The Secret to Running Better at Any Age: Why You Need a Coach

By: Laura Allen, Charm City Run Race Team Member

At 63, I am grateful I can keep running. I have been running since college and started to drop some weight. It’s hard to believe I am one of 121 women in the United States who have run all 7 Major Marathons.

I have stuck with running over the years because I love the feeling of accomplishment that comes from getting a workout in, at any pace, at any distance. For years, I was a solid middle of the pack runner, and I was quite happy to be there. 

I ran my first marathon in San Francisco, California in 1997. In 2002, I ran a marathon in Osaka, Japan through a sister cities program at the City of Berkeley, California. When I came home and was sharing my race results with my running friend Tracy, she said, “you know Laura, your finish time is very close to the time you need to qualify for Boston.” The seed was planted. 

I hired my first running coach to help me cut 14 minutes off my marathon time. I did all of the work but bonked at mile 10 in the Chicago Marathon. I finished way off my goal. I changed coaches, which some running friends criticized, but for me it wasn’t working. I needed a different coach. 

My second coach spent more time with me and helped me understand the importance of nutrition. I reached my goal with this coach through a combination of track workouts, hill repeats and his focus on making sure I hit my goal paces at every race. He ran with me. He put me in with his faster runners at the track and while I always finished last, they made me a faster runner. That training gave me the confidence to stand at the starting line at the California International Marathon in 2004 knowing I could do it.  I qualified for Boston by running CIM in 3:50:10. Yes, back when there was a grace period! 

Fast forward to 2024. I had self-coached my way through a bunch of races. I was chasing the Six Major Marathons and planned to run the Tokyo Marathon in March 2025. I was worried about the cutoffs. Tokyo was going to me my sixth major and I wanted to make sure I got it done. Enter my current coach – Beth Pritchet (beth@ccr). 

Beth helped me improve my running mechanics and speed. I finished a 5K last year at a 9:22 pace which was the fastest I ran since 2018! She runs with me and focuses on my form as well as my pace. She helped me confidently tackle Tokyo, which I finished in 5:15:47 (I was on track to finish in less than 5 hours before they ran out of cups, water and Pocari, but that’s a story for another time). Beth provides emotional support too. This summer was really a struggle with heat and humidity. She listened to my concerns, adjusted the plan as needed, and encouraged me to keep going when I really wanted to quit. 

Having a coach has made all the difference in my running performance. I have run better, faster and stronger because of their expertise, skill and support. While it’s true, coaches make you do things you really don’t want to do – run hard at the track, workout in the rain, box jumps – they help you reach your potential, so for me it’s worth it. If you want to improve your running, get a coach. Charm City Run has amazing training programs. Check them out here. Let me know how it goes @arunningnomad on Instagram.