Women Coaches and Leaders Find Fulfillment and Give Back
More women than ever are becoming coaches and leaders. As we celebrate Women's History Month, we hear from three women coaches and leaders in our community programs about their journeys and their work to inspire and empower other women.
Learn more about NYRR community programs here.
Gisela Perez, NYRR Striders Coach
Gisela has been a runner for 40 years and a coach since 2013. In January she started coaching with NYRR Striders. Gisela has completed 42 marathons, over 100 half marathons, and countless of 10Ks and 5Ks.
How did you get started running?
I started in my early 20s with a group in my local community. I fell in love with running and have been running ever since.
Back then, there were not too many women runners. Running, and the racing world, was dominated by men. But that did not affect me because I was doing what made me happy.
How did you become a running coach?
In the early 2000s, runners started seeking my guidance to assist them in beginning their running journey. Over the years I mentored many runners, especially women. In 2013, I decided to become an RRCA Level 1 coach, and in 2021, I became an RRCA Level II coach.
As a way of giving back and to instill the joy of running in others, I founded an all-level running and walking team, Bronx Endurance Runners, in my community.
Why is being a coach important to you?
Being a coach, especially a woman coach, is very important to me because the field of coaching has been mostly dominated by men, and it is important to change that dynamic. Women coaches are just as knowledgeable as male coaches, and we need to be given the same respect as male coaches.
How do you inspire other women runners and why is this important to you?
As women, we have to balance family life, having demanding careers, and being caregivers, and still fit in time in our busy schedules for self-care, which for me is running. I have been told by women much younger than I am that I inspire them to keep running even on days they are lacking motivation.
I have met many women who begin their day at 5:00 a.m. to run before waking up their kids to get them ready for school and get themselves ready for work. That is so admirable and proves that women are strong and conquerors and can do anything that we set our minds to do.
Do you have women running role models and inspiring heroes?
One woman that inspires me and I admire is World Championships silver medalist Kara Goucher. She is a wife, mother, long distance runner, and silver medalist at the 10,000 meters at the 2007 World Championships. I admire her passion, her love of running, and her strong will to keep running even after she was diagnosed with repetitive exercise dystonia. I relate to Kara because of the love of running. I too will push through any hurdles to keep on doing what I love – running.
Martina Grant, NYRR Open Run Crocheron Park Run Captain
A member of NYRR since 2011, Martina (above, left) serves as a volunteer Run Captain at NYRR Open Run in Crocheron Park. She teaches at Forest Hills High School in Queens, where she also coaches girls’ cross country and track and field, and she’s volunteered as a race buddy with NYRR Run for the Future.
How did you get started running?
In 2010, we had a “Biggest Loser” competition at work to encourage the staff to eat better and be more active. I won the competition because my coach, a woman PE teacher, would never let me quit on myself.
That summer, I went to a local running path and started running to one sign, then walking to the next, for 30 minutes. Each week I’d up the running distance – run two signs, walk one, run three signs, walk one, etc. – and by October I was able to run for 20 minutes straight. In January I joined the NYRR running classes, where there was a great feeling of running with others who had a common goal. I ran the SHAPE Half Marathon that spring and have run many other races since, including the New York City Marathon four times.
Do you have women running role models and inspiring heroes?
My mother has always been an active person and encouraged me to play any sports that I wanted. When I was growing up, she was my soccer coach and put me in basketball, swimming, and volleyball. When they had Little League for my brothers but nothing for girls, my mom signed me up for my brothers’ team.
In 2016 I joined the NYRR Group Training classes in Astoria Park. Two encouraging and enthusiastic women coaches, Melanie Kann and Nina Andrade, pushed me with kindness and encouragement. When I experienced injuries, they worked with me to get back on track. They were always there to lift me up when I needed it. A fellow Group Training runner and NYRR staff member, Claudia Rivero, encouraged me to join Queens Distance Runners, where I found my “running sisters” Laurentia Mei and Angela Im.
At Open Run, I discovered women who loved running living a couple of blocks from where I live. The women of Crocheron Park and Cunningham Park are always encouraging and supportive and a joy to be around.
