Looking for ways to meet, connect and run with other runners in the Raleigh area? There are lots of local options for great group runs and running clubs every week and month across the year! Check out this alphabetized list, and if you are aware of any that we are missing please let us know so we can add the info here!

Happy running, Raleigh!

As a certified running coach with the RRCA and VDOT02, Michelle has been actively involved in the run space for many years and is very excited to support Pace of Me athletes in their goals as they embark on each of their journeys. 

Michelle brings two decades of personal and career running experience. Her career has focused on sports, specifically the endurance space, working for well-known sports nutrition and shoe brands and some major marathons. Her hands-on experience working with athletes, coaches, sports scientists, and nutritionists supports her vast experience and knowledge of maximizing potential, making her someone you can count on to help attain your goals.

Personally, following countless races using cookie-cutter training plans starting in 2003, she hired her first coach in 2015 and has never looked back. She was searching for accountability, support, guidance, and, most importantly, a community. Through that, she ran her first sub-4-hour marathon, then a year later ran another marathon cutting 17 minutes off her PR and running a BQ, but most importantly, she feels strong and healthy and continues to love the running journey!

Michelle is also active in her community, from co-chairing her local 5k race to starting a local run club to coaching her two kiddos’ school track and field and cross-country teams.  

As a lifelong athlete, Michelle brings calm energy to her coaching and is always ready to listen, guide, and support while tapping into experiences. Michelle coaches the 5k up to the marathon. Her basis for coaching is to ensure a foundation for a healthy runner that loves having structure and accountability but also enjoys competing and accomplishing their running goals well for years and years to come.

You can email Michelle directly at Michelle@paceofme.com and learn more about her by following her on Instagram at @MkzMartin.

Welcome to the team, Michelle! We are so happy you are here and are truly excited for the road ahead.

Getting my first coaching certification over ten years ago was something I felt called to do for my own wellbeing and personal growth, so I could gain a deeper knowledge and understanding of how to support myself – and eventually others – on the road of life through running.

From the very beginning, I sensed a little fire inside of me that needed to be stoked. And over the years that followed, I continued to seek ways to keep it burning bright so it would not only nourish me but reach others as well.

Share the light and the warmth, so to speak. Make a bigger impact by following my passion, striving to learn and improve, and helping others as both coach and friend. It has been wonderful and I have grown so much. I love what I do.

About a year ago, I began to notice a little voice inside my head and heart nudging me to share in the coaching journey somehow. I wasn’t sure what that would look like though, or who I would take this on with. So I sat with it and explored what was brewing inside, asking myself questions and tossing thoughts and ideas around with my husband (oh the many hats he wears!). I’ve always enjoyed collaborating – teamwork is in fact dreamwork for me. I am a believer in that adage “together everyone achieves more” as much as I also am fiercely independent when it comes to many aspects of life. I trusted I would know when and if it was right.

At the same time that these thoughts began to stir, I was spending more and more time getting to know my friend Amy. We’d known one another for several years, but last summer I started coaching her (an awesome honor) and with the pandemic we found our schedules synching up more than they ever had – miles upon miles were shared and right along with them the connection we had was strengthened with every step. Amy and I are on the same page with a lot of things, including the fact that we are both passionate (and some might argue, super nerdy) about running — from shoe and gear tech obsessions to pro athlete super-fanning to understanding recent training science to race tactics and the importance of rest days and regular PT exercises, to listening to and honoring your body, to effort being more important than pace, etc etc –the list goes on, and on. We also both care deeply about and want to do our part to help others, including one another. Amy and I push each other to be compassionate with ourselves and to be brave and bold. We make one another better at sport and also just as people.

Amy would be the perfect person to stoke the fire with – she would make an amazing coach and be so much fun to work with.

