RunToTheFinish

Online Running Coach | Running Shoe and Gear Reviews

About the Author

Amanda Brooks

I am a running coach with over a decade of experience helping thousands of runners to achieve their goals from running injury free to crossing that marathon finish line with a PR. I've run over 28,000 miles in my own running journey since 2002. Run To The Finish is my place to share that love and my deep dive in to researching all things running. I hold multiple run coaching certifications, as well as a personal training certification. But it's my ongoing desire to learn and progress as a coach that has allowed me to help runners from their 20's through their 70's! More ways to connect with me:

Amanda Brooks

Garmin Forerunner 945 Review vs Garmin Fenix 5

When it was time to upgrade my old GPS watch, my wandering eye went straight to the top with the good looking Garmin Fenix 5s. Then suddenly I was hit…

19 Things Never Said by a Runner

There are a lot of things we can guarantee runners say, like “am I dead yet?” “are we there yet?” and “that wasn’t me“. But I bet there are a…

Seawheeze Half Marathon Review and Race Recap

Last month, I had the opportunity to run the Lululemon 10K in Edmonton, which is apparently a scaled down version of the Seawheeze Half Marathon… or so I’d been told.…

9 Reasons I Love My 30’s thanks to Running

In honor of my birthday, I thought a little round of my favorite running lessons learned over the many years of sharing information on RunToTheFinish was in order…really how else…

Tips for Shifting to a Plant Based Diet for Meat Lovers

A few long time readers might remember the 30 day Vegan challenge I did prior to the Houston marathon a few years ago, which turned in to almost a year…

Garmin Fēnix 5 Review: Taking a Running Watch to the Next Level

Last Christmas I started debating what type of new GPS watch I wanted to get…not only was this debate internal, but I of course went to social media to get…

What are Hormone Disruptors? How They Impact Your Runs?

In 2009, we discovered my body was no longer producing estrogen. After ruling out a brain tumor and the female triad (I was eating plenty and not running that much),…

Suunto 5 Review: Fitness Tracker and Running Watch Combined

An in depth Suunto 5 review on what's working, what's not working and how this GPS running watch stacks up to others over my thousands of miles running.

Edmonton Summer: An Active Travel Vacation Plan

If you’ve ever thought of a trip to Canada I bet Vancouver, Toronto, maybe Banff are the first places to come to mind…um especially if like me you wanted to…

Lululemon 10K Race Review and Recap

I haven’t raced a 10K in at least 5 years, but probably longer as the last one was part of the Runner’s World Hat Trick where I did a 5K,…

Vegan Chocolate Chia Pudding: High Protein Dessert

Previously, I told you that I was smitten with Scott Jurek’s book Eat & Run, but that post was really focused on the inspirational running component…today I bring you the…

Healthy Pasta Bake: High Protein Dinner

Welcome to another edition of the Lazy Healthy Eater, where I answer the constant question…if you don’t like to meal prep, what do you eat?! Besides daily power bowls, when…

Beautycounter Review: Going All Natural?

Ever feel like you’re one of the last kids to the party? I tend to the be person who is dubious of anything that becomes a massive hit. Take Harry…

Best Skin Care Products for Your 30s

First because I bet many of you are people who ponder random thoughts like me…. Skincare refers to the specific products that we’re going to lather on to look like…

The Glamorous Runners Life

It’s easy to get swept up in the excitement of finish line emotions, those triumphant photos with our medals or even the fierce grit of having pushed ourselves to the…

Losing Weight as A Couple: Lessons Learned and Tips

How do you lose weight after 40 when your spouse is still eating all your “forbidden foods”? From personal experience (through my 20’s and 30’s) I can tell you it’s…

Eating and Exercising to Burn More Fat

After finishing my Metabolic Efficiency test, I had some action steps to take to start burning more fat and more importantly, I was committed to getting results. I really wanted…

Metabolic Efficiency: Improve Fat Burning, Endurance and Prevent Bonking

I first shared a story about metabolic efficiency in 2014, as I watched a fellow runner slowly transform her body. After listening to her talk about struggling with weight despite…

Santa Barbara Wine Country Half Marathon Review and Race Recap

Welcome to another sunny day in California! After coming out in March to preview the Santa Barbara Wine Country race course and tell you a bit about why Santa Barbara…

Race Swag We’d Rather Have

What is the best race swag you’ve ever received? Very few runners say it was their race shirt, with the exception of those races we worked so dang hard for…

New Balance Beacon Review

In my previous life I was an eCommerce and technical consultant for Fortune 500 companies for a decade. One of the coolest projects that I had the opportunity to work…

Race Pace Envy: Stop Judging Yourself By Their Speed

Do you often describe yourself as a slow runner? Do you then judge your runs based on all those Instagram posts? Here's what you need to know.

