Endurance coach emphasizes quality over quantity1 min read

By
Jeff Bear
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Laura Kelly, an endurance coach from Sedona, finishes the La Ruta De Los Conquistadors mountain bike race in Costa Rica.
Courtesy photo

The way many endurance athletes approach training, it is anything but fun. Grueling might be the more accurate description.
But endurance trainer Laura “LA” Kelly, of Sedona, said the emphasis of her training program is for athletes to enjoy themselves.

“I want my athletes to have fun,” Kelly said. “I know what it was like for me when I was really into [running], and then I hurt my knee and was told I could never run again. My whole identity, everything was crushed.

“I want to make sure my athletes don’t put that much emphasis on it, and that they’re having fun while they’re getting healthier and faster.”

Kelly also focuses on quality over quantity.

“I don’t think more is better,” she said. “I think that for most people the best workouts are less than 60 minutes — ideally 90 minutes — with the proper warm up and cool down. A lot of times we grow up thinking if you want to run a marathon, just go out and run every day; instead of, you need specific kinds of training.

“You need long slow easy runs, and you need speed work to build up your speed and endurance and continue to put a sustained stress on your body.”

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For the full story, please see the Friday, July 24 issue of the Sedona Red Rock News.

Jeff Bear

Jeff Bear began his journalism career in 2003 as a graphic designer and sports reporter at the Weekly Register Call in Central City, Colorado. In 2007 he began working at the Canyon Courier in Evergreen, Colorado, as a graphic designer, but soon transferred into the editorial department where he worked as a copy editor and sport reporter under Editor Doug Bell. After a stint as a graphic designer at American Classifieds in 2009-10, Bear began working in 2011 as a copy editor at the Arizona Daily Sun, in Flagstaff. While at the Daily Sun, Bear was tapped by the late Randy Wilson to report on local sports including Northern Arizona University and Olympic medalists training in Flagstaff for the 2012 Olympics. In 2013 Bear began working at the Red Rock News in Sedona, Arizona, where he was an assistant editor and sports editor. Bear has two daughters, Angela and Jessica, with his wife Nina. He is a singer and guitarist, an avid cyclist and hiker, and enjoys camping with family and friends.

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Jeff Bear
Jeff Bear
Jeff Bear began his journalism career in 2003 as a graphic designer and sports reporter at the Weekly Register Call in Central City, Colorado. In 2007 he began working at the Canyon Courier in Evergreen, Colorado, as a graphic designer, but soon transferred into the editorial department where he worked as a copy editor and sport reporter under Editor Doug Bell. After a stint as a graphic designer at American Classifieds in 2009-10, Bear began working in 2011 as a copy editor at the Arizona Daily Sun, in Flagstaff. While at the Daily Sun, Bear was tapped by the late Randy Wilson to report on local sports including Northern Arizona University and Olympic medalists training in Flagstaff for the 2012 Olympics. In 2013 Bear began working at the Red Rock News in Sedona, Arizona, where he was an assistant editor and sports editor. Bear has two daughters, Angela and Jessica, with his wife Nina. He is a singer and guitarist, an avid cyclist and hiker, and enjoys camping with family and friends.