Amy Magdalein Is Better Together With Moms On The Run

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My guest today is a fellow running coach as well as the owner and lead coach of the Jacksonville, Florida chapter of Moms on the Run.

I have only known her for a couple of months, but I have no doubt we will have plenty of topics to cover.

I am looking forward to going a few easy miles with Amy Magdalein today!

Amy Magdalein

From Athlete To Accident

While growing up, Amy Magdalein was involved in sports ranging from track, softball, and basketball.

She gravitated towards basketball with running being much lower on her list of things she enjoyed.

During her senior year of high school, Amy got into a car accident that messed up her knee and her ability to participate in sports.

After graduating from high school she gave up all sports.

Looking back, Amy now realizes that she used the accident as an excuse not to be active.

She had her son when she was in her early thirties and gained a significant amount of weight with her pregnancy.

Amy was uncomfortable with her body but wasn’t quite sure where to begin.

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Something Clicked

As a child, Amy frequented races that her mom would run in.

Her mom had been a marathoner since the 1980s, and Amy had memories of cheering for her at races.

It was ultimately her mom that encouraged her to try running as an adult.

She was finally able to convince Amy to sign up for a 5k and it was at that race that something clicked.

Amy had fun during the race and wanted to see if she could improve.

She began running more frequently and eventually shed all of her pregnancy weight in 3 to 4 months.

She fell in love with the sport and how it made her feel.

It felt good to finally feel comfortable in her own skin again.

Amy Magdalein

Smooth Progression

Amy had a natural progression with running, completing a half marathon the first year and a marathon the following year.

She worked her way up to running long distances by following the Galloway method which relies on a system of running and walking.

In the early years of her running, Amy came across the group Half Fanatics on social media.

Gaining membership requires a person to run 12 half marathons in one year.

Amy successfully completed 11 half marathons, but injury prevented her from finishing the final half.

After recovering from her injury, she looked ahead in distance and focused her sights on the marathon.

Amy never became an official Half Fanatic, because once she completed a marathon she was hooked on that distance.

Amy Magdalein

Unique Perspective

Jacksonville, Florida has an amazing running community, but Amy noticed it was lacking in one area.

None of the groups were geared solely towards women and more specifically women that were newer to the sport.

Amy realized she had a perspective that was unique to a specific group of runners.

She wanted to help women like her just get moving.

Amy came across the group Moms on the Run, but there were no chapters located in the South.

Initially, she dismissed the idea of starting a group, but the idea wouldn’t leave.

Prior to starting a local Moms on the Run group, Amy had gotten certified to coach in 2015.

She was only doing one on one coaching and had no experience coaching a large in-person group.

A Community Of Mother Runners

Amy decided to take the risk and officially started a Moms on the Run chapter in 2017.

Initially, she had 9 women sign up for the first season.

The group ballooned after that, eventually growing to 50 women.

Currently, there are 3 locations around Jacksonville with other coaches helping to run the groups.

On Sundays, the groups all merge to do long runs together.

Challenges exist both in coaching one on one and in coaching a large group of women.

The coaching Amy does also includes the importance of self-care.

If we don’t take care of ourselves, everything else suffers.

Amy Magdalein

Keep It Simple

Amy is a big advocate of strength training which she incorporates into each training session.

Strength training for runners doesn’t have to be complicated.

The only equipment that Amy occasionally brings is resistance bands.

Strength for runners can be accomplished by focusing on 3 areas: core, hips, and glutes.

The majority of running injuries stem from those areas.

Some exercises that Amy regularly includes are wall sits, planks, bridges, clamshells, and single leg work.

Moms on the Run holds spring, summer, and fall sessions with a two-week break in between.

Amy still continues to coach runners virtually as well and has found that a good community whether in-person or virtually is so important.

Mentioned In This Episode:

Stay connected with Amy Magdalein by following her on Instagram.

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Amy Magdalein Is Better Together With Moms On The Run