11 Key Lessons That Have Helped These Runners Find Success
11 Key Lessons That Have Helped These Runners Find Success
Back in March of 2021, my Co-Founder for Vessel Athletics (Jalen) and I started interviewing runners who are doing inspiring and unique work in the running industry/community on Instagram Live. Through my own running journey, I’ve found that running has a funny way of making itself into other parts of my life. For one, running has not only helped me physically but also mentally. I’ve made so many friends and connections through running and best of all, my love for running crossed paths with my love for entrepreneurship to start Vessel Athletics. Through this journey that I’ve been on launching an apparel and hydration brand, I started connecting with runners to get feedback on the product we’re developing and also learned how inspiring every single runner out there is. Everyone has had to overcome something and everyone has something unique they can give/share to help make the world a little bit better.
From these 1-on-1 conversations, I realized I wanted to share their stories with others. Ultimately, I hope others can also find inspiration from these conversations in such a way as I have.
Well, we have now completed over 10 Instagram Live interviews, so I wanted to summarize one big takeaway from each conversation that we’ve had into an article that can be shared with the community and beyond.
Our first 11 incredible guests
0. Megan Flanagan
Runner: Founder of Strong Runner Chicks, Podcast Host
Bonus Lesson: Running and the Community Can Be a Constant Regardless of Where You Go
This conversation with Megan happened before we kicked off our recurring ‘On The Go With Vessel Athletics’ Instagram Live series, but Megan is doing such great work for women in running, that I had to share!
Strong Runner Chicks is an online female and women-identify community of runners. Their mission is to educate, empower and connect. Another big priority of Megan’s is to highlight the importance of inclusivity, accessibility and diversity in the sport of running. SRC also aims to have conversations around mental health because Megan found that this is a common issue at the collegiate level of running. Megan’s long term goal with SRC is to uplift other organizations in the industry and break down barriers to help get more women into the sport of running, regardless of what age you start or how you find it.
Megan has moved around a lot, but for her, running has been the one constant in her life, and it’s been a source of finding community wherever she goes.
1. Susan Clayton
Runner: Founder of WhitePaws RunMitts
Lesson #1: Just Start, Despite the Inexperience!
Susan is someone I’ve admired since the moment I read about her. She started WhitePaws RunMitts, a running mitten brand after not being able to find a quality mitten offered for runners. Her story alone resonates with me because, like myself, she doesn’t have a traditional background in apparel design (which is a very long and detailed process), yet still had the courage to take matters into her own hands (literally) and create a solution to a problem she faced. “Out of necessity comes invention,” she says.
Susan loves running, but even more so, she loves the community of running. She is one of many examples in this blog that has found a way to intersect another project of hers with her love for running.
Her departing thought was, “Stop not doing something because you don’t think it’s gonna become a unicorn company. If you think you can do something and still make a living, make a great product, provide a great service, it’s okay to just do that.”
This point can apply to anyone regardless of whether you want to start a business or not. If you want to pursue something new and scary, just go for it! Stop comparing and overanalyzing the potential outcome to someone or something else, and just start!
2. Kelli Hashimoto
Runner: Creator of runnersgram
Lesson 2: Find Your Creativity Through Running
Through creativity and her love for running, Kelli has been able to spread happiness and joy with her art, especially during such a trying time. Kelli started runnergrams, an Instagram account and Etsy page that creates and shares running art (e.g. stickers, cards, personalized graphics, etc) at the beginning of the pandemic as a way to prevent burnout, do something that she’d enjoy, and surprise some of her friends with cool art. What she didn’t expect is that it would evolve into what it is now, a popular Instagram account where she creates art for runners including notable industry leaders such as Alison Desir, Dinée Dorame, Alysia Montano and many more.
Kelli wanted to take this project even further and do something that would give back towards initiatives she cares about, so she created a sticker for Black Lives Matter, Voting and Hate is a Virus and donated all proceeds towards organizations supporting these initiatives.
Although Kelli doesn’t consider herself to be an entrepreneur or an artist, we certainly do. Our conversation with Kelli shows that you can combine other hobbies and passions with running. What else are you passionate about? How can that passion intersect with your love for running? Can you start a business? Write poetry? Create a short film? With running, there are no limits to how we can create impact!
