Alexis Fairbanks

Hi there! I’m Alexis Fairbanks, a UESCA Certified Run Coach based in Denver, Colorado, with nine years of experience coaching adult runners from the 5K to the marathon. I’m an educator and a lifelong runner, originally from upstate New York. I spent six years in the DC area before settling in Denver, and I coach runners remotely wherever they’re based.

Running and I have a decades-long history that started in elementary school. I was the kid who lit up for the mile run and the PACER test in PE. My PE teacher, who also coached high school track, pushed me to sign up for cross country in middle school, and I never looked back. I ran track and cross country through college and became a marathoner soon after.

My relationship with running hasn’t always been easy. In college and for years afterward, I worked through disordered eating, RED-S, injuries, and performance anxiety. Recovering from that changed what I want running to be. My go-to mantra is, “Running is a part of my life; running is not my life.” I chase big running goals while keeping a healthy balance.

Those experiences shape how I coach. They put health, sustainability, and joy at the center of every plan I build.

I started coaching runners in 2018, from first-timers training for their first 5K to athletes chasing Boston Marathon qualifying times. Nine years and dozens of athletes later, I coach as a UESCA-Certified Run Coach for the 5K, 10K, 15K, half marathon, and marathon. I work with beginner, recreational, competitive, and masters runners on the roads. I value open communication and long-term partnerships. They let me individualize every plan and pull the most out of each runner’s potential.

My coaching philosophy is simple: whatever your goals, you should run because you enjoy it. Hating every run isn’t toughness. It’s a sign something needs to change.

That doesn’t mean you’ll bounce out of bed for every run or that training won’t be hard work. It means running should add value to your life, not take it away. That balance comes from sustainable training, plans that flex when life does, and enough fuel and rest to make the hard work possible.

An honest, open coach-athlete relationship is the foundation. It’s how we build a training plan that fits you as an individual.