Andrea Casella Kooiman is an avid runner with over 150 marathon and ultra-marathons under her belt. Some of her accomplishments include the Boston Marathon, Grand Slam of Ultra-running (4 oldest trail 100’s in one summer), Badwater 135 three times, Western States twice, HURT 100, UTMB, Vol State 500K, taking 3rd place overall. Andrea is also one of the founders of WeRock, a program created as a response to the challenges faced by the Orange County communities’ young people. It is an educational, after-school, intervention program for Middle and High School students focused on the endurance sport of running. She is also the executive director and head coach; she considers some of her greatest running accomplishments watching as the kids cross the marathon finish line year after year. It is her solid belief that everyone can and will achieve all their wildest goals and aspirations if they can first visualize themselves in that position. She is on a mission to HUG the world and assist others in becoming their own Superheroes.

Start asking yourself why not me. This is a question Andrea always asks herself and she has accomplished some amazing things. We loved talking to her about her adventures, coaching her kids and life in general. This woman is full of joy, optimism, and fun. We talked about the Barkley Fall Classic and moving on to attempt the Barkley Marathons (watch for her name). Andrea lights up when discussing WeRock, she talks about how it started and what she has gained from coaching. We also get into some great Badwater stories and how she balances everything from family life to the big races. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as we did.

IG- @runcoachkrun