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Endurance Coaching

Train with Purpose

Reach your goals with a targeted and personalized training plan.

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Meet Nichole Porath, owner and head coach. 2012 US Olympic Trials Marathoner and Former Indoor Marathon World Record Holder and Pro Marathoner.

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Get the inside scoop on Nichole’s training, coaching, and life.

We had a blast at the #fargomarathon 1/2 marathon

We had a blast at the #fargomarathon 1/2 marathon and Youth Run today!

Nate and I ran together, run/walking the last several miles. I've struggled to get healthy these last couple of months, and have had some chest pressure/weight recently that is concerning. So we just ran easy today and enjoyed the beautiful morning. How cool is it to be able to run alongside my husband and best friend, and be greeted with congratulatory hugs and high fives from our kids at the finish line?!

Then Greta, Anna, and Jack thoroughly enjoyed the Youth Run this afternoon. Take a look at the pictures. Their smiles say it all! I also love that over half of Greta's pictures have her celebrating with her arms up. LOL. That kid.

I have run the Fargo marathon twice, both times recruited by Mark Knutson, Fargo's former race director. Both races were a breakthrough for me: my first sub-3 in 2009, and the women's win in 2013. Every time he saw me (which was somehow frequent? small world, I guess), he'd ask about my training, race goals, and life. He'd remember details from the last time we talked. He also would write his email down for me and tell me that he had a room saved for me for the upcoming race, just to email him to take him up on it.
He was hit & killed on a bike last July. I still can't quite believe it. I was such a small part of his running community and race, yet he made me feel so BIG. I was so happy to run today in honor of what he created here in Fargo. Thank you, Mark, for everything.

The kids are trying to convince Nate & I to make this an annual thing. Maybe we will :).

#fargohalfmarathon #tncendurance #fargoyouthrun #fargomarathon2024 #momwhoruns #familythatrunstogether

Greta (9) and Anna (7) joined me for my #DiscoverS

Greta (9) and Anna (7) joined me for my #DiscoverStrength workout today. After I scheduled next week’s session during a time when they would have to miss (due to gymnastics), Greta said, “no! I want to do this with you!”. Anna followed with “yeah, I really like this!”. Lucky for me, @bugruns7 is willing to accomodate an odd session time for me so the girls can continue to join me. (Nate usually too, although tonight he was still recovering from the Birkie)

So far I’ve managed to keep them interested in just being active and challenging their bodies (in whatever form that is - running, skiing, gymnastics. strength, soccer, etc). Hoping I can continue to foster that interest! Thanks, Maria, for helping to make it happen!!

#strongfamily #strongrunner #strengthtraining #strongmom #strongkids #familyaffair #runnerswholift

She is here! After three years of begging for a pu

She is here! After three years of begging for a puppy, the girls finally got their wish in this 8 week old Hungarian Wirehaired Vizsla. Not going to lie, I’ve been missing a furry running partner too 😍.

We maybe would have put it off another 6 months, but the girls trained for and achieved their “goal” this summer (the sub-8 min mile for both of them), pushing our timeline up.

So far, I’m amazed at her temperament! She is currently being called Britta (meaning strength in Swedish, which we think is fitting given how she was earned). She was called Betty for the first hour, so we will see what sticks. Fun quote was, “we will just tell people that Betty means: girls who run fast, set goals, and achieve them - in Hungarian 🤣🤣🤣.

Let the adventures begin! 🐶 🦴

#wirehairedvizsla #zoldmalikennels #newpuppy #puppylove

I could not be more proud of our Northfield Raider

I could not be more proud of our Northfield Raider girls cross country team’s season. From our historic sweep at Faribault to the long trip up to Alex to see where we stacked up against the state’s best teams, to Big 9 and Section 1AA sweeps, to todays 4TH place finish at the State AA meet. I had tears of pride and joy streaming down my face as these ladies crossed the finish line today, having laid it all out there for each other, for the bigger Raider girls team, for their coach, and for their town. Again, I am so proud to have them call me coach.
Until next year… 😍

Northfield girls sweep the 1AA section meet, winni

Northfield girls sweep the 1AA section meet, winning both races in dominating fashion!

I’m just glad no one got hurt on the course. What a mud pit.

Northfield boys qualified as well - the first time in school history that both teams qualified in the same year.

Onward to STATE, where these girls have some big goals to chase 🤩

#crosscountry #statebound #sectionchamps #xc #northfieldraiders

Anna made her BIG running goal this morning, SUB 8

Anna made her BIG running goal this morning, SUB 8!, resetting the MN state 6 year old record in the process. Sammy, an incoming 7th grader on the XC team, came up to Woodbury to help pace her. How cool is that?! She ran 7:58. The old record was 8:17, and that had held for 10 years. 😳

Greta had a tougher day. Turns out 12 hours of gymnastics the day before isn’t the best “taper”. But boy, she is a tough kid! She pushed herself to a 8:20 despite being tired from the beginning and struggling to breathe part way through (we took a 5 sec walk break to calm her down). She looks forward to trying for her sub 8 with the help of the girls XC team in a couple of weeks! (Have I mentioned this team is amazing?) 😍😍

Of course, we had to celebrate with ice cream afterwards. 1/2 way into her cone, Greta said, “that was totally worth it” 🤣

These girls rocked their mile race! We haven’t b

These girls rocked their mile race! We haven’t been running much lately, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. The last run we did was about 1/10th of a mile at 10 min pace before Anna decided she would rather walk (and sulk) instead of run 😆. So, yeah.