On a run one day we were talking and I told her what was on my mind. I felt strongly that she would be a wonderful coach – she has SO much experience and knowledge through her own running journey and I was witnessing it firsthand as her coach. Amy is wise and strong – a hard worker and a smart worker – she is kind, caring, trustworthy and open. And she listens. There are many qualities innate to her personality that make her a natural as a coach and a leader – things you can’t really learn in a classroom or from a book. It turned out, Amy had wondered about this path for herself and a little encouragement was all she needed to take the leap — she decided to dive in and went for both her VDOTO2 and RRCA certifications this summer, studying and absorbing the information and having such a great time in the process. It was already so much fun to watch her grow into this role!

Amy has been coaching 1:1 clients this summer and is now available through the Pace of Me coaching platform to assist more athletes. With the same coaching philosophy and mission as me, she would love to get to know you and help you discover what you’re capable of through this sport. You can read about her running story by clicking here and check out our coaching page to learn more and reach out about our services!

Amy and I are going to be a fantastic team of coaches for the communities we serve — and we promise to keep stoking that fire, together!

all photos in this post were taken by Jason Honeycutt. Follow him and see more of his beautiful work on Instagram at @j.cuttphotography!

I get stuff done, tackle projects, schedule work calls, go to the grocery store … the list is long and full and as I zip and zoom from one thing to the other I feel productive (and I am!) but 4 weeks ago I had a big wake up call to SLOW DOWN and pay better attention.

I was trying to finish up something (I can’t even remember what it was) before I had to hop on a 2pm call. This is embarrassing but I am passed worrying about that now, because I would rather be embarrassed about the truth than not be real. I had to pee, and was holding it so I could finish up whatever it was that was so important, before my call. I got it done and looked at the clock. It was 1:58. I hopped up out of my chair and darted to the bathroom so I could pee before my 2:00 … as I pushed the door into the kids’ bathroom though, I guess my feet were ahead of me and I whacked my foot into the bottom edge of the door. I heard a snap (pretty sure I now know where the term “oh snap!” comes from), felt severe pain and nausea, looked down and saw my 5th digit, that sweet little baby pinky toe, was pointing in a direction the rest of them were not. It was not natural and freaked me out.

“OH. OH NO. OK. OW.”

I didn’t really think at all, adrenaline rushing through me I immediately grabbed the toe and moved it back into place. It complied thankfully. But I knew it was broken.

This is not my first rodeo with a broken toe. In fact this happened 2 years ago, also in my own home, while I was rushing around to get things done in a hurry. I’ve learned that I need to now: 1. slow down and do just one thing at a time 2. wear shoes in my house and 3. pee before it’s an emergency. Anyway this post is actually not about my broken toe but I will write about my experiences soon – now that I’m, you know, an expert on the subject.

The day I broke my toe, I started a new project for myself. A 100 day project. It had been on my mind to try something like this for a while, as I had read about other people doing them and especially artists and writers. Having something to work on that would challenge me and bring me (and I hope others joy), something I could see the progress of little by little, seemed like a worthwhile endeavor especially now that I was injured. So I began it on the day I broke my toe.

When you break your toe, make some art? It makes me think of this children’s book my kids had called “A Beautiful Oops” all about how rather than dwelling on our mistakes and imperfections, we can turn them into something beautiful and unique. I think about that lesson a lot, and it applies to so many areas of life. This was no different.

So for the last 29 days, I have been making a small piece of art related to running every day. I’m using the hashtag #werunonart100days to share them on my We Run On Art instagram account. I can’t believe I have been at it for 4 weeks now – yay! But then I think holy cow I have 71 more days of this?

It is actually a whole lot like running. Stringing the days together. Showing up every day where I am with what I have. Doing my best. Letting mistakes happen, learning from them, moving forward. I am giving myself 15 minutes to make each piece so I can’t dwell. I have no idea what I will do with them when I am done. That’s not the point though. The process and practice, the dedication to it, that’s the point. The end product … well I can make something with it but the true beauty of it will be in how it helps me grow. Get better. Explore my talents and stretch myself. Maybe some gems will come out of it. Maybe some horrible flops. Well, definitely some horrible flops.

