn about 1:1 Coaching
• Free guide: What’s In My Pack? Download here

Crew can be an incredible asset on race day and it can also quietly make things harder if expectations aren’t clear.

In this episode, we’re talking about what crew is actually for, when it makes sense to have crew and how to use support in a way that helps instead of overwhelms you.

We get into:

• what crew should and shouldn’t be responsible for
• how crew roles change as race distances get longer
• why not everyone needs the same type of support
• common crew mistakes (with a lot of grace)
• how to communicate expectations before race day
• and why a smaller, aligned crew often works better than a big one

This is for anyone who wants support that matches their needs instead of adding stress when things get hard.

Enjoying the show?

If this episode resonated, share it with a friend who’s excited about a goal this year.
Make sure you’re following or subscribed so you don’t miss future episodes. Ratings and reviews help more than you know.

• Follow me on Instagram
• Visit my website: www.sunrisetrailscoaching.com
• Want to work together? Learn about 1:1 Coaching
• Free guide: What’s In My Pack? Download here

Confidence is something a lot of runners think they’re missing. Especially in trail running. Especially when things feel hard, messy, or inconsistent.

In this episode, we’re talking about the difference between borrowed confidence and earned confidence. Borrowed confidence is the kind that shows up after a good run, a PR, or external validation. It feels great… but it’s fragile. Earned confidence is quieter. It’s built through repetition, adjustment, and showing up even when things don’t go perfectly.

This episode is for you if you’ve ever said “I just don’t feel confident yet” while still doing the work anyway. We’ll talk about why confidence usually lags behind effort, why that’s normal, and how trusting yourself is built long before it feels obvious.

No hype. No motivation speeches. Just an honest conversation about what actually builds confidence in trail running and in real life.

In This Episode, We Talk About:

• The difference between borrowed confidence and earned confidence
• Why confidence that depends on things going well doesn’t last
• How earned confidence is built through repetition, not motivation
• What confidence actually looks like on hard, unsexy days
• Why feeling uncertain doesn’t mean you’re behind
• How runners are often more confident than they realize
• Why you don’t need to feel ready to keep going

Enjoying the show?

If this episode resonated, share it with a friend who’s excited about a goal this year.
Make sure you’re following or subscribed so you don’t miss future episodes.
Ratings and reviews help more than you know.

• Follow me on Instagram
• Visit my website: www.sunrisetrailscoaching.com
• Want to work together? Learn about 1:1 Coaching
• Free guide: What’s In My Pack? Download here

This is not a normal episode.

I recorded this on release day because staying quiet felt worse than showing up imperfectly. I didn’t have fully formed thoughts. I still don’t. And that’s the point.

This episode isn’t about trail running, workouts, or performance. It’s about what’s happening right now in our country, how it feels to live inside it, and why silence is not neutral.

I talk openly about anger, grief, exhaustion, and the weight of watching harm unfold while trying to keep living our everyday lives. I name the difference between confusion and choice. I talk about performative “switching sides,” accountability, and why growth doesn’t deserve applause just because it finally arrived.

I also talk about movement — not as a fix, not as a distraction — but as a way to stay grounded and human when everything feels loud and overwhelming.

There’s no bow on this episode. No neat resolution. No pretending this is fine.

Just truth.

If you are angry, exhausted, numb, overwhelmed, or unsure how to hold all of this ...there is nothing wrong with you. That’s what living inside ongoing harm does to people.

I’ll talk about trail running again. I’ll talk about strength and joy and long miles.

But I won’t pretend this doesn’t exist.

This matters.

In this episode, I talk about:

• Why this episode exists and why staying quiet didn’t feel like an option
• Living inside constant harm while still working, training, and showing up to daily life
• Anger as a sane and valid response
• The difference between confusion and conscious choice
• Why performative allyship isn’t accountability
• Why switching sides doesn’t automatically make someone “safe” or deserving of celebration
• Rest vs silence — and why silence isn’t neutral
• Movement as regulation, not avoidance - yep, I didn't talk about this much. I talked about how movement is keeping me sane and fighting so remember to MOVE.
• Why this fight isn’t ending — it’s escalating
• Listening to and learning from Black women and communities who have been warning us for years
• Sitting with discomfort instead of rushing past it
• Why saying something messy is better than saying nothing at all

Resources (These are from my mentor Shante Cofield aka themovementmaestro..follow her on Instagram)

• Donate to Minnesota: www.standwithminnesota.com
• Call your reps: This week the Senate will vote on a DHS funding bill that includes $10 billion for ICE: https://5calls.org
• Get involved with your local Rapid Response Network. You can Google this and include your city/state. Another resource which I have been using is https://indivisible.org. Click Get Involved then Organize Locally and then select Find Your Group.

