Meet the Coaches

Coaches guide you, push you, challenge you, and support you. Whether you’re running down a big goal, looking to change up the status quo, break out of a slump, or take it to the next level, you often turn to others for support. A running coach can do just that — by developing a plan uniquely made for YOU, helping you adjust the plan (because life happens!), and supporting your journey with care and compassion.

At Running Joyfully, our all-female run coaching team is here to support your joyful running journey every step of the way!

Meet the Coaches

Coach Kaitlin, Head Coach

Coach Kaitlin Goodman has over 25 years of running experience and over a decade of run coaching experience.

Kaitlin began running in middle school and hasn’t stopped since. She ran collegiately at the University of California, Davis and continued competing after college, chasing a goal of competing at the Olympic Trials. After years of consistency and relentlessly pursuing this dream, she earned her first Olympic Trials Qualifier in 2014. Since then, she has gone on to compete in 4 Olympic Trials events (5k - 10k - Marathon x2) and has represented Team USA in cross country. A former member of the Boston Athletic Association’s High Performance Team and former Adidas pro athlete, she has trained under renowned coaches including Dena Evans and Ray Treacy.

Kaitlin has had "dream-come-true" races and others that went completely unexpectedly; she has navigated devastating injuries and has experienced the joys - and challenges - of running through pregnancy and postpartum. Through her many years of running, Kaitlin understands firsthand the ups and downs of training and racing - and she loves to support athletes through their own running rollercoasters. She’s here for all of it - the highs, the lows, and everything in between.

Coaching is in Kaitlin’s blood - both of her parents are youth coaches (Mom leads a youth swimming team and Dad is one of the top high school XC and track coaches in the US!). She has watched both of them nurture and develop thousands of athletes (Kaitlin included!); Kaitlin shares their “whole person” training approach that emphasizes finding balance in training and that supports the pursuit of multiple passions simultaneously.

Kaitlin’s first foray into coaching was as a youth swim coach during her high school and college years. After college, Kaitlin spent 2 years coaching at the NCAA Division I level as a volunteer assistant cross-country & track coach, where she learned from one of the best — Coach Helen Lehman-Winters. Under Helen, Kaitlin learned how to develop and guide each individual athlete to reach their potential through a personalized approach to training.

Kaitlin has been offering private run coaching for nearly a decade. Before transitioning to coaching full-time, she spent a decade working in public health and health promotion, supporting nonprofits, start-ups, and strategy consultancies. She holds a BA in Economics from the University of California, Davis and a Master’s Degree in Public Health from Brown University. She is passionate about safe streets for runners and bicyclists and currently serves as a Transportation Commissioner for the City of Kirkland, Washington.

Since founding Running Joyfully in 2015, Kaitlin has guided hundreds of runners toward their goals, helping them thrive in both running AND life. She knows how to translate goals into outcomes and how to achieve measurable results - and how to enjoy the process along the way. Kaitlin has helped athletes cross their first marathon finish line, run 40+ minute personal bests, return to running after baby, qualify for Boston, compete at the Marathon Olympic Trials, and break the winner's finish line tape — all while keeping running joy at the forefront. No matter your running goal, Kaitlin is excited to partner with you to achieve it!

Running Joyfully is thrilled to welcome coaches Stephanie Garcia Cichosz, Danielle Encizo, Katie Newton, Sarah Roberts, Amy Sanchez, Jen Serna, and Dr. Kacy Seynders to our coaching team!

Coach Stephanie

Her running career allowed her the opportunity to work with and learn from a range of top coaches, nutritionists, physical therapists, and sports psychologists as she lived, trained, and competed around the country and world. Her personal bests range include 4:04.63 in the 1500m, 4:24.68 in the mile, 15:16.56 in the 5000m, and 9:19.48 in the 3000m steeplechase, which is the 10th fastest time ever by an American steeplechaser.

After retiring from track racing, Stephanie shifted her sights to trail, obstacle course and road racing, and in 2023, she competed her first marathon. Outside of running, Steph has a successful career in college athletics communications; she lives with her family in the Pacific Northwest. As a mom to a toddler, she’s navigating postpartum running goals by tapping into the Running Joyfully mindset and cherishing the opportunities to train and compete.

