Meet Coach Claire: Fueling the Body, Half Marathons, Lacrosse, and Showing Up
You can learn a lot about someone in the first five minutes. Like the fact that Claire runs on coffee, loves goblet squats, and is brave enough to say out loud that she’s a Packers fan… inside a Minnesota gym. Bold move. But once you get past the Vikings–Packers chaos, what stands out most about Claire is simple: she loves helping people feel strong, capable, and supported.
Claire’s path into coaching didn’t start with a perfect plan. It started the way a lot of real fitness journeys start: sports, competitiveness, and realizing she genuinely liked the “training for performance” side of things. She grew up playing hockey and lacrosse, and in high school her team trained with strength, speed, and agility work through Twin Cities Orthopedics. That was the turning point. She loved it enough that when college rolled around, she pivoted. She began at the University of Iowa studying biology, then switched to exercise science because it actually lit her up. The body. The “why.” The training. Those were the classes she was excited to show up for.
The Coach Behind the Coach
Ask Claire about her “style,” and she’ll tell you what every great coach eventually learns: different people need different things. Some people need a high five and a little extra encouragement. Some people don’t want a pep talk at all, they just want you to quietly place a heavier dumbbell next to them and let the message land. Some people want jokes and conversation. Others want to focus, get in, and get out.
Her job is to read the room and meet people where they are.
Claire naturally leans “cheerleader-therapist” but she’s not afraid to flip the switch when needed, especially when she’s coaching youth lacrosse. Those 10U and 12U athletes get the drill-sergeant version of Claire, with just enough fun sprinkled in to keep them moving.
The Half Marathon Lesson: Your Body Has Opinions
Claire ran a half marathon in September, mostly to prove to herself she could do it. Mentally, she felt solid. Physically, her body reminded her she’s not in high school anymore.
Her training was… real-life training. Add a mile each week. Have shorter run days and one long run day. Try to stay consistent. Get bored sometimes. Learn that running with other people makes it way easier because you stop thinking about how far you have left.
And then there was that run. The one that almost convinced her she was doomed.
She was supposed to run eight miles. It was over 80 degrees. She got dehydrated, got a pounding headache, and stopped at just over 6. She left that run thinking, “How am I supposed to do 13 if I can’t even finish eight?”
The next week, she felt great, ran nine, and everything clicked.
That’s the point: one bad week doesn’t mean you’re broken. It means you had a bad week.
The other big takeaway? Fuel matters more than people think. Claire didn’t realize how important fueling was until she started training longer distances. The gels. The carbs. The hydration. It all matters because your body has to pull energy from somewhere. And she sees this in the gym constantly: people trying to train hard with nothing in the tank, then wondering why they feel lightheaded halfway through.
Her Best Advice: The First Step Is the Hardest
If you’re waiting to feel “ready,” Claire’s message is simple: don’t.
The days you debate whether you should go are the days you should go. Not because every workout will be perfect, but because momentum matters. You don’t need the best session of your life, you need to get yourself through the door. Once you’re in, the hardest part is already done.
Write yourself a note. Set a reminder. Make it automatic. Do whatever you need to do to take the first step.
Because almost everyone feels better afterward. The problem isn’t the workout. The problem is the hesitation before it.
