Coach Melissa
Hi, I’m Mel.
Before I was an ultrarunner or a coach, I was a kid from Greenfield, California, a small agricultural town on the Central Coast. I grew up surrounded by hardworking immigrant families, farm fields, and a community that carried both a lot of love and a lot of struggle. My mom raised my siblings and me as a single parent, and sports gave us structure, an outlet, and somewhere safe to put our energy.
I needed that.
I was a bit of a wild child, always testing limits, always finding trouble, always trying to figure out where I fit. But I naturally gravitated toward running. It was the one thing I felt genuinely “okay” at, and eventually, it became the thing that showed me I could be more than the version of myself I had started to believe in.
I ran in high school, competed at the junior-college level (Hartnell College), and earned a scholarship to run cross-country and track in North Dakota (Dickinson State). I kept chasing the next goal, training hard and tying a lot of my worth to what I could achieve. I worked my ass off to qualify for the Boston Marathon, running a 3:11 marathon. But by the time I got to Boston in 2017, running didn’t feel like mine anymore. I was burned out, mentally unwell, and disconnected from myself. So I stepped away.
Ultrarunning found me later, during a season when I was learning how to heal and move through life differently. It gave me a new kind of challenge, not one rooted in proving myself, but one that asked me to be patient, honest, resilient, and present. The trails became a place where I could rebuild trust with myself.
That experience shapes how I coach.
Throughout my own athletic journey, I rarely had a coach I fully connected with someone who saw my potential before I could see it myself. I was often scared, low on confidence, and unsure of who I was outside of performance. As a coach, I want athletes to feel seen, not just for what they can accomplish, but for who they are while working toward it.
Because you are a human first and an athlete second. Training should make room for your goals, your real life, your hard seasons, and the person you are becoming along the way.
Client Testimonials
“Melissa created a training plan to bring me success in my first 50 mile race. She was the first running coach I used so it was a new experience for me. Make sure to share all your goals as well as your training style with her. She will listen and customize a training plan for you. Because of limited time during the week, she ensured that the workouts were focused to get the most from that period. There are a couple of bests about Melissa. The first is that she was receptive to my input regarding my training and was willing to adjust my training program to meet my desire to have two 50Ks under my belt before my race as well as expand my understanding of the technical aspects to training. The second is she is 100% supportive and had my back throughout the training. I loved the confidence she had in my abilities and the encouragement she gave me. My race was a great success as I finished in a blaze of moonlight! Lastly, I know that I was well prepared as the day after the race I was tired but injury free!”
- KATHIE
Shout out to an incredible coach!
Melissa is genuine, relatable, available, enthusiastic, invested, and inspiring! I couldn’t have asked for a better coach to guide me in training toward my first 100k.
After designing a personalized training plan which accounted for my strengths/weaknesses, she not only held me accountable but encouraged me along the way. She empathized as I shared my insecurities, was patient and attentive to my questions, and encouraged me as I worked to break bad habits and establish new ones. She joined me for my longest training run leading up to the race, which reinforced those habits and further built my confidence.
The training plan and race strategy she designed provided peace of mind and confidence going into the race. She inspired and encouraged me by her presence, as she came out to crew and coach me to the finish on race day. I truly felt that she shared the race experience/emotions with me.
Melissa challenged me to venture outside of my comfort zone, rethink my approach to endurance running, and open my mind to a new concept of what is possible. I’m so thankful for the opportunity to learn from her. This is just the beginning! Thank you, Coach!!
-Hannah