Two-time Olympian Kim Conley and coach Drew Wartenburg are ready to help aspiring runners take their running potential to the next level through her coaching service called Next Best Run.
Conley started the business with her husband and coach Drew Wartenburg with the hope of helping athletes maximize their running potential and goals with personalized training plans, mixed in with constant feedback and communication to ensure that each athlete gets the most out of the experience.
Wartenburg and Conley, who’s now transitioned from the track to road racing, have put together an elite coaching staff that includes Lauren Hagans of NAZ Elite, who recently won her marathon debut at Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota.
Conley was a guest on the Lactic Acid Podcast recently, and she shared a little more about her coaching business and the passion that she has for coaching.
Dom: What made you want to get into coaching?
Kim: Um, you know, I did right after college, I stayed in Davis and I was an assistant coach in the program for five years, but it was really it was when my own running career was taking off. And I was traveling all over the world. And I was really busy with that, so I stepped back because I just knew that I wasn’t giving either career path 100% of myself, and coaching would always be there. And so in 2021 had the opportunity to get back into it in more of a remote online context with adults – not at the college setting, which is a grind. And I really, really loved it. I just had so much fun getting to know people all over the country and just developing these relationships and helping people discover and learn to love the sport and fulfill their potential. So yeah, I’ve just been so happy.
Dom: What kind of went into that? What made you want to start that? And you know, what were the nuances behind that?
Kim: So I was coaching for one coaching service, and my husband was coaching for another coaching service. And so mostly, it was just about combining forces and creating something with our vision that was our own.
Dom: How’s it been so far? And what is it about your vision that’s unique to what you do?
Kim: It’s been really, really good. So far, yeah, we’ve really had a good response. And we’ve just felt like, kind of organically, we’ve been able to build more of a sense of community than I anticipated. And so one of the things we did getting off the ground was we road tripped out to the east coast and did an event with a really cool group of people we have in New York, and then went up to Boston for the Boston Marathon and we had people running there. And so I think one thing we’re looking to do more and more of – we wanted to kind of do almost more of like the hybrid setup. So it is remote coaching and we can coach people all over the world, but also to do more in-person events. So we get to really build those relationships more because that’s where we’re finding the most joy is in developing those relationships.
Dom: As a coach, what is the biggest message, or biggest concept that you try to instill in the athletes that you work with to help them from the mental side but also the physical side?
Kim: That running has to enhance their life. It can’t be something that ever feels like a burden, it can’t be something that they feel like they’re making all kinds of sacrifices for, they can’t look at a workout and feel like it’s anxiety inducing. Running has to be time for them. If they have a busy family life, it has to be something that helps them feel like they’re doing something good for themselves, or something enjoyable. And if being competitive is part of that for them, then that’s great – let’s race alot and try to perform to the best of your ability. But that’s a case by case basis and individual journey. So really it’s about getting to know the person and figuring out where running fits into their life and how it’s going to make it better.
Dom: How has it enhanced your life?
Kim: Oh man. I feel like it’s given me so much. It’s given me so many of my best friends, my husband. It’s taught me about putting in hard work and then just seeing results over time. Certainty in my journey, success was not something that came out overnight, it just took years and years of consistency. Now in any endeavor I pursue, I go into it with that mindset of water on a stone – you just keep chipping away and doing good work, stay consistent and look for ways to just move up one rung of a ladder every time.”
