Summary: Hi everyone, You are listening to episode 13 of the Chasing Bravery Podcast. Today I am speaking with Tara Welling, a professional runner for sketchers, real estate agent, and most recently a coach for the specialized coaching business- RunDoyen…guys just s everyone knows Doyen is another word for coach, but specifically means a master at something…so cool. Tara and her husband currently live in Portland Oregon where Tara trains with High Performance West. Tara first turned pro in 2012, signing with Nike and the Oregon Project, but after 3 years of enduring injuries and subpar performances, she was feeling burnt out and decided to leave the sport indefinitely. he didn’t know when or if she would return to the sport, but she knew she needed a break and a new training environment. In late 2015, Tara started to get in shape again and fell back in love with running, joining High Performance West and signing a deal with Skechers Performance. Since her comeback, Tara has set PR’s in every distance, won noteworthy road national titles, but unfortunately has not been able to escape injuries. I’m going to quote Tara here because she puts it best, she says “I never considered myself injury prone before, however, having osteoporosis and the female athlete triad I have had to alter my training to put me in the best position possible to stay healthy. I now have a lower mileage program, with lots of cross training and weight lifting. I hope those listening can gain something from my story”. I know that I gained a lot from my conversation with Tara, she is a fantastic example of how it is more than possible to come back from injury and setback with a love for the sport that is still as strong as ever. Tara is also so upfront about a really important topic- the female athlete triad, and while we don’t come up with the solution on the show today – we have a conversation that is very transparent about this issue, which I think is a great first step no matter who you are- athlete, coach, parent, the list goes on.
