About
Hi, I'm Rusty.
I'm a lifelong runner and adventurer, a certified endurance coach, and a parent of three young runners. Running has been the thread through my whole life. Running Legacy is where I'm putting everything it has taught me, so the next generation of kids can fall in love with the sport and stay in it for life.
It started with running with my dad.
My dad took me to local 10Ks and half marathons when I was a kid. What stuck wasn't the racing. It was that running was something joyful you shared with people you love. That carried into high school cross country and track, where I ran middle distance and relays and even pole vaulted, and it never really stopped.
Then the mountains, and triathlon to get there.
Running grew into something bigger. I wanted to climb, so I took up triathlon to build the engine for high-altitude mountaineering. The long stuff took on a life of its own: multiple Ironman triathlons, three straight years at the Ultraman World Championship, 14,000-foot summits, and an attempt on Aconcagua. None of it came from talent. It came from consistency, patience, and a refusal to quit. The same things I now try to give kids.
Coaching found me.
Triathlon is where I discovered coaching. First with adults, helping people do things they were sure they couldn't. Then my own kids started sports, and I pointed everything I had learned at coaching them and their teammates. Seeing the sport through a kid's eyes changed how I think about all of it.
Where this comes from
Endurance athlete
Multiple Ironman triathlons. Ultraman World Championship finisher three consecutive years (2011, 2012, 2013). The 10K Bridge-to-Bridge open-water swim, California's Death Ride (129 miles and 15,000+ feet of climbing), 14,000-foot summits across North America, and an attempt on Aconcagua.
Certified coach
USA Triathlon Level 1, USA Cycling Level 3, USA Track & Field Level 1, and Total Immersion swim coach.
Student of people
A psychology degree from the University of Arizona, and a career as a product leader spent studying how people learn, decide, and stick with hard things.
Parent of three runners
Three young runners, ages 6, 8, and 11, which means I see the sport through their eyes now, not just my own.
Why I built Running Legacy.
I started writing the book to connect the three sides of my own experience, the athlete, the parent, and the coach, and to use what I've learned to help others along their path.
Running for Life is the book I wish I'd had as a kid. The one I wish my dad had when I started running. The one I wish for the coaches I had along the way, some of whom instinctively got it, and some of whom didn't.
I've watched a couple quiet joy-killers end more running careers than any injury: overtraining, burnout. But none of this is about going soft on performance. If you want to excel, this is how you get there. Competing at the world-championship level takes consistency, motivation, and injury prevention (mental and physical) sustained over years. Development and performance are not opposites. The long game is what makes the big results possible.
The real thesis is simpler. Athletes, parents, and coaches have to see through each other's eyes. When they do, they build something that lasts: kids who are still running at 30, 40, 50.
That idea started as a book. It needed somewhere to live, and in the course of writing and creating its home, I decided that communicating and planning for athletes, parents, and coaches needed something better than what was out there, so I started building this platform.
Where to go deeper.
Running Legacy reflects what I believe, but I'm far from the only voice worth your time, and I'm still working through a lot of these myself. If you care about raising young athletes who last, here's where I'd point you.
Youth development & sport culture
Why kids play, why they quit, and how to keep them in the sport. The closest thing out there to what I believe.
Practical training for coaches and parents on building a character-first sports culture.
The research and data on the real state of youth sports in America.
Mindset & motivation
Mindset · Carol Dweck
Why believing ability can grow changes everything for a young athlete.
Range · David Epstein
The case for trying many sports before specializing. It matters for young runners.
Grit & the Character Lab · Angela Duckworth
Research-backed tools for parents and coaches on perseverance.
Excelling without breaking
Peak Performance & Do Hard Things · Brad Stulberg & Steve Magness
Real toughness, and how to chase big results without burning out.
Good for a Girl · Lauren Fleshman
An elite runner on how youth sports too often break young athletes, especially girls.
Running Rewired · Jay Dicharry
How runners actually get durable. The physical side of injury prevention.
If you want what I'm building, the book and the clubs are here. But mostly, I just hope something on this page helps your runner.