We’re very excited to introduce Project Purple’s new running coach, Ryan Welsh! Not only is he an excellent coach, but he is personally connected to our cause and knows what it’s like to run for Project Purple.

Ryan grew up in Princeton, NJ before going to college at Washington and Lee University in VA, where he went on to play 4 years of varsity football. After college, he moved to NYC and discovered a love for running in his mid-twenties as a major way to relieve daily stress while his Mom was undergoing chemotherapy treatments for her stage 3 pancreatic cancer diagnosis. Following her passing, he went on to run 7 full marathons and 5 half marathons (many of them for Project Purple), and he still trains and competes in Ironman races today. Over the last few years though, Ryan's focus has shifted towards helping others that are new to the sport like he once was. He became an RRCA Certified Run Coach, actively coaching runners of all skill levels for all distances, and also completed his Master's degree in Counseling from UNC-Chapel Hill.

His belief is that "through adversity comes strength", and as such, everyone can find purpose by making their miles meaningful!

Recently, Ryan's personal story of resilience and his foundational recommendations/tips for beginner runners were featured on The TODAY Show: https://www.today.com/health/essay/lost-parents-running-saved-rcna34555

To learn more about Project Purple, visit https://www.projectpurple.org/ or follow us on social media at these links:https://www.facebook.com/Run4ProjectPurplehttps://www.instagram.com/projectpurple/https://twitter.com/Run4Purplehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgA8nVhUY6_MLj5z3rnDQZQ