Meet Marty Coleman | Running Coach and Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Marty Coleman and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Marty, any advice for those thinking about whether to keep going or to give up?
This is in reference to running races and training for the same.

The easy answer is you never choose the ‘give up’ option. You keep running. You might slow down, you might take a walk break, but you don’t quit. However, the more complex answer is sometimes the pain or suffering is just too great and you have to stop.
I recently did just that. I was leading a 12 mile long run with my marathon group and had to stop at mile 3.5 The pain in my achilles was just too great. The pain had been getting worse over the prior months and I was testing to see if I could handle the next level up in distance in my training. At mile 3 I realized I wasn’t going to be able to finish. I stopped, walked back and the next day called my surgeon to schedule the Achilles surgery I knew was the inevitable step if there was no improvement.
Even then, I don’t really see it as ‘giving up’. I see it as taking the smart step so I don’t have to give up. I will be off running temporarily but expect to come back even stronger as I ‘keep going’.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My career as a running coach started as a way for me to make some money while I did what I loved. I stood apart from others because I had enthusiasm and creativity in leading the group, encouraging and motivating the runners to achieve their goals. I did that by first and foremost by being organized, then communicating clearly what it was they were going to be doing in their workouts and the overall program and extending that with information about all the details of competitive running and training. It was easy in one respect, that I loved doing it and didn’t mind the effort I had to put out to organize the program successfully. It was hard because I had to learn how to both motivate and push the runners but not push so hard that they felt defeated and unable. That education of knowing my audience was key. Who was I talking to, elite veteran runners already in shape? Well then I could push hard. Or were they beginners without the physical abilities and mental fortitude yet? Then I had to push in a different way, with more encouragement and less demand.
What I believe the runners who I have trained already know and what I would like to world to know is that you can depend on me to be energetic, creative, fun, informative, and focused. I will get you to that start line in shape and ready to take on the challenge!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Since we are talking about Colorado I would be as much a visitor as my visitor. am also an artist as well as a runner I would start in Denver and take them to the Museum of Art. I would then go gallery hoping with them. But my main focus would be to get them up to altitude, going to Summit County and spending most of the week out in nature, running paths and trails throughout the region. I would pick a week when there is a trail race AND a road race so we could have fun doing both.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would like to recognize Fleet Feet Tulsa (Oklahoma) and their owners, Tim and Lori Dreiling. They led a fantastic training program that I joined in 2008. 3 years later they hired me to lead some of their programs and I built the program while accomplishing my running goals,

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