The genesis of forming UESCA was to elevate the standard of endurance sports education. That mission is just as true today as it was when UESCA was formed in 2014.
UESCA is the global leader in endurance sports education with over 3000 coaches in over 60 countries. Our focus is on providing the most comprehensive, science/evidence-based content in a manner that is intuitive, easy to understand and applicable to endurance sports coaches. We have a deep commitment to our contributors, students and coaches and believe in shared success.
Our core team, as well as our contributors are comprised of a select group of highly skilled and talented individuals across multiple disciplines with the sole focus of creating the best content and delivering best-in-class customer service.
Please click on a name to learn more about them.
Core Team
Founder
Rick holds a BS in Kinesiology from Springfield College and is a certified corrective exercise specialist through the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM), as well as a certified UESCA running and triathlon coach. He is the founder of UESCA and has been in the endurance sports coaching and fitness industry for over 24 years. Rick is a competitive runner and cyclist, having raced bikes nationally and internationally and run collegiate track and cross-country. Rick competes in running races and tries in vain to keep up with his 4-year old son.
Partner/Director of Operations
Cindy holds a BS in Nutrition and is a NASM-CPT / CES. Additionally, Cindy is a UESCA certified running, ultrarunning, Endurance Sports Nutrition and cycling Coach. Cindy has a strong business background and is a huge fan of educating coaches with unbiased science and providing them with great coaching skills, along with all the support needed to help them succeed.
A competitive runner for over 42 years, Cindy also competes in duathlons and triathlons. Cindy has won several masters running national championships (roads and cross-country) and is the 2018 and 2019 ITU Sprint Duathlon World Champion (AG 50-54).
Cindy is also the UESCA Director of Operations, and is responsible for the day-to-day operations, and planning, development, and execution of content production and social media strategies.
Administrative Assistant
Tessa holds a BA in Journalism and Media Communications from Colorado State University. She consistently seeks innovative ways to improve CRM processes and loves to discuss email funnels. She always seeks to deliver exceptional customer experiences and loves to find a solution. In her own time, she is always drinking coffee, baking bread, and practicing yoga.
Program Leads
Running
Nell Rojas was born and raised in Boulder, CO where she now trains professionally and coaches all ages and abilities. She competed in track and field and cross country at the University of Northern Arizona where she earned a B.S in Exercise Science and won numerous conference titles in the steeplechase and 5k. After college, she tried her hand at being a professional triathlete before retiring to go back to her roots of running. She won Grandma’s Marathon in 2019, went on to finish 9th at the Marathon Olympic Trials, and was the first American to cross the finish line at the Boston Marathon in 2021 and 2022, putting her in 5th and 10th place, respectively. She is now training to earn a spot on the 2024 Olympic Marathon Team.
Ultrarunning
A graduate of Texas A & M, Jason Koop is the Head Coach for CTS – Ultrarunning. He is the author of ‘Training Essentials for Ultrarunning’ which has become the benchmark book for ultramarathon training. During his coaching career, he has managed over 100 endurance coaches and several hundred athletes of all types, abilities and sports.
He is also a sought after speaker and presenter for all topics relating to ultramarathon performance. He is coach to many of today’s top ultramarathon athletes including Dylan Bowman, Kaci Lickteig, Timothy Olson, Stephanie Violet, Dakota Jones, Kelly Wolf and many others. An accomplished ultrarunner in his own right, he has finished some of the most difficult races on the planet including the Badwater 135, Hardrock 100, Leadville Trail 100, Wasatch 100, Bear 100 and Western States 100.
Triathlon
Dr. Matt Hanson holds an MS in Health and Physical Fitness, and an EdD in Adult and Higher Education. Dr. Hanson is a professional triathlete and triathlon coach. He has an extensive background as an athlete and is highly educated in all things sports-related. As an athlete, Matt comes from a wrestling background, but running has always been a passion of his. In 2014, his first year as a pro, Matt set three run course records and won Ironman Chattanooga. He has since tallied 11 professional wins, including four Ironman North American Championship titles. Matt’s educational background and training record make coaching a natural fit for him. Coaching since 2013, he has helped triathletes reach their goals at all distances.