Many professional female athletes inspire me, but the woman that stands out is Des Linden. She has qualities as an athlete that I want my students and athletes to have: grit, perseverance, and determination. She pushes forward no matter how difficult. In my classroom, I have a poster of Des Linden running the Boston Marathon in 2018 in the rain and cold. I explain to my students that if they need encouragement on any given day, she is there to give it. Some days she’s there to encourage me.
Why is being a coach – especially a woman coach – important to you?
As a high school teacher, I have found that many young women see themselves in a negative way. Pressure to fit in and be accepted by your peers has always been an issue for young people, but the addition of social media platforms has resulted in young women questioning who they are and their place in this world. As a coach, I try to help these young women accept themselves for where they are, work with them to create achievable goals, and push their limits to show them what they can achieve.
I run with the new cross country athletes and try to help them believe that they can go further and change their vocabulary from I can’t to I will. I hope that as a coach I can show these young women that a positive attitude and belief in yourself will bring your goals to fruition – not your size, weight, or fancy sneakers.
How do you inspire other women runners and why is this important to you?
A colleague swore that she would never run more than a 5K, and I got her to run with me in the Peachtree 10K.
When my youngest niece was 5, we dressed up as turkeys and ran a turkey trot on Thanksgiving, beginning a tradition of running turkey trots together every year. Last year she texted me to say she joined Girls on the Run and wanted me to be her running buddy in her end-of-year 5K. I cried tears of joy.
I have seen young ladies from my school go through the Run for the Future program and become more confident. As a race buddy, I love watching the joy on these young ladies’ faces at the 5K race when they realized all they have accomplished.
If I can encourage people to take the first steps for themselves, that is all that matters.
Cassandra Smith, NYRR Run for the Future Coach
Cassandra has coached with Run for the Future since 2019. She has run over 50 NYRR races since 2017, including the TCS New York City Marathon five times.
How did you get started running?
I’ve always exercised. After my workouts, I would go for walks in Central Park, and one can’t ignore all the runners. I found myself pondering running, which was strange since I’d stayed away from it because I was told it was bad for the knees and joints. However, once I discovered the Reservoir in Central Park, I then felt comfortable giving running a try. I immediately fell in love with running, and I’ve been running ever since.
Do you have women running role models and inspiring heroes that you looked up to?
I’ve been lucky to meet many amazing women through running and they all inspire me. [Fellow coaches and friends] Gisela Perez and Maria Romano both inspire me because they are living examples of why I love running. Gisela has helped affirm that running is therapeutic, social, and empowering. Maria has reaffirmed that running can be a bridge that brings strangers together to become friends. I truly feel uplifted by knowing them.
Both Gisela and Maria are women of color who are older than me, and when I see them, I see myself in the present and the future. They teach me that running is something that’s possible far beyond this current phase of my life and that I can do for a long time.
When and how did you become a running coach?
In 2019 I became a running coach with NYRR Run for the Future. Professionally, I am an early childhood education specialist who works primarily with autistic children. I love my job and I’m able to make a difference in the lives of my students. However, my impact is very different with them compared to with the Run for the Future girls.
Being a coach for RFTF, I get to help young girls that are embarking on adulthood. I love having the opportunity to empower them. Via running, [the staff and I] provide the participants with information regarding what being a young lady involves as well as other aspects of their life such as what college life will be like, how to manage stress, and the value of a supportive community. The program allows the young ladies to establish connections with one another. The skills that we help them establish through RFTF are priceless.
Why is being a coach important to you?
I like being a female coach because I like empowering other females. I especially enjoy inspiring young women of color to become runners. When I began running NYRR races in 2017, the number of women of color appeared to be low. I like that through coaching I’m able to introduce running to various individuals, specifically women of color, that may not run or don’t run much. I think running is a perfect vehicle for women to bond with other women and build supportive friendships, while also developing healthy lifestyle practices and routines.
How do you inspire other women runners and why is this important to you?
I think that I inspire other women runners because I do my best to be supportive and encouraging to [them]. I think oftentimes social media and other media outlets send messages to women that make them competitive and unsociable with one another. I believe running allows women to build and establish positive relationships with one another, which I love being able to create for other women.