Run-walkers, marathoners, obstacle course racers, trail runners, ultra runners, and everyone in between: welcome to Strength Running!
Over the last several months, we’ve added tens of thousands of new runners to the Strength Running community.
We’re growing, gaining momentum together, and I think it would be helpful for everyone to know exactly what SR is all about.
No matter if you just started running earlier today or a few decades ago, we’re here for you. And the wonderful thing about Strength Running is how supportive our community is to other runners.
Every day on social, on blog comments, and within Team Strength Running I’m amazed at how helpful and positive we are:
- Ran a new Personal Best? There’s no shortage of “congrats” and well wishes.
- Had a terrible workout or race? The SR community will push you to learn from it, move on, and get better
- Not sure how to think about your splits or plan a workout? We’ll help you through it.
Or maybe you just want to brag and share a photo of you ringing the PR Bell? Have at it!
The community here knows that a common thread links us all together: we love running.
Maybe that’s your local 4-mile loop through the park. Or a casual 15-miler on the rolling trails outside of town.
Perhaps you’re even a marathon maniac!
No matter what you love about running, Strength Running is here to help you get better at it.
Because no matter how you slice it, runners are way more similar than we are different. After all, training principles are universal.
If you’re a 38-year old mom in California training for her first half marathon, then the same principles work for you as they do for a senior citizen in South Africa training for his 5th ultra marathon.
Our approach to training is multi-faceted:
- We focus on the fundamentals – because they’re the most important building blocks of your future success
- We also do the little things – because strength work, dynamic stretching, and drills help us become better athletes
- We know that consistency over time is the real “secret sauce” to successful running (and have a shirt to prove it)
- We recognize that prioritizing injury prevention, while not sexy, improves consistency and ultimately makes you faster
- If you’re not enjoying yourself, what’s the point?
This ruthless focus on what actually works – rather than chasing shiny red balls – has produced remarkable results for our community.
Thousands of athletes have successfully treated overuse injuries, stayed healthier far longer than ever before, and now know how to prevent injuries long-term.
Even more Strength Runners are setting personal bests that they never thought were possible in the first place.
These success stories are why I love my job and wake up every morning excited to help runners do what they love: run (and run well).
Because the running community is the best.
We work hard. We support each other. And yes, we’re a little strange.
Runners… Yeah, We’re Weird
Running has definitely made me weirder. How about you?
These days, I embrace the unique culture of running. Just look at my shorts:
Neon? Split-leg? 1″ inseam? SIGN ME UP.
Whether you put band-aids on your nipples, think a 10 miler is “easy,” or your idea of fun is getting up at 4:00AM to run 26.2 miles, the running community is behind you 100%.
We embrace that oddness. These idiosyncrasies make us runners. Even if you’re popping a squat off the trail…
This culture makes us say “fartlek” with a straight face and talk about the gastrointestinal implications of various fueling products.
Normal folks don’t understand. I’ve heard it all:
- “Hey, why are you wearing your sister’s shorts?!”
- “You ran 21 miles? That’s what cars are for.”
- “Run, Forrest, Run!” (This is my least favorite insult. Where’s the creativity?!)
- “Hey, do you have a cigarette?”
Most of the time, getting yelled at while running or asked silly questions just makes me laugh.
Being different is unique. It makes us who we are. It brings us closer together as a running community.
And at Strength Running, we embrace that culture.
What is Strength Running?
In 2007, I had the crazy idea to coach runners on the internet. So I bought the domain name strengthrunning.com… and did nothing.
I sat on that name for three years until I realized that doing nothing is the surest path to mediocrity.
Taking action is what matters.
So even though I had no design, programming, or other technical skills I started to write for this blog consistently twice per week.
Soon I had a few hundred readers. Then a few thousand. After awhile, I got the attention of other big websites and started contributing to Active, Health Magazine, Huffington Post, and even Runner’s World.
You can also learn more about me here.
My training philosophy of focusing on the fundamentals and being strategic led thousands of runners to improve:
- Nick lost 60 pounds and set a 10-minute Personal Best in the 10k
- Alex recovered from 6 months of knee pain to run his fastest 5k in a decade
- Aimee set a 38-minute (!) PR in the marathon… after a serious injury
And while it’s fun to go on HuffPo Live, speak at conferences, or know that nearly 100,000 runners read my coaching advice – the best part of my job is your tangible improvement.
That’s why I spend most of my time creating the best possible training material to help you get faster and stay healthy.
The overall goal of Strength Running is to elevate the sport of running. And you can rest assured that our coaching programs are exhaustively researched (some took years to create), tested, and proven to work:
- Injury Prevention for Runners is our flagship program that is trusted by thousands. The results speak for themselves.
- Nutrition for Runners is the only program created by both a USATF-certified coach and Registered Dietitian to help you fuel more intelligently and lose weight sustainably.
- Project: Runner is like Couch to 5k except better: innovative, flexible training plans, coaching guidance, and video lessons to get you from not being able to run a mile to finishing a 5k with no walking in 10 weeks
- The PR Race Plan is our most popular coaching service: a custom training program built to your unique fitness level, goals, schedule, injury background, and strengths.
And I’m proud that 98% of our material is completely free. With nearly 600 blog posts, 100+ videos, and a growing library of podcast episodes, there’s something for every type of runner.
Even if you never purchase anything from us, I hope you find immense value in everything that’s created here to help your running.
No matter what type of runner you are, Strength Running can help you accomplish your goals.
Join the Strength Running Community
You might have stumbled upon SR from Google. Or maybe you read something I wrote on Competitor or the MapMyRun blog.
No matter how you got here, welcome! I’m glad you’re a part of the SR family now.
But you might want to get more involved. How do you get our best stuff?
If there’s a specific topic you want to learn more about, get our free email courses:
You’ll get a ton of helpful info like free strength routines, dietitian-approved shopping lists, downloadable goal-setting worksheets, what not to do, and inspiring case studies.
I also share helpful advice and tips on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
Social is where I can best respond to your questions and interact daily so give me a follow on your preferred platform and say hi!
The best way to dive into the Strength Running community is, hands-down, Team Strength Running.
Team SR is where I coach a growing group of runners who are passionate about improving.
Every month, I interview a new expert for the team. And soon, our members will be getting their questions answered by Olympic-level coaches, pro runners, and best-selling authors.
There’s no other place where you can ask questions to the smartest minds in the world of running.
We also have regular Coach’s Chats where I help guide you through any issues or questions you might have about your running. This is the only way for direct, live access to me.
But best of all? The team! Join hundreds of other runners like you to share stories, work together, hold yourself accountable, and become the consistent runner that you know you can be.
Sign up here to learn more about the team. You’ll be the first to know when we open.
Runners: We’re Stronger Together
No matter who you are or where you are in your running journey, I want to extend a personal welcome to Strength Running.
Our individual success is a lot easier when we band together and support each other.
After all, lone wolves are never as successful.
If you commit to working hard and investing in your success, I will commit to:
- Maintaining the Strength Running blog as a completely ad-free experience (I’ll never run ads for weird supplements, dubious fitness products, or weight loss scams)
- Complete transparency on who is a good fit for our training programs – and who should not join (profit is not my primary goal)
- Being responsive to you: I reply to all of my emails myself and make myself as accessible as possible to help you
It’s an honor and a privilege to have such an impact on the running community.
I hope you’ll learn more about the team. But if there’s ever something I can do for you, please get in touch. My day is brighter when my runners are improving.
I’ll see you around Strength Running. Until then, run strong!
