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Inspired Soles

@inspiredsolescast

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Host @carolyn.c.coffin interviews coaches, health experts, & dedicated runners to educate & inspire you to achieve peak performance.

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🚨 Introducing: PROJECT-99

A 12-week performance program for women ready to break 1:40 in the half marathon.
(That’s 99 minutes… and yes, it means something 😉)

This isn’t just a training plan. It’s:

✨ Coaching
✨ Community
✨ Accountability
✨ Storytelling
✨ And a team that actually gets it

Led by: Coach Carolyn Coffin (Inspired Soles @inspiredsolescast)
Powered by: Caroline Fisher (Big Sky Run Co @bigskyrunco)

Participants will receive:

✔️ Structured, progressive training
✔️ Group workouts & long runs
✔️ Athlete spotlights on the podcast
✔️ A summer training camp experience
✔️ Race day pacing + support
✔️ Team gear + in-store perks

📍 Winnipeg-based
📅 Starts 6-July
👟 Goal race: @fortgarryrotary (27-Sept)

Spots are limited (10–12 women)
👉 Applications open now: link in the bio 🔗

Let’s see what’s possible when a supportive group of women train together. 🔥 by @inspiredsolescast

What does it look like to go ALL IN on a dream?

After running 2:08:35 in Chicago (and believing there’s a little more in there after a late-race cramp!), Thomas Nobbs (@nobbs.not.knobs) has his sights set on something even bigger: making Canada’s Olympic marathon team for LA 2028.

His approach? Optimize his life, commit fully to the process, and give himself every opportunity to find out what’s possible. Because as he puts it, he doesn’t think he’ll ever regret giving it everything he’s got, even if he comes up short.

I love that perspective. ❤️

🎧 Hear more from Thomas in episode 314 of Inspired Soles. Download it wherever you get your podcasts!

📸 @janfigueroa07 by @inspiredsolescast

Your taper does NOT need to be perfect to run a great race!

Johnny’s @towaterfront42k taper involved a few niggles, a whole lot of 💩, very little confidence, and some serious doubts about whether his body was actually going to cooperate.

Spoiler alert: it did. And then some. 😂

He ran a 1:18 PB, finishing in 2:35:21.

Full race recap in Episode 313 of Inspired Soles. 🎙️ by @inspiredsolescast

What a weekend at the Toronto Waterfront Marathon! @towaterfront42k 🥹🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️

From catching up with friends and hearing some inspiring words from Olympians John Gay (@john_e_gay) & Natasha Wodak (@tashawodak), to cheering on an incredible community of runners, celebrating big goals, and watching Johnny (@bestjohnnyever) run a 2:35:21 marathon PB at age 45… the weekend had a little bit of everything.

Including the part where he crossed the finish line and promptly spent the next 20 minutes cramping up. 😂

There’s so much that goes into a performance like this, and I’m so proud of the patience, consistency, and hard work Johnny has put in over the years. ❤️

🎙️ Episode 313 of @inspiredsolescast is now LIVE! Johnny joins me to break down his race, the training that got him there, and all the highs (and post-race lows!) of the weekend.

🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Link in bio! by @inspiredsolescast

Your coach is supposed to believe in your dreams. Right?! 😂

So why, then, might they tell you to SLOW DOWN, adjust your expectations, and reconsider a goal you’ve been dreaming about for months? 💀 It all comes down to science (and Mother Nature!).

This conversation with Alyse Gilliver (@aleebreegee.run) and Jeff Cunningham (@jdcunningham97) was such a hoot!

Coached by Jeff, Alyse ran 2:43:31 in Chicago, finishing as the third Canadian woman.🇨🇦 Despite running a PB by over a minute, she narrowly missed out on the $3,000 PUMA Project3 payout for improving her previous best by three minutes.

But after a spring full of setbacks, she’s simply thrilled to be feeling good, running well, and chasing her dreams with so much joy. ❤️

🎧 Episode 312 of Inspired Soles is out now! Link in bio. by @inspiredsolescast

“If I’m ever in a coma, braid my hair.”

In the chaos of the ICU, as a 23-year-old nurse during the pandemic, braiding a patient’s hair was a simple act of care. A way to preserve their dignity. And a reminder that beneath all the medical equipment, they were still a person who deserved to be treated with humanity.

It’s also the title of @erinmawhinney_’s new book. If I’m Ever in a Coma, Braid My Hair is a deeply personal reflection on her experience as a young ICU nurse during COVID-19.