Steph works with a wide range of athletes - from postpartum moms to elite track runners, from athletes chasing goals on the trails to marathoners looking for their next BQ and breakthrough. Steph’s coaching experience is as diverse as her athletic experience; no matter your goal, Steph is here to support you whole-heartedly!

Stephanie holds a BA and MA in English Language and Literature from the University of Virginia. A caring and compassionate coach, Steph brings expert communication skills to our team and enjoys helping athletes balance their athletic goals, career goals, and motherhood. She is excited to bring her experience as an elite competitor to the Running Joyfully coaching team, and we are so thrilled to have her as part of our team! 

Coach Amy

Amy Sanchez hails from Seattle, Washington and currently lives and trains here with her husband and two young children. She joins the Running Joyfully team with several years of experience coaching high school cross country in addition to her career as a clinical social worker specializing in school-based mental health care at the middle and high school level.

Amy took a chance on running cross country in her senior year of high school. She often finished in the back of the pack and was thrilled when she broke 26 minutes in the 5K at the end of the season. She was surprised when her coach pulled her aside and shared her belief that if Amy continued running, much faster times were in her future.

College brought Amy to Chicago, where her coach's prediction came true. Long runs along Lake Michigan became a treasured weekly pastime and Amy developed a deep appreciation for running as both a moving meditation and a meaningful connection point with others. She found her sweet spot in the marathon, running her first (Chicago!) in 2017 in 4:14. She continued consistently training and racing, chipping away at PR's and setting her sights on what felt like a lofty goal of a Boston Qualifier - 3 hours and 30 minutes. When her spring 2020 marathon - the long awaited BQ attempt - was cancelled, Amy pivoted to trail running. She found new sources of joy running through Pacific Northwest forests and placed 2nd in her first trail 50k. In 2022, following the birth of her first child, Amy's running took off. She PR'd in all distances in her build up to CIM, where she ran 3:15 - an hour faster in 5 years, and her first Boston Marathon qualifier! Amy knows that years of hard work stacked on top of one another, as well as the support of her own fantastic run coach, helped her get to where she is today. While she acknowledges that taking another hour off of her marathon time is unlikely, she believes the sky is the limit to her own big running goals.

With her background in social work, Amy enjoys integrating her understanding of mental health into running. She believes running should be a life enhancing activity - a way to connect with others, yourself, and the world around you. She is committed to building empowering, positive, and meaningful relationships with her athletes in service of their goals. Amy is a Health at Every Size (HAES) aligned coach and believes that all bodies are runners' bodies.

Amy loves working with pregnant and postpartum runners and recently supported one of our postpartum moms in running a 29 minute personal best in the marathon!

Amy holds a BS in Psychology from Northwestern University and a Master’s in Social Work from the University of Chicago. Amy brings years of running experience as both an athlete and a coach, incredible empathy, and an infectious smile to the Running Joyfully team. We couldn’t be happier to have her on board as a coach!

Coach Katie

Katie has had wide-ranging experiences as a runner -- as an elite runner and Olympic Trials qualifier, and now as a mom of two navigating postpartum running goals. Lately, running has become a wellness outlet for Katie: a time she can focus on pushing herself physically and mentally. These varied experiences as an athlete have given Katie the ability to connect with runners everywhere, regardless of ability, location, or specific goals. Katie loves the camaraderie and relationships formed through both the hard efforts and slow easy miles that running provides, and she loves traveling to new locations to explore trails, new routes, and post-run coffee shop locations.

Outside of running, Katie works as a speech and language pathologist; an expert communicator and a kind and compassionate therapist, Katie brings strong communication skills, warmth, and empathy to the athletes she coaches. She thrives at helping runners connect their running goals to their daily realities, and she enjoys finding creative ways to make changes in fitness, big or small.

Katie works with a diverse group of athletes (including Boston Qualifiers and sub-3 marathoners) but she especially enjoys supporting postpartum moms in their running journey, balancing training with motherhood.

