63: Laura Cardon: Seeing a Need and Doing Something About It; Try It Out and See How It Goes; Fertile Soil; Small Actions Make a Big Impact

Laura Cardon (she/her) is a mom, a partner, a coach, a runner and an advocate. She fell in love with trail running after moving to Colorado in 2013. Since then, she hasn’t run particularly fast or far, but is most passionate about helping others discover the joy of trail running. She has her B.S. in Public Relations, Advertising and Applied Communication from West Virgina University from which she graduated early Magna Cum Laude! She worked as a Communications Manager for Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) launching a GOCO internship program and collaborated with grant program staff to transform the organization's relationship with its two largest stakeholders: Colorado Lottery and Colorado Parks and Wildlife. She was also Project Manager with a Communications Background. Laura is a UESCA-certified run coach, works part-time at Runners Roost Golden, coaches beginner trail runners with Life’s 2 Short Fitness and creates beginner-friendly guides to the outdoors at her company Outdoor Beginner: OutdoorBeginner.com. Laura founded Outdoor Beginner in 2014 to fill the gap in beginner-friendly guides for trying new outdoor activities. Outdoor Beginner started as a blog and has grown into in-person coaching services and events in the Denver metro area. She blogs about hiking, running, camping, outdoor kids, winter sports and travel. Laura offers in-person and virtual options and her programs, which do not address weight loss or dieting, are open to all genders, sizes, abilities, and identities. She plans and coaches in-person 5k Your Way courses to help people get a positive and safe start to the sport, including securing brand partnerships to make the course free for all participants. Laura empowers, inspires, connects and leads. She is a force!

Laura describes parenting as the entire spectrum of human emotions and how her kiddo is the hardest boss she has ever had. She shares how she was looking for an inclusive running group that supported all runners of all paces, not wanting to get left behind and wanting to have some fun. Laura is open about her post-partum depression and how she leaned in to taking care of herself in a way that she initially resisted. A piece of advice for those who want to help is to offer specific help or just drop something off, send something over, anything that takes away the need for the person to make decisions. We talk about taking away the stigma of medicating. She talks about going into coaching and wanting to be the coach that SHE wanted as she entered trail running. Laura sees a need and does something about it, which led to her creation of Outdoor Beginner, giving tips about all the things related to beginning something. Laura hopes for people to NOT run as a form of punishment, but instead to run to find joy. Laura is so cool and empowering. She is the fertile soil from which beginning runners grow. Check out the hummingbird and the fire story. Just chills....

Laura lives on Núu-agha-tʉvʉ-pʉ̱ and Tséstho’e land.

Book Recommendation:
Master Of Change by Brad Stulberg

Find Laura on IG and FB @outdoorbeginner and on her website at Beginner Friendly Run Coach Homepage - Outdoor Beginner outdoorbeginner.com 

When in Golden, CO check out the food truck La Huacha  https://www.lahuacha.com/
and Barrels and Bottles Brewery barrelsbottles.com