Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
Sara Plumstead and Amy Haenick are friends who met through their shared passion for running and living healthy. And in recent time, they’ve become business partners — the Detroit-area moms are behind Run Strong Project, which offers coaching and run-specific strength training. I recently had the opportunity to talk with them on the MRG Podcast. We talked about how their paths crossed (Sara also coaches Amy) and their interest in helping other athletes take their running and strength training to the next level. They also share solid tips for incorporating strength training into our routines and improving our running performance. {To listen to this episode, please click on the player at the top of this post, or download it using your favorite podcast app}
“Sara began coaching me as a runner about a year ago,” Amy says. “We became fast friends and started Run Strong Project in January 2017. I absolutely love being a strength coach and helping others to become stronger and faster!”
“I started running at the age of 30,” Sara says, “after the birth of my second daughter. It was a wonderful stress relief as I adjusted to life as the parent of a special needs child who has a rare chromosome deletion. I ran my first half marathon in 2007, and my first marathon a year later, finishing in 3:31. Since then I have completed at least 20 marathons.” As Sara “embarks on my 40s,” she is attempting to lower her marathon PR from 3:04 to sub 3:00. She’s also an ACE certified group fitness instructor and a VDOT O2 certified distance running coach.
Amy says she’s always loved fitness. “I grew up playing sports. In high school, I was a three-sport athlete participating in swimming, volleyball and softball.” She was named Female Athlete of the Year of her high school and went on to Michigan State University and graduated with a degree in Recreational Therapy. Amy talks about how during her freshman year of college she became anorexic. “It was a tough transition from high school to college and I felt a loss of control. Once I became healthy and recovered (still an ongoing struggle sometimes), I started running. Running helped me so much in my recovery,” she says. She ran her first marathon in 1996 and qualified for Boston on her first try. She has since run 10 marathons, including Boston and holds a PR of 3:35.
You can keep up with Sara over on her blog (she is currently training for the Bayshore Marathon), Michigan Marathoner She’s also on Instagram as MichiganMarathoner
Find Amy on Instagram here: AmyRunsDetroit
—
The Michigan Runner Girl Show is made possible in part by the Grand Traverse Resort & Spa.
A special thanks to Mike Moran, Mike Youker and Jonny Tornga of Quarter After Productions in Traverse City, Mich. for producing the show. Check out this studio’s work here.