Also though, the 4 weeks of having a broken toe have not been so bad in part because of this project. They kind of flew by and I am running again. Just short 30 minute runs. Runs I will string together, and eventually that will build upon one another. All coming together to tell the story of me. to move me through my journey.

Have you ever done a 100 day project? Thinking about doing one? Are you a runner who has or is interested in having a creative practice?

Hugs and high fives,

Jess.

We had a LOT to celebrate today. Her first big goal race of the year got cancelled, but today she showed up and ran it anyway because that is what felt right to her. Kevin mapped out a loop she and two friends could do 5 times, and had music, cowbells and water bottles waiting for them each time they came through. It was awesome! When they crossed the chalk-drawn finish, they were given handmade medals. Beth rocked her goal of breaking 2 hours and finished in 1:55!

I’m not beating myself up over it, but I do want to share because:

We will get there. Let’s hang on and keep moving forward doing what we truly feel is best. I think, pray, hope and BELIEVE that the more closely we are able to adhere to the #socialdistancing and #stayhome mindset, the sooner these things won’t be necessary anymore.  I will run alone for a bit, and connect more with others online and over the phone for now.

Could training really just be totally side-swiped like this? I mean, I have been dedicated to all the things – daily Pilates and PT work, daily foam rolling, dedication to a pre-run activation routine … I eat and sleep and rest as best I can while still feeling like I have a pretty healthy balance. I acknowledge that there is room for improvement, but this was such a blow. I held my head up high and walked back to my car. On the way, I started googling this knee pain because it didn’t seem familiar to me and typically I have not been one to have joint issues thus far in my life. I wanted to solve it on my own and understand what was going on here. Was it my calf? My hamstring? My psoas? Ugh. I called my PT before I even made it to my car and got on his calendar for the next morning. Decided to rest. And hope for the best.

The next day I saw my PT Lee and he explained that it isn’t actually my knee that is hurting. It’s a bursa called the PES ANSERINE. A couple of the hamstring muscles and a quad muscle all kind of intersect there and that area was inflamed. It was good I stopped running when I did. He gave me some needles and taped me up and told me not to worry too much, that I would be ok. Since then, it has whispered to me but not screamed, and I am being mindful to tend to it with exercises, stretching, rolling and just listening to my body. I thankfully haven’t had to modify my training at all so far because of it, but I have felt less confident at times. It shook me. At the same time I do feel empowered by this happening because I am now even more in tune with my body and am more purposeful with strengthening the areas that need extra help.

This happening really is a reminder that we just have to be in the moment. If we worry about “what-ifs” too much, we definitely aren’t enjoying the here and now and can ruin our experience. I have to keep trusting in myself and my path – and that if for some reason my body can’t hold up to the load I am asking of it, I will know how to adjust and take care of myself and keep my priorities in check. Because I just really want to have a great race in Indy in 7 weeks and that will first and foremost require being heathy and durable. I truly have been enjoying this training so much. Feeling strong and hopeful. Man, I wanna RACE that marathon!! It’s been so long since I have felt this good and I so want to celebrate it with a strong race on November 9th!!

Yesterday I went for my run in the late morning after getting everyone off to school. It was really hot and sticky out – by 9am around here at this time of year it’s just how it goes. I am really looking forward to the cooler temps rolling in; I think that will completely change how I feel about having to go later than sunrise. My miles yesterday were all to be easy effort – so I decided to listen to a podcast which usually keeps me pretty mellow. I found one interviewing James Clear, the author of the book Atomic Habits that I mentioned yesterday. The podcast was called “Ten Perfect Happier” with Dan Harris – I later learned that he wrote a book by the same name about his meditation practice and how it has helped him cope with anxiety and addictions and other aspects of his mental health. I enjoyed listening to this conversation about how to cultivate better habits (and eliminate bad ones!) in lasting ways in our lives. Ultimately to work towards being the best version of ourselves, improving who we are and our quality of life. The concept of each one of our actions being like a tiny vote we are casting for ourselves really resonated with me. It’s the idea that little things matter, that they are almost ALL that matter – we don’t necessarily feel the changes overnight but if we keep going, keep choosing well for ourselves, keep picking ourselves up when we falter, we will transform and we will get somewhere better. Not entirely unlike training for a marathon, right?

