About Laur

Hi, I'm Laur — a trans runner, coach, and trail enthusiast based in Seattle, WA.

I'm certified through the United Endurance Sports Coaching Academy (UESCA) Ultrarunning Coach program.

About my coaching

I work with all types of athletes from trail first-timers to experience mountain runners. My specialty is coaching for trail running mountian adventures and ultra distances (50k to 100 miler). I'm an advocate for making running a more inclusive space. With first-hand experience with hormone replacement therapy (HRT) as well as training with chronic pain, I have a unique, personalized approach to movement and overall health with training.

I believe for coaching to be successful there must be mutual respect and trust between the athlete and the coach. I hope to earn your trust through sharing not only the day-to-day training needs but the long-term strategy and how it all works together to help you reach your goals - whether it’s hitting a PR or being able to run for decades to come. My coaching philosophy isn’t about telling you what to do, it’s about helping you understand the reasoning for why I’m recommending what I’m recommending.

My approach to coaching is to keep the athlete, their personality, and their goals as the focus. We will work together to find ways to incorporate training into your already busy life to balance training that works for you and your goals. I believe training must be individualized for each athlete.

What matters most to me isn't your finish time; it's that you feel strong, supported, and seen.

I partner with Team RunRun, a coaching collective that shares my commitment to working with each runner as an individual to create custom training plans that aligns with your lifestyle, ability, and budget.

About me

I was born and raised in Ohio before making my way to Indiana to earn my Bachelor of Science at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Biomedical and Mechanical Engineering, focusing on biomechanics and electrical signals. I wanted to study biomedical engineering to get a better understanding of how the body works and ended up loving learning about things like gait through setting up lab experiments to test and monitor gaits at different speeds. Little did I know this would eventually be part of my life years later and help me learn more about the physiology and strength for running!

Before moving out to Seattle in 2018, I learned about thru-hiking and ultra running online but never believed I’d be strong enough to do such a thing. My running journey started with great hesitation in 2019 when a co-worker in Seattle asked me to sign-up for a 10k and then a half-marathon only a few months later. After completing my first half-marathon I was hooked!

Starting in 2020, I began to feel a significant amount of pain in my SI joints, which at its worst left me barely able to walk down my hallway or take my dog out. After what I thought would be an easy run, I wasn’t able to stand up off my couch and was terrified I wouldn’t be able to move normally again. I finally went to see a doctor and eventually got a diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) months later. Armed with this diagnosis, I began looking for others with AS and seeing what types of activities they did, fearing I’d never reach my dreams of hiking and ultra running. I found Helgi Olafson who has AS and runs ultramarathons and has previously raised money for the Spondylitis Association of America. This gave me the hope I needed, and I have since learned how to use movement to help manage chronic pain with flexible enough training plans to adapt to flare-ups.

In 2021, I switched over to primarily running trails, and running became an integral part of my life. Trail running has added so much goodness into my life – pain management, meeting close friends, providing structure, feeling confident in my queerness and beyond. It was these running friends who gave me the confidence to explore gender outwardly more and the push to sign-up for my first ultra, which took place early 2023. I feel so at home in the mountains and running ultra distances.

I began HRT in early 2025 and have gone through a lot of personal learnings with how it has affected my body and training. It’s been such a joy to explore how to train with HRT. There’s little research on what to do when you start HRT and how it will impact athletics – this is a special interest of mine to continue to learn from research, my own experience, and the voices of others in the community to share knowledge with runners who are considering HRT.