Did you know there’s a team of Motion Experts running with you these days?
As part of Twin Cities In Motion’s mission of nurturing a sustainable pace for people engaged in running and movement, we have gathered a team of credentialed experts from a variety of motion-related disciplines to help runners stay in-stride and on-pace with their fitness goals.
Their content appears each week in The Connection and will be archived on the TCM Blog as well. Motion Expert content debuted in February and since then TCM has filled its team of experts to include:
Kristy Baumann, RD, LD -- a Registered Dietitian who specializes in working with runners.
Kristen Gerlach, PT, PhD -- a Physical Therapist who specializes in working with runners.
Chris Lundstrom, PhD -- a running coach and exercise scientist who specializes in endurance exercise performance.
Katie Mark, MSW, LICSW -- a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker who provides mental health therapy while running and/or walking with her clients in nature.
Hayley Russell, PhD -- a Certified Mental Performance Consultant, runner, and professor of health and exercise psychology.
It’s a team that’s eager to provide helpful information to fellow runners.
“I love running and running has enriched my life in so many ways,” Kristen Gerlach told The Connection. “Sharing my expertise with TCM seemed like a great way to pay that forward and connect with runners.”
“I love talking about running and sport psychology,” Hayley Russell said. “There's often a disconnect between what we know from research and what gets applied in the real world so this seemed like a fun way to bridge this gap.”
The Motion Experts are even learning from each other. Hayley noted that she learned from Kristy Baumann's fasted running article.
“This is something I really struggled with when I was a new runner," she said. "I always ran fasted but I was often hungry and tired. I loved her evidence-based information on the benefits of running fueled!”
Katie Mark said she could have used a Motion Expert when she was starting out.
“Looking back on my younger years as a runner, I wish I would have had more “motion expert” advice in regards to nutrition and racing,” she said. “’Hitting the wall’ at mile 19 during the Twin Cities Marathon made me take a hard look into nutrition as a runner not only leading up to race day but also during the race itself.”
So whether you’re trying to avoid newbie pitfalls or enhance the fitness progress you’ve already made, look for Motion Expert content in each issue of The Connection.
This article originally appeared in the The Connection, TCM's weekly e-newsletter. Subscribe here.