I have been thinking about the cultivation of habits a lot lately. There are some I have in my life that I really love, that feel like ME, and that I know I’ve worked hard to do regularly and make a part of who I am and how I DO life – running is one of them, my Pilates practice (which I do for a min of 5 minutes a day and I know helps me even when it’s only 5 minutes), drinking water … but there are areas that I feel I want to work to incorporate more good habits into my life (such as reducing social media consumption, putting my phone AWAY at night, and just being more mindful/intentional with that, reading more books, making time to create (draw, needlepoint), writing, and getting two strength workouts in each week).

Mr. Clear said to start by aiming for 2 MINUTES of doing something you want to make into a habit. It sounds so TEENY and pointless but he swears it makes a difference. He said you have to ESTABLISH a practice before you can work on IMPROVING at it. That makes sense to me. So it’s like rather than trying to eat the whole elephant you just take little bites. Rather than saying you’re going to run a marathon, you run just one more mile. And the next thing you know, all those daily tiny steps you’ve been taking have made you a marathoner. It’s who you are.

Habits are all about consistency, or they wouldn’t be habits at all – they would just be something you do every now and then. So start small. I do believe in that. It’s so much less overwhelming when you think about it that way, too. Here’s to a new day, and to doing the little things that make us feel better, be better.

My morning routine is sacred typically but I’ve lost my roots with it lately and feel frazzled. This morning Gus was up just before 5am, Abby was up shortly after, the dog needed to go out … and now it’s almost 6:30 and she is already on the bus, Gus is dressed and ready for school (despite my efforts to get him back to sleep) and is practicing his scooter tricks in the garage at the moment…seriously I do not know where he gets the energy but it does probably mean he will be tanking hard by the time dinner rolls around (and at that time I will be taking him with me to Will’s soccer practice which goes from 7-8:30pm… so it will be a long day). I just heard Will’s alarm go off, so he will be down here soon.

I think that’s the thing right now – the morning is chaotic and by the time everyone gets off to school I am here with a long to do list, chores, work and wanting to fit a run in too. I have to get everything done by 2pm because that’s when my carpool driving kicks off. I am home from that today around 4pm (yes, 2 hours in the car driving all over Raleigh!) and then take Abby to cheer at just after 5pm, and we leave for Will’s soccer at 6:30pm. I have to figure out dinner for everyone too. Gah. It’s a lot and I am having a hard time wrapping my brain around it all and figuring out how to feel both relaxed and at peace AND productive and able to get everything, or at least enough, done. It used to be that my morning sunrise miles kind of set the tone for the rest of the day, and as crazy as the day would get later I would feel this sense of inner peace and calm because I had carved that out and gotten it done. Now I can’t usually leave for my run until 9ish, and often later than that and I am feeling anxious about getting the run done in time so I can accomplish my responsibilities with work and family things I have to do before 2pm. But it is a priority and I know I am probably blowing a lot of this out of proportion. I need to break it down and then I feel better.

Anyways, it is what it is and I will figure it out! I think step one right now is accepting that this is how it is and embracing it. Looking at the blocks of time that I do have and making a plan and sticking to it. Identifying the roadblocks, the things that suck my energy and willpower and make me feel less than capable…so I can anticipate them and give myself some tools for thinking beyond them. Maybe I will get that book after all lol.

Have you read Atomic Habits? How do you structure your morning routine? Do you have teenage kids? This is harder than I expected it would be both logistically and emotionally, but I know that it’s not impossible!

If you’ve read this far, thank you! It feels good to journal here and just get things out Have a great day!

