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

6 races, 2 relays, 1603 miles – Spontaneous Running

One word to describe this year: Spontaneous. I didn’t plan most of the trips I took and I didn’t know I’d be running another marathon or even tackling another 3…

Happy Holidays Runers

Whether you are celebrating Christmas or Chanukah or Kwanza or Festivus {a personal favorite}, I hope your holiday season is filled with laughter and hugs and plenty of runs that…

Christmas Bodyweight Bootcamp Workout

If you didn’t join the Holiday Sweat Challenge, I have some good news for you today…I’m sharing a workout from one of our trainers! She is a bootcamp instructor and…

Honolulu Marathon – The short and sweet of 26.2

Marathon number 8 was a whole new experience for me. I have never run with someone that far. I have never paced someone on their first. I never use run/walk.…

Beets and Berries Overnight Oats – GF, DF, V

It’s the time of year to march to your own drum…or maybe I’m getting confused with the little drummer boy song. Either way you are going to love this dish…

Healthy Holiday Articles – Helpful or Negative?

Bear with me as I do a little Think Out Loud Thursday…on Wednesday…everything get’s thrown out the window on Holiday weeks! I’m done with “lose 10 lbs in 10 days”…

Spring Challenge Workouts

Details on the Spring Challenge Workouts and an easy place to reference them each week and get additional details on any move which you may not know. Feel free to…

Holiday Sweat Challenge is OPEN

Singing Jingle bells slightly off key, warm bowls of chili and hot cups of cider, cuddling under a blanket and feeling totally justified staying at home all day to watch…

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT – Holiday Bootie Buster Update

Looking for registration and details?? — >>> Click here You’ve been emailing, asking in the forums, tweeting questions, sending hand written pleas by carrier pigeon…so here it is the final…

Scary Catcalls, liver scans and 19 miles

Well it’s probably clear from the title that today is entirely a Think Out Loud Thursday rather than anything super helpful…and I love you for still showing up to find…

20+ Easy Omega 3 Recipes for Busy Athletes

Omega 3 is essential for our bodies, and these omega-3 recipes are a delicious and easy way to get a good dose of this essential fatty acid.

It’s not a tumor, so what is it?

In the last episode of Amanda’s Hormones Gone Wild, it was declared that I’d simply gone through menopause. This bizarre statement for someone my age is always followed by the…

Polenta Casserole – An alternative to meat and potatoes

Hearty. What does that word mean to you? If you grew up in the Mid-West I can almost guarantee it makes you think of gathering around the table for a…

31 Fall Smoothie Ideas – Get your greens of the season

During the summer it’s easy to find myself craving a great big green smoothie after a run, but as the temperatures drop well sometimes you begin thinking about soup and…

Tuna Avocado Brown Rice Bowl: Quick high protein, dairy free, gluten free dinner

Feed me, now you crazy wench. We’ve all been there, right? Not someone calling you a wench, but your stomach screaming for attention! Running in the door after traveling or…

Eric Orton Mountain Running Academy

“Would you like to attend a running camp in Jackson Hole lead by Eric Orton, coach from Born to Run?” My initial thought was what a dumb question. OF COURSE…

The Happiness of Pursuit

No I didn’t flip the words…or maybe you didn’t even notice the order because you’ve been so accustomed to reading “the pursuit of happiness”. This is about how having a…

A Collector of Experiences – Minimalist gift giving

“The things you own in life end up owning you.” —Tyler Durden I don’t know when it happened. That moment where I went from craving gifts to seeking out experiences.It’s…

Could your pain be all in your head?