Katie holds a BA and MA in Speech-Language Pathology from Boston University. Katie excels at helping runners find their inner confidence — which she hopes translates from the running realm into all areas of life. We are so thrilled to welcome Katie to the Running Joyfully team! 

Coach Kacy

Kacy completed her Doctorate of Physical Therapy at Emory University, where she continued to train for and compete in long distance races, mostly because she couldn’t survive the long days of school and studying without it! Running has always played an important role for Kacy in supporting mental health and maintaining a daily rhythm; it has been a continual source of strength (and joy!) for her.

Kacy currently lives and breathes running as a Running Medicine Specialist in Atlanta, GA. She continues to learn and tweak how she cares for her own body so that she can better teach the patients and athletes that she works with. She has a passion for finding that right balance of running, strength training, hard work, and self-care that best services the goals of every athlete she works with. Kacy loves the process of everything she does.

Kacy supports many of our athletes who have dealt with past injuries, helping them find a sustainable, healthy way to run down their big goals. Kacy has guided athletes to BIG breakthroughs, including sub-3 marathons, PRs as a masters runner, and returning to running postpartum.

When Kacy isn’t running, coaching, or treating patients, you can find her walking her dog Oly, spending time with friends, foam rolling (obviously), or trying a new coffee shop. We are so excited that Kacy is part the Running Joyfully team as both an athlete and now as a coach! 

Coach Jen

Jennifer Serna is an accomplished runner who competed collegiately at Cal State University Chico, where she was a multi-time All-American for the Wildcats and helped the team to multiple NCAA Championship appearances. She found her stride in the steeplechase, where she still ranks 7th all-time at Chico State. Following graduation, Jen began her coaching career as an Assistant Coach at Chico, learning the ropes from renowned coach Gary Towne and serving as his assistant for 3 years. Jen incorporates all that she learned from Coach Towne and as a collegiate coach into personal run coaching; she has been coaching running clients for the last decade, working with athletes from the 5k to the marathon.

Jen holds a BA in History from CSU Chico and a Master’s Degree in Education from the University of Washington; she is a merchandise planner with over 10 years of experience in the running industry, having worked at Road Runner Sports, Deckers (owner of Hoka), and A Snail’s Pace. She is incredibly detail-oriented and is always looking for little tweaks she can help her athletes make to have a BIG impact on their results. Jen is an empathetic listener who enjoys helping people set big goals and figure out how to fit running into their busy life. Jen also loves supporting runners through pregnancy and postpartum running. She has guided runners to massive personal bests and breakthrough marathons, including 20+ minute PRs!

Jen still runs daily for fun and for sanity; she tries to get outside on the trails 5-6 times a week from her home in Fullerton, California. As a busy mom of two, Jen fits in runs in between her full time job, driving to ice skating lessons, and caring for her family’s new puppy. She gets to enjoy the company of her kids on a run from time to time, as they will join her on their bikes; she hopes to teach them the value and fun of leading an active lifestyle. Running brings her joy and she loves to explore new trails anywhere she goes; she often explores new cities on foot while on vacation or traveling for work. Occasionally she can convince her husband who is also a former Chico State runner to join her and the kids for a run too! 

We’re thrilled to bring Jen’s experience and expertise to the Running Joyfully coaching team!

Coach Danielle

With only a few years of running under her belt, Danielle ran a self-coached 4:05 at the Vermont City Marathon. After a few more attempts at the distance, with some ups and downs and lots of learning along the way, she lowered her marathon time to 3:25, earning a Boston Qualifier. Since then, as an athlete with Running Joyfully for over two years, Danielle has earned more BQs and PRs and has challenged herself in multiple ways across distances from the mile to the marathon. 