People to learn from - I am linking Instagram handles but most of these people you can find on their website and they are also on Threads with so much needed information.

• Kiki Bryant: uppity_negress_ - amazing workbooks on decentering white people and decentering men.
• Jackie: unapologetically_jackie - so much information and she has a whole academy of resources.
• Kiandria Demone: kiandria

There are so ma

We’re taught that if training doesn’t feel hard, exhausting, or leave us sore, it must not be working. And that belief sneaks into everything…strength training, running, and honestly, life.

In this episode, I’m talking about why hard is a tool, not a requirement. Why always pushing can backfire. And how building strength, endurance, and consistency actually comes from doing work you can repeat…not work that wrecks you.

This is for the runners who feel like they’re constantly trying to prove they’re doing “enough.” And for the ones who are tired of turning every workout into a battle.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Why strength training doesn’t need to crush you to be effective
• Where the “everything has to be hard” mindset comes from
• How always pushing can lead to burnout, inconsistency, or injury
• What “not hard” training actually looks like (and why it still works)
• How this shows up in running and real life, too

If you’ve ever walked away from a workout wondering if it “counted” because it didn’t destroy you, this one’s for you.

Enjoying the show?

If this episode resonated, share it with a friend who’s excited about a goal this year.
Make sure you’re following or subscribed so you don’t miss future episodes.
Ratings and reviews help more than you know.

• Follow me on Instagram
• Visit my website: www.sunrisetrailscoaching.com
• Want to work together? Learn about 1:1 Coaching
• Free guide: What’s In My Pack? Download here

Running research is everywhere. One study gets shared and suddenly it feels like there’s a “right” way to fuel, train, or perform — and if you’re not doing it, you’re behind.

In this episode of Dirt Nap Diaries, I talk about why research isn’t wrong… but also isn’t always about you.

Using a recent fueling study shared by David Roche as an example, this episode covers:

• Why elite-focused research doesn’t always translate to everyday runners
• How studies often get shared without enough context
• Why women are still underrepresented in endurance and fueling research
• How comparison sneaks in when research turns into rules
• Why not being an elite actually changes what’s useful
• How to use research as information, not instructions
• Simple ways to decide what’s actually worth trying for your body and goals

This episode is for runners who want to be informed without feeling overwhelmed and who are tired of assuming something is wrong with them when a “proven” strategy doesn’t work.

Research can be helpful.
But it’s not personal.

Enjoying the show?

If this episode resonated, share it with a friend who’s excited about a goal this year.
Make sure you’re following or subscribed so you don’t miss future episodes.
Ratings and reviews help more than you know.

• Follow me on Instagram
• Visit my website: www.sunrisetrailscoaching.com
• Want to work together? Learn about 1:1 Coaching
• Free guide: What’s In My Pack? Download here
• The research article that has a super long name
• David Roche's email for the study

New Year’s resolutions get a bad rap. And honestly? They don’t deserve it.

In this episode, we’re talking about why wanting more for yourself is not the issue, why cynicism isn’t wisdom, and why we need to stop yucking other people’s yums. This is encouragement with a little spice, plus some real talk on how to actually keep a resolution by focusing on the process instead of the outcome.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Why New Year’s resolutions aren’t the problem and why being dismissive about them helps no one
• The difference between outcome goals and process goals (and why process always wins)
• How outcome obsession in trail running leads to burnout, overtraining, and injury
• FOMO goals vs goals you’re actually excited to work for
• Why signing up for races too fast or for the wrong reasons usually backfires
• What you can control when motivation fades
• How being encouraging costs nothing and matters more than you think
• Why “don’t yuck the yum” should be a rule we all live by

If you’re heading into a new year with a goal, a spark, or even just a quiet curiosity about what’s next, this episode is for you. And if you tend to roll your eyes at January goals? It might be for you too.

Enjoying the show?

If this episode resonated, share it with a friend who’s excited about a goal this year.
Make sure you’re following or subscribed so you don’t miss future episodes.
Ratings and reviews help more than you know.

• Follow me on Instagram
• Visit my website: www.sunrisetrailscoaching.com
• Want to work together? Learn about 1:1 Coaching
• Free guide: What’s In My Pack? Download here
• Atomic Habits by James Clear