ATP Running

50 miles done.

Zoe showed up week after week for long runs, heavy miles, and practice hiking up and down tough hills.

She gave herself grace when training didn't align perfectly with life, focused diligently on recovery, and took things one week at a time.

Starting at 9:00 Saturday night, Zoe ran 50 miles point to point through the mountains, crossing the finish line on Saturday with an empty tank and a full heart.

For everyone peaking for fall races right now... great news for you!

Or maybe not. Thanks, for getting so much of our sport right and good luck to everyone running hard right now.

Meet Daufuskie. He's ATP's fluffiest runner, and most days he's accompanied by his hooman, Christi.

Daufuskie is amazing. He's stunning. He's strong. He's opinionated. And yes, he is amazingly fluffy. He's also not the most reliable follower of training plans. Things Daufuskie thinks are important on a run? Smells. Sights. Puddles. Mud. Water. Things Christi thinks are important on a run? Some days, dstance, pace, splits matter - but if she's running with Daufuskie, it's making sure he's having the best day ever.

This weekend, the dog/ hooman duo tackled the canicross event Rehab Rover. It was chilly, rainy, and parts of the course were ankle deep mud, meaning that the team got exactly what they wanted: a great day to combine some hard running with some mud puddle flops.

Will there be races in Christi's future that are more focused on the running side of things? Definitely. Does that mean that this event was any less perfect? Not even a little bit.

Heather is an ATP Runner who decided to diversify her endurance sports. She's enjoyed multiple triathlons this summer, and went for her first Olympic Distance race this weekend. She took 2nd place in her age group, spent time with her family, and most importantly, conquered the run with a giant smile.

ATP Runners have been enjoying fall races - and taking advantage of their curiosity to check out multi sport options.

Jess was an avid cyclist years ago, and when a friend asked her this summer to do a super sprint triathlon, she was all in (especially since the regular cross training helped her beat the North Carolina heat and humidity).

Here she is at the top of her age group podium after a great race - and next up is to take all this aerobic fitness and head into training for her next trail race.

That 'I just conquered a 20 miler' feeling.

Andrea was training for a half marathon wheen she got a message from one of the organizations she's run with in the past: there was a 5k coming up, and they needed angel runners. Was it the same day as the half? Yes. Did Andrea think twice about changing goals? Not at all.

Andrea is the kind of runner - the kind of person - who knows that the true gifts of running come from community. When she gets an opportunity to give back, she takes it - and we adjust along the way.

Congratulations, Andrea and her team of runners on sharing the gift of running this week. We are so proud of all of you.

Kristi was very blunt with me when she first came to me.

'I don't really like running. I'm never going to be one of your clients that goes all in,' she assured me.

That's fine, I told her - and asked a few questions about why she wanted a running coach if she didn't love running - and we got started.

3 months later, Kristi did a time trial. That is like a race - you do your best effort - but it's private and you don't have to go anywhere or sign up with anything to do it. And while her distance and time are private... her response is pretty universal 😉

Well done, Kristi. And now we're chasing that next goal.

One of our favorite mother daughter duos took to the start line of a local women's sprint triathlon this weekend.

For Heather, training for this race was a way to bond with her teenage daughter (who is an incredible swimmer) and share her love of running with her (teenager is still highly skeptical of land sports).

Equally importantly, this gave Heather a chance to come back to enjoying running again. After feeling some burnout in the last 6 months, training for a multi sport event has left her feeling refreshed physically and mentally - and she's already signed up for her next half marathon.

Oh... and did we mention that Heather snagged 3rd in her age group? Or that hey daughter was the top swimmer overall? Congratulations to both of you!