“Who I am as a runner is who I am as a person and who I am as an artist. I feel like if I’m not being true to that then it wouldn’t be authentic. It’s part of why everything is so interconnected.”
3. Luke Rankin
Runner: Founder of Bay Area Run Crew
Lesson 3: Create Impact by Creating a Community
Luke’s story is an awesome example of why community is so powerful. He started the Bay Area Run Crew (BARC) five years ago when he noticed that many of his local run groups would fizzle out after a few years. Now, BARC has turned into one of the largest run groups in the South Bay. They’re known for their weekly Thursday runs, each week introducing members to a new run theme to keep things fun and exciting.
Some helpful tips shared by Luke for other fellow run club leaders:
Encourage an inviting environment where runners of all paces are welcomed and find others to run at their pace. Luke and BARC make sure to always have a group leader running at different paces so that no one has to run alone.
Get creative with your meetups. BARC has costume themed runs, fundraiser runs, they meet up at different locations to grab food, support local restaurants and more. They’re constantly asking their members for new ideas on themed runs to keep things exciting.
Develop a mission statement of what you and your group are looking to achieve, and then you can work on putting that into practice.
Highlight and celebrate the wins of members (e.g. birthdays, new PR’s, new distance, etc)
Find other like-minded individuals that can help you execute on that mission. You can’t start a community alone!
A big takeaway from this discussion is how one initial idea can turn into the creation of a strong community that focuses on running, encouraging others to run, and giving back to local initiatives.
“Running takes you places literally and figuratively. Being able to share running with others is powerful, and running is also a challenge. There’s a challenge in it for everyone.”
4. Bryan Green
Runner: Author of Make the Leap, Co-Founder of Go Be More Apparel & Go Be More Podcast
Lesson 4: Use Frameworks to Solve Your Running Problems and More
Bryan has a lot of different roles and connections to running. He ran collegiately for UCLA, he’s working alongside Jon Rankin to start Go Be More Apparel, he’s a podcast host of the Go Be More Podcast, host of the UCAN Fueling the Pursuit podcast, and he just published his first book to help young running athletes ‘Think Better. Train Better. Run Faster.’
Bryan believes in mental frameworks and the process of applying them to problems in order to get the results we want. The idea behind Bryan’s book, Make the Leap is all about using mental frameworks to help in your training, but realistically, you can apply them to just about anything.
“When we learn to think better about how we train, we will train better, and then the results of training better will be running faster and getting more out of the workouts we’re doing.”
During the process of writing his book, Bryan went through cycles of imposter syndrome but would regroup by asking himself, “What’s the worst that can happen?” He’d realize that the worst that could happen wasn’t really that bad, and I think this simple question can be applied towards many different new endeavors we take on, including running.
Bryan also has a newsletter that expands on many of the frameworks and topics he shares in his book. You can learn more about Bryan and Make the Leap at maketheleapbook.com
5. Nicole Pillatsch
Runner: Running Coach
Lesson 5: Can Your Running Help Encourage Your Close Circle to Be Active?
Nicole’s reason for becoming a certified run coach is unique and might inspire others to also follow a similar path. Nicole has been running for several years and even helped her husband train for his first marathon. Through her own training, like many runners, Nicole ran into injuries and thought that if she got her certifications to become a run coach, she could also learn more about how to prevent injuries and run better.
What really stood out to me during our discussion with Nicole is how family orientated she is and how supportive they have been in her running journey. When asked what her ‘why’ is, she said “I just want people to love movement.” Her motive for running and living an active lifestyle is to instil those habits into her family and close circle, regardless of whether it’s running or not.
“Runners are resilient, adaptable and they have to pivot a lot in the craziest of situations” and she attests those experiences and skills to also intersecting with her career and other parts of her life.
6. Ellen Lee
Runner: Founder of Run Coach Ellen
Lesson 6: There Are Many Different Forms of Success With Running
Ellen’s start to coaching happened naturally. She began working with friends to help them prepare for their own races and realized how much she loved being able to help others achieve their run goals. To this day, she’s a firm believer in individuality and customization in a training plan.
