We are back at it with another ‘In the Spotlight’ series. This time, let’s hear from Meredith Richardson who’s hard work and 'never quit' mentality are two huge contributors to her success.

Over the past 6-months, Meredith has been enrolled in my Custom Exercise Programming option to help her stay injury-free while preparing for a 50k trail race. This includes a monthly check-in/testing and an individualized strength training and corrective program to fit her specific goals and needs. Due to not being local, as well as family and work commitments, this was the best scenario for her situation.

During our monthly sessions, I quickly noticed her determination and consistency, and knew she was not someone I had to worry about. Meredith pretty much only needed to be guided through the process and the rest would take care of itself. I always find myself impressed with people like her who have such a strong right mindset and work ethic for success. Even though tornado warnings caused her 50k to be cut short, it has been great to see her excel and improve in all areas.

Without further ado, let's shine the spotlight on...

Meredith Richardson

Q: Where are you from?

A: "Hendersonville, TN."

Q: What do you do for work?

A: "Full-Time Tennessee Army National Guard; Assistant Professor of Military Science (ROTC) at Middle Tennessee State University."

Q: When you aren’t working, what are some of your favorite hobbies?

A: "Anything outside! I love to run- trails or greenways. Hiking. Cycling. Basically any outdoor activity."

Q: If you could live anywhere in the world where would that be? Why?

A: "Utah. I went on vacation a couple summers ago and fell in love with the place. The geography is so varied across the state and encompasses 5 different National Parks. There are endless options on activities to do!"

Q: What are the top reasons you enjoy trail running?

A: "I love being outside and moving through nature."

Q: When you first started working with Garrett, what were the goals you wanted to achieve?

A: "My race goal was to complete my first Ultra Marathon with a 50K race. I told Garrett from the beginning that I would define success as completing the Ultra and remaining injury free."

Q: What motivated you to work with Garrett and/or start making changes in your routine?

A: "In the past, completing even half marathons resulted in soreness and pain (specifically in the hip flexors) afterwards. I knew if I was going to be able to complete an Ultra, I would have to do something different besides “just running”. Through simply googling ‘strength training for runners’ it was completely overwhelming, and often contradictory from one site to the next. One thing that immediately drew me to Garrett is that he performed an assessment on ME and then developed a plan based on what I needed. There was nothing generic, but completely personalized from where I was to where I wanted to go. The monthly assessments were huge as a way for him to continually make changes on my plan as I became stronger. It also coincided with my training plan to match strength with higher mileage."

Q: What are the most noticeable improvements you’ve seen so far?

A: "Before I started with Garrett, I would see hip fatigue starting as early as mile 6 or 7. By the end of the initial six months, I could go on 25+ mile training runs without having any hip flexor issues! This was a HUGE improvement!"

Q: What is that one exercise you dislike the most but continue to work on because you know it will help?

A: "That’s a hard question because if I can’t master an exercise, I want to keep doing it until I master it! Honestly, the challenge of any exercise draws me to it, so there isn’t any one exercise that I dislike / have to make myself do."

Q: Running a 50k trail race can be challenging! Were there any struggles you encountered along the way?

A: "Two weeks before my race- I developed shin splints due to high mileage. AH! I was in pure panic mode until I contacted Garrett. He was great!! I was able to get in to see him that week for assessment and an Active Release Techniques (ART) session. He gave me stretches and techniques to use over the next two weeks up until race day which helped me to complete the race without my shins slowing me down."

Q: What is your favorite part about Garrett's Custom Programming offering?

A: "I loved that it was customizable to me. Garrett didn’t create a one-size-fits-all plan. He took into account where I was, what my goals were, and where I needed to be in creating my monthly work-out plan."

Q: How do you feel Garrett’s services may differ from other professionals in his field?

A: "It was very unique that I could see him on a monthly basis, but yet have such a high personalized plan. I drove from Hendersonville to Franklin to see him because there wasn’t anyone else that I found who is doing what he does. My schedule doesn’t allow for me to see a personal trainer on a weekly basis. Garrett’s workouts gave me the personal training plan but I was able to perform the workouts based on my schedule."

Q: Looking ahead, do you have any new goals/races you are working towards?

A: "This summer I am focusing on strength. With work, I will be unavailable to see Garrett, but he has already provided me with a workout plan to do during the summer. I have some more Ultra Marathon goals for this fall and winter."

Thank you for reading this ‘In the Spotlight’ segment. And, a big shout out to Meredith Richardson! Please feel free to comment below with any questions or feedback.