3 Intuitive Eating Tips: Practical Ways to Get Started and Stop Counting Calories

Calories In < Calories Out = Weight loss. The formula seems simple enough and so for anyone who has undertaken a weight loss journey it starts here, but eventually it’s…

Secrets to Preventing Workout Acne

As a long time athlete and runner for MANY years, workout acne prevention has been something I’ve paid a lot of attention to. I learned that what to do post…

Why Runners Make the Best Employees

Running pretty much makes you better at life. I have no statistics to back that up, but I’m quite certain it’s true based on the amount of time we spend…

Counting Macros and Running: How IIFYM Running Ratios Workout and Are they Right For You?

Have you ever noticed body builders frequently throwing around the term IIFYM? They usually do it on days where you see them eating a burger or ice cream or well…

Santa Barbara Wine Country Weekend

Race vacations are one of my guilty pleasures. I may not spend money on fancy shoes (running shoes don’t count) or party dresses and we aren’t people who eat out…

How I Justify My Premium Running Gear

Woah those shoes are how much? Me, every time I look at what people pay for high heels that make my toes ache and my calves scream for relief…and likely…

Cancun Wellness Getaway: Le Blanc Spa Resort

Falling asleep by 9 is my norm at home, so the initial idea of a Cancun getaway seemed like a poor fit. Until winter kicked in and I thought, yes,…

5 Ways Triathlon Training Can Help You Run Faster and Longer

Over the years, I’ve had the honor of attending the Ironman Championships in Kona. Watching these incredible athletes, swim, bike and THEN run a marathon, I’m always amazed. Somehow doing…

I Tried B12 Shots and Here’s What Happened

Have you heard about B12 shots for energy? I remember living in Miami and people would just rave about having a shot and suddenly bursting with energy for the rest…

Slow Cooker Vegetable Lamb Soup

Confession. This was supposed to be chili. Well the recipe wasn’t supposed to be chili, but what David asked me to make was chili. In fact, he went so far…

DNA Testing for Healthier Living: Does it Work?

We’ve all seen the commercials about finding your ancestry thanks to DNA testing, but we have a whole new world opening up with fitness DNA. This has been on my…

Shut Down the Negative Voice on Your Next Run

You’re out for a run and then you hear it – that voice. You turn up your music, but it’s still there. The voice that tells you that you can’t…

Sleep: Why Runners Need It and How to Get More!!

Sleep is the one component not listed on marathon training plans that should be! You get up extra early to fit in the miles and slog through sprints when you’re…

Healthy Shrimp Recipe: Easy One Sheet Dinner

We’ve established previously that I’m all about easy meals…but easy meals that are healthy! Since my parents tend to be the one’s I test these things on, they’ve had a…

A Year of Running After Knee Surgery

Whhheeeewwwww this year packed quite the punch, as I had the opportunity to remember exactly what it feels like to be a beginner all over again! I had a choice…

Overcome Your Top Running Excuses

Each time I tell a non-runner about my running, my face lights up and I get all gushy and excited like a love sick teenager, which ALWAYS provokes a response…

ASICS GT-2000 7 Review

Sponsored by Zappos, all opinions are my own. You might not know this, but it’s thanks to my friends at ASICS that I had a chance to train for and…

Runner Pays $410 for Banana

Have you seen the shirt “this is a lot of work for a free banana“? It cracks me up every single time. Then I started to ponder it, as one…

Psychology of Running: Incorporating Mental Marathon Training

You won’t find mental training on your plan. It’s not 10 reps of 30 seconds with 1 minute of rest. It’s rarely something that is specifically prescribed because it feels…

3 IT Band Strengthening Exercises

You know I’m dedicated to fixing your IT Band, right?! It’s why I created a whole 70 page ebook about how I resolved it permanently for myself and others, for…

7 Secrets to Break Through

Feeling stuck? Discover which of the 7 most common runner issues is holding you back in this free program. Videos, interviews, workouts and more!

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