Her advice to those who may be a little intimidated working with a run coach for the first time is that you don’t have to be an elite runner looking to qualify for Boston. There are so many different reasons why one could benefit from working with a coach including developing that initial love and enjoyment for running as a beginner, training to qualify for Boston/get a new PR (speedwork) or simply reach a new distance. For some people, success looks like being able to enjoy the process of running.
7. Vanessa Peralta-Mitchell
Runner: Founder of VCPM
Lesson 7: Set Goals Larger Than You Initially Think You Can Achieve
Vanessa is on a mission to increase the number of women of color certified run coaches in the industry by bringing awareness and funding run coach certifications, providing mentorship, business strategy and more for women of color. I’d say that’s pretty powerful.
Vanessa is poised and resilient even when she’s been faced with unexpected obstacles including the pandemic, forcing her to cancel a women’s run coach event she had been planning. Soon after she pivoted to starting VCPM in 2020 and to date, has helped fully fund 16 women of color coaches.
She has a large mission but what keeps her fired up is the power of thinking globally, about wanting to start a global conversation, a global movement.
“Being a run coach is much more than running. [It] means you’re a community leader, you’re a health advocate, and it means you’re a role model to young girls so they can fulfill their dream.”
8. Bertrand Newsom (aka Coach B)
Runner: Founder of Too Legit Fitness, Head Coach of RaceMob, Chairman of 80/20 Endurance
Lesson 8: Running is All About “WE”
Coach B is well known and respected in the running industry for all the work he’s done throughout his decade plus career. If you have a chance to catch our entire conversation or get to know Coach B, you’ll find that community is everything to him. His outlook around building community, regardless of whether it’s related to running, is all about “WE.” He credits the success of the Too Legit Fitness community to his Co-Leaders and members.
During the discussion, Coach B also made an exciting announcement around his involvement with 80/20 Endurance which is an organization started by Matthew Fitzgerald to help people of color have the opportunity to make careers as endurance professionals. This initiative includes covering the costs to become an endurance professional, mentorship, creating a pathway for a sustainable career and more. (Note: 80/20 Endurance and VCPM both provide similar opportunities for aspiring people of color coaches. We’re honored to be able to speak to these industry trailblazers!)
9. Sama Hanif
Runner: Trail Runner and Hiker
Lesson 9: Don’t Think Too Much, Just Have The Courage to Start and You Will Find The Strength to Finish
Our conversation with Sama Hanif was nothing short of inspiring. Sama’s vibrant personality shines through her color-popping outfits and mindset around completing hard races. Sama started actively running in 2017, initially for weight loss which has now turned into a normal part of her life. Her advice around preparing for a big race day is to not think too much, focus on the fun atmosphere of a race, and remind yourself to keep going.
“I don’t think too much about it. If I have the courage to start, I will get the strength to finish it,” she shares.
Sama has also given credit to the support she has received from her employer. She believes that having an employer who is aware, supportive, and gives you flexibility to partake in your running/training lifestyle is so important.
“People out there who think they cannot do what we do (runners), adventure is an attitude, apply it to your challenges and you can accomplish anything,” she shares.
10. Ayako Sawanobori
Runner: Organizer and Social Justice Activist
Lesson #10: Why Not?
Ayako’s ‘WHY’ is “Why Not?” It’s easy to get stuck into what some call “analysis paralysis” and overthink things until you end up talking yourself out of something new before you’ve even tried to see how it goes. Ayako’s thought it why not just go for it!?
“Why wouldn’t I say yes to an invitation to support my community? (referring to the AAPI Awareness run she led with the San Francisco Anti Racist Run Club).“Why wouldn’t I sign up for that race? Why wouldn’t I want to help someone else? If there’s an opportunity that resonates with you, just take it. In whatever space you occupy, seek it out. Seek out opportunities. Seek out ways to help. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you live, you can find it.”
I thought this departing message was really powerful and it’s been a common message/lesson that I’ve learned from many of our guests.
Well, those were the top takeaways I’ve learned from these 11 incredible people. I hope you also get inspired from them and please feel free to share some of your favorite points or pieces of advice in the comments!