XO Jess

Things are different this fall. I have a high schooler, for one. She wakes up at 5:15 and we are walking to the bus stop together by 6. I decided to trade in the pre-dawn running routine I’ve been at for the last several years so I can instead be home for her. She doesn’t really want to talk much that early in the morning, but says it’s nice to have my company. I enjoy it too. I get home from the bus stop at about 6:20 to a quiet house. My middle schooler will be up soon, so this quiet time in the kitchen alone is here just for me to fill however feels right. So … I thought … maybe I should try writing now?

When I went to Bird Camp a few weeks ago, Lauren Fleshman mentioned something about what she calls “wild writing” – I think the idea is we write uncensored for a set aside period of time and don’t criticize it or try to polish it or make it “just so” … and then maybe something will come of it that will feel right and help us process or get more clear. Honestly I think part of what holds me back from practicing writing is feeling like I am not good at it and nobody will want to read it, and also not having the time to do it. Once Will is up and down here and needs me, Gus is up shortly after that and then the day gets busy. So maybe this early morning time is the best option for me. It’s quiet. I’m alone. So anyway here I am.

So two months from today I will run my next marathon. Training has been going well. I am feeling strong, feeling capable. The last few weeks my mileage has been around the 60 mile/week range and my long run has been 16-17ish miles long. I am getting into the gritty endurance building work. It’s hard, and satisfying. I know I am lucky to be able to work like this, and to feel progress especially considering the road I have taken to get here. About 8 years ago, I started really seeing progress with my running. Those were weird and exciting days but also dangerous – every race was a new PR and I was losing minutes as well as inches and pounds at a pretty astonishing rate. It was reckless, and ultimately resulted in me fraying at the seams, my body waving a white flag. Thankfully I woke up to my destructive behavior before things got too bad – I worked with both a nutritionist and a therapist to repair my body and heal thinking and behavior patterns/habits that hurt me and the people who loved me.

Now I am running strong again, and making very different choices around my running and my life. I don’t know if I will ever run as fast as I did when I was unhealthy. I used to think that was the goal, that if I could do that I would be able to prove to myself and anyone else who can relate or who is stuck thinking they need to be extreme to succeed in this sport, that it’s possible to come back from overtraining and under eating and run your fastest – even in your 40s – without returning to such extremes. I still want to strive for that if I am being honest, but the numbers aren’t necessarily going to tell the whole story and I know that. I think this training cycle is showing me it is possible for the numbers to reflect it though, eventually – I am running strong and not having any GI issues while running, which is H U G E L Y different from my running during those years when I was 25 pounds lighter than I am now! My marathon pace right now is somewhere around 7:45ish, even in the heat I am capable of that right now so with ~7ish weeks more of hard training to go (taking 2 for taper, I am guessing?) plus the weather cooling I think that’s realistic and perhaps conservative for an ideal day. I think my pace for my PR marathon was something like 7:20…so surely I have more work to do to change the numbers, if that were the goal, but I believe if I can stay healthy, do the work and be patient … IT IS POSSIBLE. No matter what though, I am enjoying the heck out of the journey even with the road bumps. I feel present and happy and healthy for it and that is not something I could say with honesty several years ago. And THAT is the stuff that REALLY matters. The biggest point to make with this, for myself and anyone else, is that we can return to running well and doing hard honest training without being reckless or harming our bodies or mental health!

Alrighty, time’s up. I feel like I ripped off the writing band aid. Will try again tomorrow.

Happy Monday!
Jess.

When it comes down to it, I am someone who does like freedom and flexibility but I need it to exist within structure. I have anxiety or feel like I am missing something without a framework, without goals. It doesn’t mean I can’t or won’t accomplish things, it just means that I will probably either avoid things that need to be done or feel like I am floundering even if I am succeeding.

So, for February I am taking some time today to think about some things I want to accomplish this month AND how I am going to go about it – on both personal and professional levels.

