A long time ago….
Hi, I’m Gerald Collins. I started RunRev Coaching in January 2023. But where did this company and it’s owner come from? What does the name mean?
To answer that, let’s jump back to 2011. Maybe even a little before that to get the full picture.
I was born and raised in Southwest Ohio in the United States. I have a congenital disease called Coloboma. My mother had it and her father as well. Because of that, I’m blind in my right eye and have had visual difficulties growing up. See, the thing is, I was never allowed to use that as an excuse. I was taught early in life to seek and find ways to accomplish what you needed to. To say my parents had a HUGE influence on my life would be an understatement.
The beginning
Now on to 2011. In May, I lost my mother to breast cancer. She was first diagnosed in the early 90s and was in remission for over 15 years. When it reared its ugly head, she fought as hard as she could. Her tumor markers had been decreasing from the chemotherapy. It was a total shock when she told me on Friday, April 29, 2011, that she had been transferred to Hospice care and they had stopped chemo. By Sunday, May 1, she was only able to speak in short 3-5 word sentences. She literally went from full conversations to that in 2 days. By Monday, she was pretty much catatonic. She passed at home late Monday into Tuesday.
The suddenness of her death put me in a very dark place emotionally. The grief was consuming me. My wife gave me an ultimatum on May 2012 to find something to process my grief. I always knew I could walk a 5K but I wanted to run one. I choose running as a way to process my grief. I remember I spent a month training to run one mile.
I finished training for my first 5K and ran it in August 2012. What was meant to be a one-and-done turned into a huge passion. I fell in love with the local running community and running itself. It saved me and my relationship. In the fall of 2013 I ran my first marathon. I found out what they mean when they say you feel like you can accomplish anything after you cross that finish line.
The biggest reason I fell in love was the people. There are so many amazing people in my life that I would have never known had I not started that journey in 2012.
The process
After that start, I went on a multi year journey seeking what worked for me and my training. I tried multiple training plans and methods. They were all good but they just were not what I was looking for. That was until 2018 when I read Matt Fitzgerald’s book “80/20 Running” for the first time.
I loved that most of the workouts weren’t distance-based but were time-based. For a mid-pack runner such as myself, that gave me such a sense of accomplishment without feeling overworked. Best of all, the workouts are scaleable. As I improved, the workouts stayed at the same intensity level. My distance and pace adjusted around it.
In addition, I was getting out of the rut of pushing too hard on the easier days and not having anything left for the hard workouts. I had more left for the harder workouts. It felt balanced and good.
The next step was becoming an ambassador for the program in 2021. I believed in this program so much, it was an easy choice to share their story and plans. I used and believed in the program so much. I didn’t expect just how much I’d gain from that experience.
Then in spring 2022, they announced the new Coaching certification. I knew that was something I wanted to do.
Why coaching?
Running has given me so much. It has been a great source of joy and friendships. There have been so many great people along this journey that have been so great encouraging and teaching me. I had the opportunity to race director a 10K race for the local running club from 2019-2021.
Coaching allows me to share the knowledge I’ve gained over the years. It allows me to encourage and help other athletes reach their goals. It also helps me grow. I’ve always learned better by sharing with others.
Finally, why RunRev?
Yes, the name sounds weird. I started my social media accounts with the moniker RunRev for one simple reason. I was a runner and I was a preacher. Hence, RunRev was born. Since that has been my alias online, it just made sense to me to carry the name into my Coaching business.