Danielle holds a BS and MA in Special Education from the College of Saint Rose and is an RRCA Certified Coach. As a former special education teacher, Danielle is passionate about providing opportunities for all to participate in sport and share the experiences of physical activity. As a long-time educator, Danielle is a strong communicator who is patient, empathetic, and kind. As fellow teachers can attest, Danielle knows that change is a constant; she is well-versed at helping both her students and her athletes learn how to adapt and adjust to whatever training (and life!) send their way. She enjoys guiding and challenging others in setting their goals and not being afraid to chase after them. She has supported athletes in returning to run postpartum and has helped marathoners run 25+ minute PRs and qualify for Boston. Outside of coaching, Danielle is the Director of Programs for Fast Feet NYC, a nonprofit that provides adaptive running programs to individuals of all abilities. She has previously led youth after-school running programs and presently leads Fast Feet’s accessible and inclusive running programs for neurodiverse and neurotypical athletes. Danielle is also a new mom to a wonderful baby boy!

For Danielle, running is about so much more than the PRs. Yes, she is always working to get stronger and faster — but as both an athlete and a coach, she has learned to place more emphasis on enjoying the process. Danielle finds joy in sharing runs with her sister through NYC’s many beautiful parks. She also appreciates the challenging days in training, which make the days where everything is in sync all the sweeter. Running gives her structure, grace and time for reflection. 

Danielle loves supporting new moms, first-time marathoners, masters runners, and athletes chasing BQs! She has guided marathoners to 25+ minute personal bests and Boston Qualifying times.

We’re overjoyed to add Danielle’s experience, kindness, patience, and passion to the Running Joyfully coaching team!  

Coach Sarah

Sarah Roberts, a Pacific Northwest native, hails from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and now resides in the Greater Seattle, Washington area. An avid runner and athlete, Sarah played many sports growing up, but her running journey began at West Point, where she excelled in Division 1 Track and Cross Country, specializing in the 800m. At West Point, she discovered her passion for triathlons, where she qualified and competed at the World Triathlon Championships in Portugal and also served as a Graduate Assistant Coach for the triathlon team.

Sarah’s enthusiasm for coaching was ignited during her military service in Germany, where she coached middle and high school distance runners, emphasizing the joy of running during challenging times as she supported young student-athletes, many of whom had parents deployed.

Following her 15-month combat deployment to Iraq and the completion of her military service, Sarah transitioned to the tech industry where she built and led Talent Acquisition and Diversity programs for Amazon and Microsoft. Later, she served as the Northwest Regional Director of Team Red, White, and Blue, a veteran serving organization focused on health, well-being, and sport. At Team RWB, Sarah coached hundreds of veterans, fostered community building across 11 states, and created athletic camps focused on various sports, including trail running and triathlons. Sarah’s personal running took on a more recreational focus during these years as she welcomed three beautiful babies in seven years, juggling work and many miles of stroller runs as a postpartum mom.  

Currently, Sarah is the Chief of Staff at LinkedIn, where she continues to champion social impact initiatives. She is a Certified Dare to Lead facilitator and coach who helps her athletes bravely and courageously pursue their goals in running and beyond. Her professional experience intersects with barriers faced by diverse communities, and she approaches her work with a focus on accessibility and opportunity. Balancing her professional career and personal life, Sarah remains passionate about trail and ultra running, picking up more miles now that her kids are older. Sarah enjoys supporting busy female runners who are balancing motherhood and running, and her true joy is empowering others to reach their fullest potential. She has helped new moms crush their postpartum running journey, supported first-time marathoners and new runners, and has helped athletes make great strides with big personal bests.

Sarah holds a BS in Environmental Engineering from the United States Military Academy, an MA in Organizational Leadership from Gonzaga University, and an Inner MBA from NYU. She is a 3:27 marathoner and 2-time Boston Qualifier.

A busy mom to three kids and a high-energy Vizsla, Sarah also finds joy in floral gardening, particularly growing dahlias and hydrangeas. When she's not working, running, or chasing her kids, she dedicates her time to her garden and being outdoors.

We are so thrilled to welcome Sarah to Running Joyfully - her diverse experiences in sport, extensive coaching experience, and her passion for community-building and helping individuals reach their potential make her a wonderful addition to our coaching team!

Join our team! Work with one of our amazing coaches to help you run down your big goals. Apply for coaching here!