Nutrition
Bob holds a BS in Exercise and Sports Science from Colorado State University, and dual masters degrees (MS) in Health/Exercise Science and Food Science/Human Nutrition. Bob is a Board-Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics. He is a former Director of Sports Nutrition for the University of Florida and served as a sport dietitian for the 2008 US Olympic Team and the personal sport dietitian/exercise physiologist for the Olympic Triathlon Team. He is a registered dietitian, exercise physiologist, Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and a High-Performance Triathlon Coach.
As a nutrition coach, Bob specializes in enhancing health and improving performance by improving metabolic efficiency, a nutrition strategy centered around controlling blood sugar and teaching the body to burn fat. He has worked with all ages and abilities of athletes including high schoolers/juniors, recreationally active adults, professional athletes and Olympians.
Cycling
Ben holds a BS from Indiana University and currently serves as a Power Education Specialist for Stages Cycling, a global producer of cycling power meters. Ben is also an Olympic level cycling coach guiding some of the best American cyclists to their Olympic dreams. Currently, Ben is the coach for a multiple World Champion and Olympic Medalist and held the role of Endurance Cycling Program Manager for USA Cycling for 7 years. In addition to his international success as an elite cycling coach, Ben is an elite and master’s cyclist with multiple state and national titles.
Physiology
Dee is an endurance and strength coach [owner of Zeal Endurance Coaching] for competitive amateur and recreational athletes across a range of endurance sport disciplines.
Her master’s degree is in Kinesiology: Sports Conditioning and she’s an NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. She loves to combine the science of exercise physiology with the art of coaching in the field. She also currently teaches anatomy/physiology, kinesiology, and pathophysiology to pre-healthcare students on the community college level. Personally, she is a former DII collegiate cross-country/track and field athlete and now participates in a variety of sports year-round, but racing trail and multisport events are her favorite.
Advisors and Contributors
Running
Ben is the head coach for the HOKA ONE ONE Northern Arizona Elite (NAZ Elite) professional running team – one of the country’s most decorated professional groups. The NAZ Elite athletes have produced 12 National Titles, ten top-10 finishes at World Marathon Majors, won five International Medals, and one Olympic Trials Marathon victory.
A former professional athlete for the Hanson’s Brooks Distance Project from 2003 to 2005, Ben was the youngest qualifier for the 2004 Olympic Trials Marathon. He then spent a year as the special events director for the GO! St. Louis Marathon before co-founding Big River Running Company, a run specialty store in Saint Louis. During that time Ben coached hundreds of athletes of all ages and abilities and directed dozens of events including the USATF Cross Country National Championships.
Cycling/Triathlon
Scott holds a BS in Exercise Science from Ohio State University a certificate in Olympic Sport Leadership from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Additionally, Scott holds coaching certifications from USA Cycling, USA Triathlon, and USA Track & Field, bike fit technician – Serotta and SafeSport.
He was the Sport Performance Director for USA Triathlon from 2006 – 2010, High Performance Director for the US Olympic Committee from 2010 – 2017, and VP of Elite Athletics for USA Cycling from 2017 – 2020. Over his career, Scott led teams at four Olympic Games, three Pan-American Games, over twenty World Championships and countless world cup and other international competitions. While at USA Cycling, Scott helped to launch the Stay in the Game Network to promote mental wellness and facilitated a partnership with the TeachAids Crash Course program to educate athletes on concussion.
Psychology
Dr. Ross holds a BS from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and a PsyD from the University of Denver. Dr. Ross is a licensed clinical psychologist and sought-after sports psychologist who specializes in working with endurance sport athletes. Dr. Ross is an 11-time marathoner and 6-time Boston Marathon qualifier. He’s pursuing completion of the World Marathon Majors and has his sights on riding the Leadville 100 MTB for the first time in 2022.etes reach their goals at all distances.