Erin has A LOT going on, and we had so much to talk about! From deciding to bring this book into the world, to finding humour in the darkest of circumstances, to her shiny new 2:29 marathon PB, this conversation was wide-ranging for sure. 😂

🎧 Listen to my chat with Erin now on Inspired Soles. 💛

📸 @dre.run by @inspiredsolescast

We all want our athletes to like us. We want happy athletes. We want to have great relationships with the people we coach.

But what happens when doing what’s best for an athlete means telling them something they don’t want to hear?

Lynsey Romano’s (@lynseyeromano) thinking on this was sparked years ago by an episode of On Coaching* with Steve Magness (@stevemagness) and Jon Marcus—and it ultimately inspired her recent Instagram post AND this conversation on Inspired Soles.

(* Episode 255 of On Coaching: The importance of being a good coach, not just a nice coach

https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/science-of-running/id961516002?i=1000671269335)

So…how do we balance being kind and supportive coaches with being willing to push back when our athletes need us to?

We dig into that—and a whole lot more—in this episode.

🎧 Listen to “Good Coach vs. Nice Coach: When to Push Back” wherever you listen to podcasts. by @inspiredsolescast

Hi October, still here. 👋🏼

A few months ago I created custom cards for the amazing Carolyn Coffin at @inspiredsolescast who is sending sweet notes to her podcast guests as a way to encourage authentic connection beyond the microphone. 💌

Head over to her page, listen to her latest episodes, and prepare to feel inspired, connected and quite possibly motivated to go for a run. 🏃🏼‍♀️

It’s been a joy getting to know Carolyn, and if you’re interested, you can also catch me on Episode 267 chatting all things community, connection, and Send It. by @inspiredsolescast

Every community needs those people who just have a knack for bringing others together. Luckily for us, the running community has Ally Brettnacher (@allytbrett_runs). 💛✨

Ally is the host of Finish Lines & Milestones (🎙️ part of @sandyboyproductions), the owner of Athlete Bouquets (@athletebouquets), a mother runner, and just an all-around gem of a human who seems to have a natural superpower for connecting people.

In our conversation, Ally talks about the moment she realized that bringing people together wasn’t just something she happened to be good at—it was a skill she could really lean into. And I think anyone who knows Ally would agree.

I can’t wait to finally meet her IRL when we’re together in Indy for @indymonumental in just over a month! 🥰

📸 @timmy_hotdog_howard by @inspiredsolescast

You didn’t seriously think we were done reliving Project-99 memories yet, did you? 😂💗💙

🎥📸 Big shoutout to @sprintingbeekeeper, @lizhaacke, @kelseyhuth and @thisisshirlz for this amazing content from start to finish!

The level of support we felt from everyone out on the @fortgarryrotary course was truly EPIC. We heard you, felt you, and LOVED every second of it.

Project-99 forever. 💗💙

(And yes, I sped up approximately ALL of these videos so I could use this song. Worth it. 😂🔥) by @inspiredsolescast

PROJECT-99. WE DID IT. 💗💙

Today was everything we hoped Project-99 could be—and then some.

Twelve women lined up. Three pacers. Pink singlets. Glitter. Pink ribbons. A whole lot of nerves. And a LOT of belief.

And then they went out and absolutely left it all on the course.

Personal bests galore. Some HUGE breakthroughs. And one woman with a 12-minute PB. 🤯

But as we’ve said all along, the times are almost beside the point.

What made us the proudest was watching these women support each other from start to finish. And race as a TEAM.

A very special shoutout to our 13th woman, who made the tough (and incredibly wise) decision to sit this one out and let her injury heal. She was still very much part of the team—and captured so many priceless finish-line moments. ❤️

It was a gorgeous day, and we received SO many cheers along the incredible @fortgarryrotary half course.

Our hearts are so freaking full. And we are so darn proud of these women. 🥹💗💙

Caroline Fisher of @bigskyrunco x @carolyn.c.coffin of Inspired Soles by @inspiredsolescast

IT’S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN. 🎶💗💙

One last run (in the rain!).
One last Project-99 celebration before race day.
One last chance to remind these women just how far they’ve come.

When Caroline (@bigskyrunco) & I dreamed up Project-99, we had no idea exactly where this crazy little experiment would take us.

We just knew we wanted to give a group of women the chance to say YES to something big. To take a chance on themselves. To put a bold goal out there and see what might happen if they committed to chasing it ... together.

From where I’m standing, these women have already won.

Tomorrow’s @fortgarryrotary half marathon is just the victory lap. 🏁❤️

I’m SO proud of these women. And so incredibly grateful that they trusted me and Caroline enough to take this leap of faith with us.

Tomorrow morning, we find out what’s possible.

PROJECT-99. LET’S. FREAKING. GO. 🔥 by @inspiredsolescast