Community Highlights: Meet Gerald Collins of RunRev Coaching LLC

Today we’d like to introduce you to Gerald Collins

Hi Gerald, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I was born and raised in Southwest Ohio in the United States. I have a congenital disease called Coloboma. My mother had it and her father as well. Because of that, I’m blind in my right eye and have had visual difficulties growing up. See, the thing is, I was never allowed to use that as an excuse. I was taught early in life to seek and find ways to accomplish what you needed to. To say my parents had a HUGE influence on my life would be an understatement.

In May 2011, I lost my mother to breast cancer. She was first diagnosed in the early 90s and was in remission for over 15 years. When it reared its ugly head, she fought as hard as she could. Her tumor markers had been decreasing from the chemotherapy. It was a total shock when she told me on Friday, April 29, 2011, that she had been transferred to Hospice care and they had stopped chemo. By Sunday, May 1, she was only able to speak in short 3-5 word sentences. She literally went from full conversations to that in 2 days. By Monday, she was pretty much catatonic. She passed at home late Monday into Tuesday.

The suddenness of her death put me in a very dark place emotionally. The grief was consuming me. My wife gave me an ultimatum on May 2012 to find something to process my grief. I always knew I could walk a 5K but I wanted to run one. I choose running as a way to process my grief. I remember I spent a month training to run one mile. I still remember the exhilaration I felt on running that mile.

I finished training for my first 5K and ran it in August 2012. What was meant to be a one-and-done turned into a huge passion. I fell in love with the local running community and running itself. It saved me and my relationship. In the fall of 2013 I ran my first full marathon. I found out what they mean when they say you feel like you can accomplish anything after you cross that finish line. I truly felt like I was invincible and could accomplish anything I put my mind to.

The biggest reason I fell in love with running was the people. There are so many amazing people in my life that I would have never known had I not started that journey in 2012. So many people with support and love to share with me and my family.

After that start, I went on a multi year journey seeking what worked for me and my training. I tried multiple training plans and methods. They were all good but they just were not what I was looking for. That was until 2018 when I read Matt Fitzgerald’s book “80/20 Running” for the first time.

I loved that most of the workouts weren’t distance-based but were time-based. For a mid-pack runner such as myself, that gave me such a sense of accomplishment without feeling overworked. Best of all, the workouts are scalable. As I improved, the workouts stayed at the same duration but my distance and pace adjusted around it.

In addition, I was getting out of the rut of pushing too hard on the easier days and not having anything left for the hard workouts. I had more left for the harder workouts. It felt balanced and good.

The next step was becoming an ambassador for the program in 2021. I believed in this program so much, it was an easy choice to share their story and plans. I used and believed in the program so much. I didn’t expect just how much I’d gain from that experience.

Then in spring 2022, they announced the new Coaching certification. I knew that was something I wanted to do.

Running has given me so much. It has been a great source of joy and friendships. There have been so many great people along this journey that have been so great at encouraging and teaching me. I had the opportunity to race director a 10K race for the local running club from 2019-2021.

Coaching allows me the opportunity to help others share the same joy I found with this sport. I am able to help people find the joy of setting a goal and making it happen.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
As much as I have loved running, not everything has always been easy or worked out as planned. I’ve had multiple failures in running along the way. There was the time I missed the cutoff for my final loop of the trail marathon by 20 minutes. That was my first DNF. That one especially stung as it was the last race in a series of 3 to qualify for Marathon Maniacs.

As a slower runner, I had a difficult experience with a group run once. I typically run by myself and I had decided I wanted to change it up a little and attend a local group run. It was advertised as welcoming to all paces. I found out that wasn’t entirely true. Maybe, they thought I was capable but within the first mile the pack all pulled away and I found myself running alone. I vowed that day that I would always make sure that everyone would have a partner at any group run I lead.

I do not want any runner to feel that sense of disorientation. It’s also why I made sure that a sweeper was present at all my races. I was volunteering at a water stop one afternoon and realized that a sweeper also helps those at the station know when the last runner is through.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about RunRev Coaching LLC?
I started my coaching business officially in 2023 as a means to help other runners find and reach their goals. A lot of times coaching is seen as something only for the elite or fast runners. I came from the common runner and I love to work with those just beginning or a common runner. That sheer exhilaration I felt as a runner is something I want to share,

I love the 80/20 principle (80% easy running / 20% Moderate/Hard} for many reasons. First, it is used by the professionals but it translates to any runner. It doesn’t matter if you are just starting or have been running for decades. The system works for you.

I provide coaching and support to individuals training to run the 5K up to the Ultra marathon. The core tenants of my training philosophy are Consistency, Nutrition, Sleep, Rest, and Hydration. I see most runners focused on their training but they lack one or more of the other principles. You need all 5 to be an effective runner.

I have tried to make my products something that is available for any runner whatever their needs. I can provide the support of a 1-on-1 coach, one time consultations, or a customized plan. I even have a basic plan available for newer runners.

Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
Growing up, I was a nerd/geek.. My mother was a semi-professional country/western singer before I was born. My entire childhood was filled with music. We were always singing around my house.

In middle school I started playing the flute. In a strange way, that was a building block to prepare me for endurance sports. What many do not realize is a flutist only uses 50% of the air they blow to produce the sound. The other 50% is essentially wasted. When I began marching as a freshman in high school. I had to increase my breath capacity to play and move at the same time. That increased ability definitely paid off as a runner,

I was a pudgy child and never thought of myself back then as a runner. That was for the skinny kids. Looking back, I wish I had known then what I know now. I could have been a great runner. I just didn’t know it until decades later.

Instead I was the band geek who loved his model rockets. I played drums occasionally for church and sang specials.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.runrevcoaching.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/runrevcoach_gerald/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089183054517
• Other: https://calendly.com/runrev-coaching/coaching_inquiry