But they had an amazing attitude, looked strong and smiled the whole way today! Greta finished in 8:04, Anna 8:05 by the gun time. That means Anna set the MN State Mile record for 6 year old girls (was 8:17). I actually had a 7:55 (!) chip time for them, via my watch, but there was no mat at the start so it was all gun timed.

Soon I’m going to have to watch out for these two - I might not be able to keep up!

#roadmile #milerace #hopkinsraspberryrun
#familieswhoruntogether #recordsetter

Michelle and I go way back. I found her blog @the

Michelle and I go way back.

I found her blog @therunnersplate ~2011-12 (during my Trials build) when I was trying to find healthy meal inspiration. We became fast friends, and she visited and we ran together in '13. After having observed how she was training (mileage, workouts, pace) and then being able to run alongside her, I knew she had a lot more potential. I planted the seed of a sub-3 hour marathon. At the time she had run a 3:17.

A coaching relationship ensued, and boy, did we have fun. She lowered her 5k PR from 24-25 mins in college to 18:30 (!) and notched a low 1:24 half marathon. She lowered her marathon PR by 16 MINUTES to a 3:01 [She later broke 3 hours on her own after I took a break from coaching to pursue a finance career opportunity].

Now that she is settled back in MN, she reached out to see if I had room for another athlete. Technically, my roster is full, but I also have a small enough client roster that I can always say "yes" if there is a fun opportunity/ great coach-athlete fit that comes along. She said she wanted to come back because:
- I needed a new stimuli for workouts because otherwise I would do the same workouts and the same structure of runs each week.
- I needed to find something new to be excited about after breaking 3 hours in the marathon.
- I didn't want to have to think about what to run each day. I love writing workouts for other people, but it was becoming a chore for myself.

I had her come over for a 5k time trial this weekend, where she notched an impressive 18:53. While we haven't landed on her next big goal yet, after this 5k I literally thought: I wonder if we could honestly take down every one of her previous PRs, even though she is a Masters runner now. I don’t know if this will be the goal we land on, but whatever it is, it will be a lot of fun to get after it again with her.

This should be fun. 💕🏃🏻‍♀️

#runcoach #dreambig #tncendurance

Fargo 1/2 marathon was SO fun. I’d go so far as

Fargo 1/2 marathon was SO fun. I’d go so far as to say it the most fun I’ve had in a race in a long time, in part because:
1) I was able to work up to running 13.1 miles just 3 months after surgery! 🤩 I had just enough time. I’d struggle the last ~2 miles of each long run (7.5, 10, 12 miler x2) and my ankle would swell, but I could do it. Each week I thought: maybe I can actually pull this off! And I did!!! A month out from the race I still didn’t think it possible.
2) Nate and I ran the first 10 miles together. I just found my happy place between 7:15-20 pace and cruised. Luckily that’s where his fitness was too. Amazing that nearly 20 years after college we are still the same speed. He ended up beating me by 20ish seconds. (Darn it!)
3) Fargo does such a great job with the event! There is so much going on along the route: so much music, so many people cheering! I looked forward to seeing what the next mile would bring!

I finished 17th for women, 7th in my age group, in 1:35:28 (7:18 pace). I’m super happy with the result, my ankle actually did well after the race, and best of all, I can wait for the training and racing to come 😍.

#fargohalfmarathon #fargomarathon2023 #orifrecovery #injurycomeback #halfmarathon #momrunner #runinjury #onwardandupward #runhappy

Here goes nothing! I applied to run as an elite

Here goes nothing!

I applied to run as an elite at the Fargo 1/2 marathon sometime last year, well before my accident. After the accident, I had written it off - but as I was able to run 7.5 miles around 9 weeks post op, I thought, maybe this is still a possibility! The next week I was able to run 10, with long walk breaks towards the end. The next week, 12. That meant Fargo 1/2 was still a possibility! YES!

Originally Nate and I were going to race it. Tomorrow we will start it together as he is concerned the distance will get to him, and I’m not able to really race fast (yet). It will be so fun to start side by side… and we will see how things go after half way 😁. (He thinks he is out of shape, but he really isn’t!)

We brought the oldest two with us - we will have fun exploring Fargo Saturday and Sunday with them. Introducing “runcations” to them early on 🤣. They actually think the elite apartments are the BEST - “it’s like playing house, for real!”

Anna joined us on our shake out jog tonight - she can fly!

#fargomarathon #fargohalfmarathon2023 #fargond #familyvacation #runcation #halfmarathon

Just went on a walk/run with Anna and Nate. I test

Just went on a walk/run with Anna and Nate. I tested out the ankle and it’s actually doing really well - I’m able to “run” gingerly for about a minute at a time. I know I’ll need to rest it now for at least a full day, but things are starting to look up 😍!!

In the meantime, I’ll keep putting in my time on the elliptical - Wrong Side of the Tracks on Netflix has been really great to watch, in case you’re looking for a suspenseful long show!

#orifrecovery #injuredrunner #returntorunning #cantwait #springiscoming

I was having a hard time motivating myself to elli

I was having a hard time motivating myself to elliptical today. Enter my awesome family, who decided the best way to motivate me to start was to start with me 😍 #luckymom #orifrecovery #cantwaitrorunagain

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