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Here’s a snippet of what I am thinking about for FEB:

1. Relationships: go on a date with Robert (scheduled it already – a double date with our good friends!) and go on a date with Abby (we need our girl time – I want to schedule a time for us to get our nails done, go out to a movie or dinner, maybe do a craft class together at Michael’s!). I also want to plan specific 1-1 time with each of my boys.

2. Financial: we have some debt to pay off and have been working on this for a while, making huge progress in 2018. I can’t even begin to describe how good it feels to be making a difference here. This month I want to pay it down more. To do this, I am committing to not buying anything for myself that I do not absolutely NEED and also focusing on growing my income and contributions to my family on a financial level.

3. Professional:

Beautycounter – I stepped away from Beautycounter in the new year. I think I was partially just tired from working so hard at it toward the end of 2018, and the break was good for me, truthfully – however at the same time I started this work because I need the income and when you don’t work your business, guess what happens? You don’t make money. SO – I am committing myself to getting back to a rhythm with this, reminding myself WHY I do this – to make money for my family, to reduce our debt and afford the lifestyle that’s important to us! I love and believe in the products and mission of the company wholeheartedly. When I decided to do this work, my reasons were twofold – I needed the money but wanted to make it in a way that was both flexible and aligned with my personal values. Beautycounter fit that bill so I am going to stick with it! In November, I made Director and had my biggest paycheck ever – which felt amazing! I get squirmy and have a hard time selling sometimes…I think this is where my roadblocks have been in the past. It’s hard and uncomfortable, but the rewards personally and professionally are great. On that note if you are reading this and want to learn more – please reach out! I would love to introduce you to it and help you and/or have you join me and my team!

Coaching – I currently have a roster of 20 athletes and am LOVING the 1-1 work with my clients. This work makes my heart sing and I love what I do so much! I have been growing my coaching business slowly because my vision for it is and always has been to be able to provide very personal attention to each athlete. I don’t want to have other coaches under me, or make mass plans for people. It’s just not how I operate. That being said, I do feel I have room and time for a few more people so I need to talk about this and share that with all of you! Again, shy about “selling.” But being a business owner/entrepreneur requires that you market yourself! So in February I am going to make more of an effort to share the work that I do as a coach, the accomplishments of my athletes and their amazing stories and how we work together, as well as letting you guys know that I have room for a few more!

Art – well this is a new one for me! I need a creative outlet on a personal level and have always dreamed of somehow combining my passions for running + making art. Well it has come to be! I am working on 10 orders right now of personal custom illustrations of running photos and I want to do MORE of this! So once again I need to promote/share/talk about it and let you guys know I am doing this and want to do more

4. Health/Fitness: I am focusing in 2019 on building strength, power and endurance. In Jan I consistently went to my strength class 3x a week and am feeling the progress in my running too. I don’t see changes on the outside yet, but I think when you build muscle the way I am trying to, it takes time and consistency. So in February I am dedicating myself to the process and focusing on being steady with my weekly strength workouts, core work and run training. I have some big hairy scary goals for my racing this year (I see you, 26.2!) and I want to have a robust and STRONG body to tackle them.

5. Writing: welp, this is the last one I will share for now I started this blog YEARS ago (I think it was 2009? Maybe 2008. I need to check) in order to connect with others who loved running. A space to share my journey, maybe inspire others, make connections, process my thoughts and chronicle the ups and downs. Over the years I stepped away. I want to return to it with consistency. Writing is as hard for me as selling is … I just get so critical of myself, nervous of judgement of others, etc etc etc – but ultimately it is good for me and I feel it helps me grow in so many ways. So I am dedicating myself to this more consistently in February. I am setting a goal of writing 3x a week. I think I can do it!

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That’s it for now. Thank you for reading if you have made it this far! Off to hop on my treadmill for a hill workout! Tomorrow is my buddy’s 8th birthday and I am going to his school for lunch today! My mom flew in late last night and he has NO idea that she’s here – so he is in for a big surprise when Nana shows up at his school today!!!

Happy Friday, friends. And HAPPY FEBRUARY. Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit!