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| Josh and Rachel Groves at the 2018 Mohican Trail 100 Finish |
Tell us a little about yourself not necessarily related to running: age, where born, education, area you live in, etc…..
I am 37 years old and currently live in Louisville, Kentucky. I was born and raised in rural southwestern Indiana and moved to the Louisville area after graduating college. I have lived in the area for about 12 years.
What is your profession?
I have a BS Mechanical Engineering Technology degree from the University of Southern Indiana in Evansville. I have been employed with Motor Coach Industries for 14 years. We are one of North America’s largest motor coach bus manufacturers and aftermarket motor coach parts suppliers. Currently I am the Product Lifecycle and Pricing Manager. In short, I work with bus parts.....
How did you start running and what prompted you to do so?
Going from a structured life of high school sports to a sedentary lifestyle in college took a toll on my health. Through poor diet choices and lack of activity, I gained nearly 35 pounds in a little over a year.
In 2001 I started my adult-life running chapter in an effort to transform into a healthier lifestyle. It worked! Over the course of 18 months, I lost 60 pounds and kept it off. I continued to run for several years, but only for exercise, nothing too serious.
In 2007 I ran my first half marathon – The Indianapolis 500 Festival. It was a great accomplish for me to finish the distance and to share the experience with thousands of other runners. This was the spark that took me from someone who enjoyed running for exercise and really ignited my passion for endurance sports and competition.
How long have you been running?
Answered above. Competitively, since 2006.
Did you participate in any other sports over the years?
I was heavily involved with go-kart racing from my childhood through my late 20’s. It was a big part of my culture growing up in rural Indiana, the home of dirt track open wheel racing. My dad and uncle raced karts and it was something that tied our family together.
My running had progressed and I then started to get heavily involved in triathlon around 2010-2011, which led to focusing on the full Ironman distance. I began to realize that I had too many hobbies that required too much time in order to be my best at each one. I do not like to compromise with my competitive endeavors – If I cannot commit 100% to being the best I can, then well something has to give. So I made the decision at that time to let go of kart racing and focus all my hobby energy and time on triathlon. Traded my kart equipment for bike gear essentially….
I focused primarily on long-course triathlon between 2012 and 2015, finishing three full Ironman distance races and several half-iron events.
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| 2018 Backside Trail Marathon |
Did you run in grade school, High School or College?
Not really. I mostly played stick and ball sports up through high school. Football was my primary sport during high school. I was an offensive guard and defensive linebacker if that tells you anything about my athletic build in school….
So we get an idea of where you have been with running can you share your PR’s for: 5K, 10K marathon and any other distance you may have run in the past:
- 5k – 18:5X
- Half Marathon – 1:27
- Marathon – 3:12
- 50 mile trail – 7:59
- 100 mile trail – 25:30
- Ironman 70.3 – 4:40
- Ironman 140.6 – 11:02
What is your most memorable race or races and share a little about at least one of them?
This is a really hard question to answer….So many memorable races over the years for one reason or another.
Ironman Muncie 70.3 is my favorite triathlon, hands down. It’s always brutally hot, the swim is calm, the bike is flat & fast, and the run is full of sun-exposed rolling hills. I’ve just always shown up at Muncie in great shape and executed well every single year. Any race you perform well at is typically a favorite, right?
From a running standpoint Louisville Lovin’ the Hills 50K always ranks high on my list. The course is tough, the February timing is a brutal reality winter fitness check, the race directors are awesome, and it typically brings out the who’s who in the regional ultra scene.
And I can’t live in Louisville without mentioning the Derby Half/Marathon. Local favorite for sure. I ran my first marathon at this event. And also set my half marathon PR at this event. So I guess it should hold a memorable spot on my list.
Do you have a favorite workout you do?
Yes, I do have a couple key workouts that I enjoy and are good gauges of my fitness leading up to a key event.
My favorite speed workout in general is intervals at threshold effort. Like a 3 (sometimes 4) x 1 mile with short recovery. And I’m always a fan of the ole staple half marathon pace effort run.
For trail ultras, I really enjoy peak week workouts with long back to back time-on-feet doubles. If I can cap off a big peak block with a big double on tired legs and feel good, then I know my body and head (most importantly) is in a good place.
How about a favorite route you like to run?
Currently one of my favorite routes is the Red & Orange Trail loop at Jefferson Memorial Forest. The 6ish mile loop has a little bit of everything…. From flat runnable sections, narrow single track, to three substantial climbs & downhills. The loop totals about 800ft of gain and has access to water spigots each lap. It is on my way home from work and I can stop in and do as little or as many laps as I want. I enjoy it at JMF!
What is your favorite distance to run and race?
The half marathon is my favorite road race distance. All things equal I feel I am most competitive at this distance versus a 5/10K or marathon distance. Of course that has a lot to do with my physiology and how I structure my training.
For trail and ultras, that’s a tougher question. 50K is my favorite trail distance to “race.” It is long enough to tap into some ultra distance strategy, but also short enough you can kinda wing it if things go wrong.
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| 2017 Bernheim Forest half marathon |
What shoes do you run in and what do you like about them?
My go-to road trainers for the past couple years have been the Hoka Cliftons. Lightweight and lots of cushion. I am a big fan of the new wide models.
My favorite trail shoes are the Superior and Lone Peaks from Altra. Both are relatively light weight for what they are. The low stack, zero drop, and most importantly for me the roomy foot shaped toe box is why. They just fit me really well.
Both Altra and Hoka are big supports of the trail/ultra scene, which I dig. Support those who support you.
Do you have any long-range plans?
My most important long-range plan is to continue to lead a healthy, outdoors, and active lifestyle for as long as possible.
From a race standpoint I plan to run Western States 100 one day. I plan to continue to fulfill the lottery requirements by completing a qualifying 100 mile race each year.
I will continue to grow my coaching knowledge base and deepen my roots in the community. I plan to one day transform my passion for endurance sports and wellness into a full time career.
From an adventure standpoint, exploring the canyons, mountains, and desserts out West in the next few years is on the list. And thru-hiking the AT has peaked my interests at times…We’ll have to see where my life journey takes me on that one…
Can you share about your coaching services and what you do at Compass Endurance Coaching as well as the services you offer?
Our online programs, whether it is one-on-one coaching or a one-time personalized plan, are geared towards runners and triathletes who want to take their fitness and performance to the next level. We work with all abilities, distances, and goals. All we ask is that you’re committed to the process and keep the lines of communication between coach and athlete open. No distance or event is too big or small. We have worked with couch-to-5K programs all the way up to 100 mile runs and double-ironman triathlons.
There is no one-size fits all training program. Goals, available time, work schedule, life events, etc., all factor into the design and maintenance of a successful training program. Through our experience of advising athletes and self-coaching, we have developed techniques to effectively design training programs for time-crunched athletes. More importantly, we have successful strategies to adjust programs when unexpected life events get in the way.
Our number 1 goal is to get each athlete to the starting line healthy, fit, informed, and hungry to give it their 100%.
For more information about our services or about Coach Rachel or myself, please visit our website: Compass Endurance Coaching
What led you to get into coaching?
I am the type of person who always needs to understand the “why and how” behind things. I enjoy learning as much as I can about topics that are new to me and I am interested in. So back when I started getting serious into running and triathlon I submerged myself into reading and learning all that I could about the sport and sciences. I became the person that my friends and teammates came to for training and racing advice.
The Compass Endurance Coaching business side of things just evolved from there. I enjoy helping others and wanted a public platform to grow.
What makes up the bulk of those you coach as far as demographics go?
The bulk of the athletes we partner with are normal every-day people who are juggling full time jobs, families, and other life commitments. Their time to train is limited and we work together to build the best quality program for them to achieve their goals.
As stated previously, we work with a variety of abilities and type of events. From couch-to-5K programs, to finishing your first half marathon, to Boston qualifiers, to ultra distance runners & triathletes.
What do you like best about living and running in KY?
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| Training run at Lake Tahoe 2017 |
What do you struggle with most with regards to running?
I have a hard time taking blocks of time off. I am a firm believer in that everyone needs an “off season” to reset not only physically, but mentally. We all need it, but as competitive people it is sometimes hard to embrace the downtime.
What do you see as a trend in running?
I do not have any data (which drives me crazy as an engineer….haha), but from my perspective, trail running and the ultra scene is growing and certainly becoming more mainstream. Trail and ultra races are, growing in attendance, selling out, gaining better financial sponsorship support, etc. And there is an entire industry growing alongside supporting the trail movement.
I see ultra running now trending like the road marathon or Ironman was years ago. These distances used to be only for the fast, crazy people…then us normal recreational athletes started participating, the cut-off times increased, and eventually the marathon and Ironman were events where 2 groups of people, those there to “compete” and those there to “complete” could toe the line together.
Ultra running is at that stage now. It could be the more laid back culture of ultra running or just that trail runners are more cool, but trail and ultra races are getting packed full of all ranges of abilities. This is a good thing for the longevity of the sport! It makes me happy to see so many people enjoying the great races and trails we have around Kentucky.
If you had one, well maybe two or three, things to say those that are running to encourage them what would it be?
I do have some encouraging things to say. Well actually I am going to paraphrase what my Compass Endurance Coaching partner Rachel Groves would say. Her and I compliment each other very well as coaches. I am typically more data driven and analytical….She is typically more life-stress balance and psychologically focused. The comments below are things she has said over the years which hit home with me.
Running is intrinsic first and foremost. The quickest way to defeat yourself is to forget that. You can’t compare yourself to another person when you start running. Apples and oranges. You are not built the same way another runner is, you are not composed of the same material another runner is. Your lifestyle doesn’t shape you the way another runners does. Keep it internal. Always remember that. Use outside support to encourage you, to motivate you- not to stack yourself up against.
Don’t tie running to something negative. Your goal should be to make it your stress relief, your sense of peace, not a punishment for too many calories or laziness. Make it enhance your life- not burden it. Say “I get to run” not “I have to run.”
Look for life lessons in your running. For example- It will be hard more often than easy, and that’s okay. This is what builds character. The runs you struggle through make the effortless, carefree runs worth it. Embrace the moment. Look, listen and feel what’s going on within you and around you when you run. Appreciate it for what it is, not what it was in the past or what it should be. Seek out like-minded people that challenge you for the better. This doesn’t mean look for people that force you to keep up, it means look for people that build you up. Learn to let go of what’s holding you back and learn to welcome what’s pushing you forward. When you run, you need to keep your eyes forward so you can see what’s coming. All of these examples are much like life. Just keep progressing!
Do you have a website or other social media site you would like to share?
- Compass Endurance Coaching
- Facebook: @CompassEnduracneCoaching
- Strava: Josh Elliot
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