This community is what makes the Freetrail family so special, and it is also the driving force behind the creation of our new offering, Freetrail Experts. Freetrail Experts is a group of highly skilled practitioners and coaches who have vast experience working with trail and ultrarunners in the fields of performance coaching, strength training, injury prevention, nutrition, and mental well-being. Our goal is to build a community of practitioners with different skill sets to provide a holistic experience for our athletes. We want our athletes to trust us to not only train them by providing top tier coaching services, but by also providing them with a seamless process to integrate other services around mental well-being, injury prevention and strength training, and nutrition. This means our nutritionists can work alongside coaches to tailor fueling to the athlete’s training, and physical therapists can consult with athletes and coaches to keep them strong and healthy. We hope this will separate us from other coaching platforms, make our community even stronger, and heighten our morale. If our athletes succeed, we succeed!
The Freerail family is filled with athletes of all abilities, so we brought on a group of experts with diverse backgrounds to help you conquer your unique training and racing goals. This founding group of practitioners and coaches strive to put the interests of their athletes first to help them reach their true potential.
Run Coaching
Our running coaches are here to help you reach your racing and training goals and will be available for weekly training-plan development or race-specific consultation. Keely Henninger will be leading the coaching team bringing with her years of experience as a researcher, professional runner, teacher, and coach. Joining Keely will be EmKay Sullivan, Hannah Allgood, and Danielle Snyder. EmKay Sullivan, a professional runner for Craft, spent the last 3 years coaching the University of Nevada Women’s cross country and track teams and brings a wealth of knowledge from the field. You likely know Hannah Allgood after a breakout 2022 ultra season, but she is also a Doctor of Physical Therapy, specializing in strength and injury-prevention for runners. Finally, Danielle Snyder is a certified running coach, clinical social worker and mental well-being specialist and uniquely combines these skills in her run coaching.
Nutrition Coaching
We have also brought onboard experts in endurance nutrition, Dr. Kelly Prichett and Wilfredo Benitez. Dr. Kelly Pritchett, PhD is a Registered Dietician and the Director of Sports Nutrition at Central Washington University where she helps instruct endurance athletes on the best ways to fuel on and off the competition field. Kelly conducts research in the space of endurance nutrition, trail-running, low energy availability, and female athletes, and applies what she learns directly to her coaching. Wilfredo Benitez joins us with a unique approach to nutrition after studying Holistic Nutrition. Wil likes to focus on the bigger picture with lifestyle and nutritional changes to optimize performance.
Strength Coaching
Finally, we have Matt Walsh, a trail-forward physical therapist who has over 30 years of experience, coming onboard as our strength coach and injury consultant. Based out of Portland, Oregon Matt has worked with professional and Olympic-level athletes and has a special focus on high-level runners from the track to the trails. Matt aims to build resilient runners and wants to help you establish a strong foundation to reach your running potential.
The Freetrail Experts are here to provide guidance in all avenues of running performance. We know first hand that having the right team in your corner not only improves running performance but can have an immense impact on your day-to-day. If you’re interested in joining the newest piece of the Freetrail family you can learn more about our coaches here, or fill out the intake form to get started with a free consultation.