Race week injuries. We’ve attributed them to over training and “taper madness” for years, but we still believe something physically must be wrong. This post is going to piss off…

Race To Kinvara: A Relay Race Through Ireland

When life hands you a four leaf clover, hold on to that bad boy for dear life!! Especially if it happens to be on some of your favorite running gear…

It’s never JUST a half marathon {and injury update}

A triathlon…no a marathon PR…no my first ultra…wait no maybe…I …errrrr What am I planning to do this fall? What is my goal? I get asked weekly, so I feel…

Canal du Midi – Secrets of Le Boat life

Cars, planes, trains, buses, subway, bike, on foot…we literally toured the South of France by every mode of transportation possible! Except for those adorable Vespa’s that filled the narrow streets!…

5 Essential Experiences for the South of France

“Don’t forget to remove the magical France filter when you get home” — statement from one of my travel companions in jest as we all felt every photo seemed to…

Photo Tour – South of France

A picture might be worth a thousand words, but my brain is coming up with so many more than any image could provide…I love that they can capture a moment,…

Should you refuse to be sucked in to running a marathon?

Confused?! You should be after running 7 marathons and committing to another this fall, I definitely think it’s an experience worth having…except for all the times I tell people never…

Saucony 26 Strong Update and I’m Bart Yasso’s Girlfriend

I asked for someone to run a marathon…picked the lovely Jodi…then disappeared! Well that’s because I was waiting on details to be finalized before shouting from the rooftops some of…

Runner’s World Race Review: Heartbreak Hill Hat Trick

For someone who always wanted to be a writer and then fell in love with running, could there be a more fitting experience than a Runner’s World race?? I think…

Runner’s World Boston Experience

How do you sum up a weekend of being immersed in something that you love with great people in a beautiful setting? No really, how?! Do I now want to…

Cancer is a laughing matter at St Jude

You know how hospitals smell?? That weird mixture of antiseptic, air spray and circulated air that hits you full force when you step through those sliding doors? I braced myself…

Butternut Squash “Cheesy” Bake – Dairy and Gluten Free

What childhood foods make you think of spring? Immediately my brain goes to hot dogs and macaroni and cheese…yes the kind straight from a rectangular blue box. It was probably…

Walkin’ in Memphis – Literally

3 hours after leaving my hotel room, I wandered back in ready for a nap, but instead dressing quickly to head out to dinner at Flight with the St Jude…

Why I can never go home again

As the sweat started trickling down my back for the 30th consecutive 16 hour day traipsing door-to-door in the Atlanta heat, it hit me like a ton of homemade cookies,…

Complacency Will Kill You and other Lessons for Big Results

Sitting in a cold auditorium is how I might have started many nap stories during college, but in 2012 at a work convention I stumbled upon what is to date…

21 Sneaky Vegetable Recipes: They Won’t Even Know They’re Eating Veggies

The gold standard for fruit and veggie servings is 7 to 9 a day. I admit that upon first reading that my jaw dropped and I couldn’t fathom making it…

Menopause by 30 – It’s not slowing me down

Menopause. Oye, that word…it just feels OLD. Like something my mother and her friends should talk about while knitting {ok she doesn’t knit}. Not me. Not at 32. I admit…

Vegan Clean Eating Blueberry Upside Down Cake

A few weeks ago David’s boss gave us tickets to the Orlando Magic game…not just any seats, but club seats meaning we had access to a buffet of food! I…

Do Your Best, Forget the Rest: Tony Horton Book Review

“I’m a guy who got tired of being out of shape, miserable, stressed out and broke. I saw my Big Picture, I put together a plan, and I acted on…

4 min PR and 3rd place finish – Best Damn Race Orlando

I’ve already said I’m not a fan of race reports, so mostly I’ll keep this short and sweet with some details for me to have as a record for later.…

Vegan Broccaulikale Masher Recipe – Crazy name, great taste

Boerenkool is a traditional Dutch dish using kale and mashed potatoes, which is what I initially set out to make to go with our fish. Nothing against the good ol’…

Wallflower Friday: Time to Delurk

My analytics tell me that thousands of you are visiting each day…I have gotten to know about 10% of you through great comments, challenges and events. The technical term for…

Best Damn Race Safety Harbor – Half Marathon Report

I really hate race reports. Mine. Yours. Famous people’s. Two exceptions: People I’m coaching {woot go team} and really good friends who have just crushed a PR or done something…

Ab Challenge Exercises Demonstrated

Time for another one month challenge! I asked what you wanted and ab challenge was the clear winner. I get it, spring will disappear on us in a flash and…

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!