Cycling
Ashton is an elite cyclist who primarily competes in gravel, endurance and track events. Ashton most recently focused on track racing where he won the individual pursuit title at the US National Championships and Pan Am Games (where he also set at the time the world record) and a gold at the world championships.
Prior to track racing, Ashton focused on gravel racing and endurance events with wins at Dirty Kanza 100, the Gravel World Championships, in addition to other wins and multiple high placings.
“Cycling for me has always been about pushing and exploring limits. The uncertainty of big, uncharted adventures is my favorite part; uncertainty means a lot of possibilities about what could happen next.”
Physiology
Alexandra holds a PhD in exercise science from the University of Guelph, ON Canada. She is a triathlon coach and a retired elite ITU triathlete. She has published articles in the areas of overtraining and overreaching, Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport, iron deficiency and anemia in athletes, and exercise-induced cardiac fatigue. In her professional triathlon career, she won the 2015 elite national championships, placing top 5 in a handful of continental and Pan American Cup races, and made two U23-elite World Championship teams. As a retired athlete and coach, Alex applies her personal experience in sport to the field of exercise physiology in order to best support athletes, coaches, and sports practitioners.
Environmental Physiology
Corrine holds a BS in Exercise Physiology from Montana State University-Bozeman and a MS in Environmental Physiology from Simon Fraser University. Corrine is a former US Biathlon national team athlete and is currently a professional ultrarunner for Adidas-TERREX. Additionally, she is also a coach and science writer. Corrine has combined her love of endurance sports with her research experience in environmental physiology to develop a coaching career focused on working with a wide range of endurance sport athletes.
Sports Medicine
Jeremy Bruce, MD is a board-certified orthopaedic surgeon who treats musculoskeletal conditions resulting from injury, overuse, and arthritis.
Dr. Bruce was a member of The United States Bobsled and Skeleton Team, and first became interested in sports medicine from his time spent at the Lake Placid Olympic Training facilities.
Dr. Bruce earned his BS and MS in Physical Therapy at Springfield College, where he lettered in track.
After receiving his Doctor of Medicine from the Medical College of Georgia, Dr. Bruce went on to perform his orthopaedic residency. He then went on to complete a Sports Medicine fellowship at The Andrews Institute. As a fellow, Dr. Bruce worked side-by-side with renowned orthopaedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews.
Aerodynamics
Dr. Barry holds a BS in Aerospace Engineering-Experimental Aerodynamics from Monash University and a Ph.D from Monash University in Applied Aerodynamics with a focus on cycling aerodynamics in partnership with the Australian Institute for Sport. Dr. Barry is a certified coach wit Triathlon Australia and currently a design engineer at Cannondale bicycles and a technical partner and advisor to EF-Nippo Pro Cycling team. Dr. Barry started racing triathlons at the age of 12 and raced every kind of multisport from ITU elite to half ironman to off road adventure.
Cycling
Meredith holds a BS in Kinesiology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a MS in Exercise Science from San Francisco State University. In 2016, Meredith retired from professional cycling after two decades road and cyclocross racing. Meredith represented the US in both the road (2009) and cyclocross (2010-2013) world championships during her career. Since retiring from racing, she has worked for Rapha and Shimano.
Cycling
Jim holds a BA from Villanova University and a MS in Exercise Physiology from Northern Arizona University. Jim is also a USA Cycling level 1 coach. Jim was previously a resident coach for the Junior US National Cycling Team. Since 2000, Jim has been a coach with Carmichael Training Systems in 2000 and during this time, Jim’s athletes have won World Championships, X-Games Gold Medals, Paralympic Medals, National Championships and Continental Championships. Jim is also the sports director for the LUX development cycling team, the premier under-19 cycling team in the US.
Jim has worked with the US Para-cycling team since 2002 and has served as a Paralympic coach at the 2004, 2008, 2016 and 2020 Paralympic Games. He’s had the distinct honor of being awarded the Order of Ikkos Medal. The medallion is a symbol of excellence in coaching as represented by the athlete’s achievement.
