Morgan Hawkins Is A Relatable Coach That Values The Run Experience

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My guest on the show today is Morgan Hawkins, a lifelong runner, coach, and fellow Altra Red Team Member.

Morgan is passionate about the sport and her running journey has been anything but linear.

I am looking forward to going a few easy miles with Morgan Hawkins today.

The Road To Boston

Morgan’s favorite distance to race is the marathon and it’s in big part due to how long it took her to qualify for Boston.

It was just this past year in 2019 that Morgan first ran the Boston marathon.

Her journey to reach the starting line began quite a few years earlier.

Shortly after college Morgan ran her first marathon with minimal training and finished in 4 hours and 30 minutes.

The experience was rough which made Morgan re-evaluate whether or not she wanted to ever run another full.

It was two years later that she toed the line of a marathon again, but this time she had a much different result.

On her second marathon, Morgan came within 30 seconds of earning a Boston qualifying time.

A fire was lit within Morgan now that a BQ was within her reach.

Hard Work Pays Off

At the same time Morgan got more serious about her training, she also got certified to coach runners.

Morgan’s love for the sport was enveloping all aspects of her life.

In an effort to earn a BQ Morgan upped her strength training and was more consistent with her speedwork.

It was at the Mountains 2 Beach marathon that Morgan finally earned her much-coveted Boston qualifier.

Morgan’s first Boston experience didn’t go exactly how she had envisioned it.

The course and the spectators were all that she had imagined, but her body wasn’t cooperating that day.

Stomach and GI issues that began after breakfast continued to plague her throughout the race.

Morgan managed to finish, but it was an hour slower than she had trained for.

Look At The Positives

Once Morgan accepted the outcome of her Boston marathon, she put her head down and continued to work hard.

Currently, she has already run a Boston qualifying time for the race in 2020 and hopes that her body is more cooperative.

The challenges Morgan faced in Boston taught her many lessons:

• Every race can’t be your “A” race.
• Plan out the race to the best of your control, but accept that some things won’t go as planned.
• Grief after a bad race is normal and take the time to work through your acceptance.
• Race times don’t define you.
• Bad experiences push you forward and ultimately make you better.

One month after running Boston, Morgan ran another marathon almost an hour faster.

Though she wouldn’t recommend her athletes run 2 marathons back to back it was what Morgan needed to do.

The second marathon proved that she was in the shape she was training for and instilled some much-needed confidence.

All Roads Lead To Trails

Growing up Morgan dabbled in all different events on the track.

While in college, she ran her first half marathon and over time that distance eventually increased to the 50k.

Running on the trails has become a constant for Morgan for various reasons.

Trails are easier on her body, work different muscles, and allow for more time on her feet during long runs.

All of those things transfer over to make her a better and stronger road marathoner.

In order to be a good athlete, one must also be a well-rounded athlete.

The Run Experience

When Morgan isn’t running she can be found coaching other athletes in an online run community.

The Run Experience is an online community that has multiple coaches along with a variety of content.

The content ranges from strength, running form tips, nutrition, injury prevention, and mobility just to name a few.

Training plans are also offered and are tailored to fit the athletes.

Morgan describes the site as a “one-stop-shop,” where all of a runner’s needs can be met.

The Run Experience also has a YouTube channel along with an Instagram page.

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Mentioned In This Episode:

• The Run Experience
• Mountains 2 Beach Marathon

Stay connected with Morgan Hawkins by following her on Instagram and Twitter.

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Morgan Hawkins has been a runner for most of her life while continuously getting faster and going longer. Along with her own big goals, she is also a coach for the online run community, The Run Experience. Click To Tweet

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As Always, I’d Love to Know What Stood Out to You From this Episode! Let Me Know Your Takeaway in the Comments Below!

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