Coach: Aliya Reich

As a younger person, the competition of sports and athletic pursuits stressed me out. I largely avoided them, electing to walk or hike for exercise. But, after participating in the Baltimore Running Festival 5k on a whim with a friend in 2013, I walked past the Pacing for Parkinson’s charity tent, and my love of running was unexpectedly born.

My mother has Parkinson’s Disease, as did both of my grandfathers, and so Pacing for Parkinson’s caught my eye. I started fundraising with the team in 2014, ran the 5k with them that fall, and timidly graduated to the half marathon in 2015. That was when the running bug really bit, and I was hooked. The rest is history.

I’ve been coaching 5k and 10k runners out of Fells Point since 2019 and am an RRCA Level 1 Certified Run Coach. My coaching philosophy centers around doing everything I can to promote as much inclusiveness, accessibility, and fun as possible for every person who joins. Running is an amazing pastime that has the ability to teach us new things about ourselves, and to prove to ourselves that we can do hard things we weren’t sure we could. No matter your experience, goals, ability, identities, size, age, or background, there’s a place for you here – we all deserve to experience the magic of running.