Swimming
Brenton Ford is a former national swimmer and coach, Winner of the Australian National Masters Swim Coach of the Year and with a personal best Ironman swim time of 47:01. He realized the traditional coaching methods he’d been taught growing up didn’t work for a lot of triathletes (especially those without a swimming background).
So in 2009 he founded ‘Effortless Swimming’ as a way to share the methods he’d had success with to a global audience. Since then he’s filmed and analyzed more than 4,000 athletes from beginners to Olympians and professional triathletes.
Pelvic Floor Specialist
Dr. Kelly Rose Thomas is a sports and pelvic floor physical therapist and an endurance coach who specializes in working with athletes through pregnancy and postpartum, extreme triathlon training and racing, and running on road and trails. Dr. Thomas has dedicated her career to helping athletes achieve their full potential, recover from injuries, and navigate pregnancy and postpartum with comprehensive, evidence-based care.
Her specialization in pelvic floor health addresses a critical and often overlooked aspect of physical health that impacts many athletes. Prior to becoming a physical therapist, she was an aerospace physiology instructor and technician in the Air Force.
When she’s not exploring the U.S. by foot or bike with her husband and son, she can be found at her clinic in Woodland Park, CO, and online at drkellythomas.com.
Physical Therapy
Nat Collins has been treating ultrarunners in the Colorado Springs area for over a decade, with extensive experience managing injuries common to both beginners and podium finishers alike. He has worked with athletes during their successful bids to recover from injuries and return to win or podium at The Western States 100, Leadville 100, Badwater, HURT 100, Tarawera, UTMB, as well as Olympic qualifying marathoners and middle distance runners.
Nat received his Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Northwestern University in Chicago, IL (2012). Prior to attending PT school, he completed Masters research in myocardial and mitochondrial dysfunction at Colorado State University. Nat is board certified as an Orthopedic Clinical Specialist (OCS), has a strength and conditioning certification with the NSCA (CSCS), and is also certified by Kinetacore in functional dry needling (FDN).
Physical Therapy
After several years of working in sports biomechanics as a biomedical engineer, Sammie earned her Doctorate of Physical Therapy from the University of Colorado. She is the co-founder of Golden Endurance Physical Therapy and Performance in Golden, CO and specializes in the rehabilitation, strength training, and coaching of trail runners.
Along with running her business, Sammie helps teach the Biomechanics course for the University of Colorado Physical Therapy program. She is certified in dry needling and specializes in strength and conditioning. She also races ultras and has podium finishes at races including San Juan Solstice, the Madeira Sky Marathon, and Quad Rock.
Physiology
Dr. Shala E. Davis is a professor and department chair in the Department of Exercise Science at East Stroudsburg University.
A former NCAA Division I track & field athlete at the University of Delaware, Dr. Davis brings a wealth of experience and perspective to her position. She received her BS in Health and Physical Education from Delaware, MS in Health and Sport Science from Wake Forest University and Ph.D. in Exercise Physiology from the University of Virginia. Dr. Davis continues her lifetime commitment to sport and activity by regularly competing in marathons.
Running
Mandy Mullen is the owner of the run.Windsor Race Series, co-owner of run.Colorado relays and a certified UESCA Run Coach. What she started as a women’s running group in 2017 has evolved to nine local endurance events ranging from 5k to 50k distances, hosting 500-1000 runners per event, and two cross-state overnight relay races. Their mission is to support community wellness, economic development and give back to local nonprofits.
She is a Colorado native with a Marketing degree from Colorado State University. She was inspired to become a better runner and a positive part of the running community after their experience at the Boston Marathon in 2013 where her husband ran. Mandy set her own running goals, and today runs ultra-marathons, with her third Leadville 100 scheduled for 2023.
The run.Windsor team is small, with Mandy serving as the Race Director, her husband as the Timer, a full time Director of Events, many volunteers and community supporters. Mandy is highly involved in the community and serves on two local non-profit boards. She owned and operated a Group Fitness studio from 2019-2022, and recently co-founded a local nonprofit.
