The Hobby Jogger Podcast · Hosted by: WeeViews & Branch Sauce

E40 | Rachel Tomajczyk on Racing, Coaching, and Recovery

·53 min·3 clips

Rachel breaks down the Golden Trail Series: eight races, top-three scoring, and a top-30 final.

1. The Hobby Jogger Podcast episode centers on Rachel Tomajczyk and her work in racing, coaching, and recovery. 2. Hosts Casey Koza and Rob Myers interview Rachel Tomajczyk, who is described as a two-time U.S. champ, six-time All-American, professional runner for Merrell, and coach. 3. The episode asks how Rachel balances professional trail racing, online coaching, and the recovery needed to keep racing well. 4. Rachel says Wild Strides is new, but she has coached for about eight years through a different online company and in college. 5. She says she coached a Division I program, made nationals one year, and worked with women close to the 16-minute mark in the 5K. 6. Rachel explains that she now coaches both faster athletes and beginners chasing goals like a Boston qualifier. 7. She says she would find it hard to coach a professional who is also direct competition. 8. Rachel describes working with athletes for three or four years and seeing them through training, racing, kids, and other life changes. 9. She says long-term coaching builds trust, so athletes are less afraid to report a bad workout or a small injury. 10. Rachel says that partnership mindset makes coaching feel like being on the same team. 11. Rachel explains that Wild Strides began after she, Grayson, and Courtney were all in Flagstaff around 2018 or 2019. 12. She says Grayson had already started the planner company, and she and Courtney were ready to build a coaching company of their own. 13. Rachel says the three runners first connected through roads and track, then later discovered trails one by one. 14. She says the trails kept the friendship close because they shared adventure, exploration, and high-level racing. 15. Rachel says trail season fit her coaching schedule better than marathon season because her athletes’ big races often lined up with her off-season. 16. She says better time management in college helped both her running and her coaching. 17. Rachel says her first Golden Trail Series race of the year is in China at the end of April. 18. She says the series has eight regular-season races, a top-three scoring system, and a top-30 cutoff for the final. 19. Rachel says recovery now starts with rest days, and after big races she may take two or three days completely off running. 20. Rachel says she fuels every 20 minutes with gels or Morton 320, aiming for 75 to 80 grams of carbs per hour. 21. She says that strategy helped her recover faster and feel better the next day after races. 22. Rachel says she likes the Merrell Skyfire 2 Matrix for short, technical races because it is light, fast, and protective on rocks. 23. She says she does not like carbon-fiber trail shoes because the bounce can twist an ankle on technical ground. 24. Casey Koza and Rob Myers keep the tone conversational and practical, with questions about training, shoes, nutrition, and recovery. 25. The episode would appeal to trail runners, coaches, and athletes who want specific race and fueling details. 26. The episode would be easy to skip for listeners who want a single-topic show without coaching or race-format discussion.

As heard by us

A practical running interview about racing, coaching, and the value of rest days.

Rachel Tomiachek's segment stays centered on racing, coaching, and the grind of showing up again after a hard effort. Casey Koza and Rob Myers keep it in the running lane, asking about trail-season rhythm, the Golden Trail Series, and the recovery habits that let an elite…

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Why you'd press play

You want trail-racing talk that keeps coming back to recovery.

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