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If you’ve hit a plateau, haven’t nailed your race, are navigating midlife running, or are trying to figure out how to keep improving without burning yourself out, this conversation gives you the real story. I chat with Carolyn Coffin, a running coach, podcast host of Inspired Soles, and competitive marathoner whose story spans late-blooming success, coaching, and an ongoing quest to rediscover what running can feel like.
We discuss:
🌀How injuries, DNFs, perimenopause, and motherhood have shaped Carolyn's perspective as a runner
🌀The role easy running had in her breakthrough
🌀 What it really means to play the long game and why your best running may still be ahead, even in your 40s and 50s
🌀How she is approaching coaching her husband to a 2:35 marathon at the age of 45
Carolyn also opens up why she’s now taking a scientist’s approach to her own running instead of forcing a result.
Her perspective is equal parts honest and hopeful - a reminder that a rough patch does not have to become the whole story.
TIMESTAMPS:
- 02:16 — Late-blooming runner starts in her 30s
- 03:13 — Easy running breakthrough and training structure
- 05:27 — Early PRs from 5K to half marathon
- 06:26 — First marathon disaster and why it stuck
- 08:29 — Motherhood, military life, and running community
- 13:25 — Why running “sucks” at the beginning
- 16:43 — Boston Marathon pacing mistake and heat
- 22:51 — Extreme heat race cancellation
- 30:17 — Easy runs feel worse; blood sugar and perimenopause
- 40:14 — Public goals, pressure, and marathon mindset
RESOURCES:
Podcast: Inspired Soles
IG: @inspiredsolescast or @carolyn.c.coffin
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Whitney Heins is a mom of 2, a lifelong runner, a VDOT-certified running coach for moms who run, and founder of the resource, themotherrunners.com. When training for her first marathon as a mom, she found a dearth of information related to running and motherhood. She also felt extremely isolated as a new mom. As a former TV journalist and a freelance writer she decided to use her skills to fill the void with an online resource and community, called The Mother Runners. Whitney also recognized a need for run coaches who understood the demands of motherhood, so she also became a running coach—unearthing a passion for helping moms reap the rewards and empowerment of running. Coming out of a long injury cycle, she ran a 2:54 marathon and 1:20 half marathon in her 40s. She lives in Knoxville, TN with her husband, two kids, and three dogs.
