Kate Marden

rted running in elementary school. My gym coach at the time discovered that I was really good at the mile and encouraged me to keep running. So I did. All through junior high and high school. But the competition aspect of track – in which I ran the 4×800, 1600, and 3200 – soured me on the experience. I also played tennis and had a horse named Flash who I rode often, so I wasn’t hurting for ways to stay active. I thus gave up competitive running during college, occasionally going for a jog or hopping on the treadmill at Georgetown’s student gym. And then, in my 20’s, I rediscovered my love for running for the simple sake of running. Pounding the pavement quickly became my primary form of stress relief, which led to a full-fledged love affair. I still occasionally raced – even winning a few half- and full-marathons and PR’ing in the half at 1:26 and the full at 3:10 – but really I trained just because I loved to run. Around the same time, my brother – who had previously been much more of a basketball devotee – discovered the art of ultrarunning, so we started meeting up 1-2x/year to race together. In 2021, we placed first overall together in the Ragnar New Jersey Trail Black Loop race.

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In 2018, after we lost our mother to a crushing form of dementia (aren’t they all?), I decided it was time to fully pursue my life’s passions. I became a certified personal trainer (ACE), a certified running coach (RRCA), and I obtained a Master of Science in Exercise, Fitness, and Health Promotion from George Mason University.

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With these creds, I slowly started building a second career. My main professional path has been in recruiting for the language services industry, and I was lucky enough to have an employer who encouraged me to also pursue these outside passions! And so I started slowly but surely taking on new clients. I created a local running program that has grown into a wonderful group, was hired by the online coaching business, Team RunRun, and I took on other new responsibilities, including acting as Community Coordinator for the national nonprofit, Healthy Kids Running Series. After all, my dedication to creating a healthier, more active community around me is meaningless if that doesn’t extend to my kids.

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