Episode #70: Grassroots to Grasstops with Taylor Rogers

Courtney Coppinger has made her mark in mountain running as one of the best trail runners in the world. In 2025, she walked away with a 3rd place VK World Cup title and a 2nd place Classic World Cup title. She has been on the podium of multiple Golden Trail Series races and continues to be a force on the world stage. All accolades aside, she has been transparent about her lack of mind and body connection in the 2026 racing season. We dive into what that has been like for her, what things are bringing her joy in running right now, and where she stands with sustainability in trail running. We also chat about her new trail running camp: Inner Terrain. Inner Terrain lives at the intersection of art and movement and is designed for the creative athlete.  Learn more here: https://www.innerterrain.co/  You can find more information about The Running Kind here. https://therunningkind.net/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/therunningkind/ @therunningkind_ Aimee Kohler  Founder of The Running Kind @aimskoh Produced by Aimee Kohler Music Dim Red Light by Don Dilego  

On today's episode Aimee sits down with Deanna Doane, a badass plant-based athlete tearing up the trails all over the country. Aimee and Deanna met at the US Mountain Running Championship at Sunapee Scramble a few weeks ago and had a great time battling through lap two, as well as connecting post-race. Deanna owns her own adventure running company, Wandering Runner, where she hosts guided running trips all over the East Coast.  https://www.wanderingrunner.com/ Follow along Deanna's running journey on her Instagram at @wandering.sunflower or @wanderingrunnerco.  You can find more information about The Running Kind here. https://therunningkind.net/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/therunningkind/ @therunningkind_ Aimee Kohler  Founder of The Running Kind @aimskoh Produced by Aimee Kohler Music Dim Red Light by Don Dilego  

On June 13th, The Running Kind gathered to host 46 runners at the Lehigh Valley's first backyard ultra. This episode takes you through a recap of the event from 7am on Saturday morning until 4pm on Sunday. The first edition of Little Bitty Backyard lasted 34 hours and was ultimately won by Jonathan Ruiz. Though Jonathan was the last man standing, every runner that joined this event left us feeling inspired. Join Aimee as she walks through what went down at the event.  You can find more information about The Running Kind here. https://therunningkind.net/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/therunningkind/ @therunningkind_ Aimee Kohler  Founder of The Running Kind @aimskoh Produced by Aimee Kohler Music Dim Red Light by Don Dilego  

We are excited to share a special episode with you, as Aimee recently sat down with Maeve Thistel to chat all things Armageddon! Maeve has challenged herself over various distances completing everything up to 100 miles, yet C'mon Armageddon was one of her hardest races to date. She have overcome challenges to learn that your power comes from trusting yourself, and in this race trusting your feet. Maeve broke the female course record on race day this year and you'll hear in this episode that she's counting down the days until next year when she plans to go after the overall record. We are so proud to have Maeve as an ambassador for The Running Kind. She embodies everything we stand for and it was an honor to share that joy with her on race day! You can find more information about The Running Kind here. https://therunningkind.net/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/therunningkind/ @therunningkind_ Aimee Kohler  Founder of The Running Kind @aimskoh Produced by Aimee Kohler Music Dim Red Light by Don Dilego  

On today's episode, Aimee sits down with Jes Parker, founder of a new sustainable business Take2Trail. Jes is an ultra runner with a love of technical New England trails and exploring destinations by foot. Over the past few years she saw a gap in the market, where runners were having trouble affording new products and lightly used products were ending up in the trash. Now through Take2Trail, Jes has diverted over 180lbs of product from landfills. The Running Kind looks forward to partnering with Take2Trail in the future.  Follow along at @take2trail on Instagram or at https://take2trail.com/ You can find more information about The Running Kind here. https://therunningkind.net/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/therunningkind/ @therunningkind_ Aimee Kohler  Founder of The Running Kind @aimskoh Produced by Aimee Kohler Music Dim Red Light by Don Dilego  

Today Aimee is joined by Taylor Rogers! Taylor engages grasstops leaders and runs the Grasstops Collective at Outdoor Alliance. Grasstops Collective is a program that trains local leaders to build relationships with policymakers and champion Outdoor Alliance's conservation priorities from an authentic, community-rooted perspective. Her policy and advocacy experience spans local city councils to global decisionmakers.  Follow along Outdoor Alliance at @outdooralliance on Instagram. You can also find out more on Outdoor Alliance here: https://www.outdooralliance.org/ You can find more information about The Running Kind here. https://therunningkind.net/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/therunningkind/ @therunningkind_ Aimee Kohler  Founder of The Running Kind @aimskoh Produced by Aimee Kohler Music Dim Red Light by Don Dilego  

On today's episode, we are welcoming Jasmin Paris to the show. Jasmin is one of the founders of Green Runners, a movement focused on making a green impact in the running community through education and advocacy. Jasmin also is an icon on the trails, as she is most well known for being the only woman to ever finish the Barkley Marathons! This was an awesome conversation touching on all things sustainability in trail running and as individuals, to the footprint of something like the Barkley Marathons.  Follow along Green Runners at @the.green.runners or Jasmin Paris at @jasminparis_fellrunner on Instagram. You can also find out more on Green Runners at https://thegreenrunners.com/.   You can find more information about The Running Kind here. https://therunningkind.net/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/therunningkind/ @therunningkind_ Aimee Kohler  Founder of The Running Kind @aimskoh Produced by Aimee Kohler Music Dim Red Light by Don Dilego  

On today's episode Aimee is joined by Julie McGuire, better known as the Queen of the Catskills. She has recently become the third person and first woman to backcountry ski all of the Catskill High Peaks and is currently on a film tour for her short film, Queen of the Catskills. On this episode we dive into her journey into skiing, the importance of finding passion in adulthood and how she is shaping the next generation by increasing accessibility and education on the trails. Julie is an icon and is shaping the sport, in particular on the East Coast, by changing what people perceive backcountry skiing to be. Learn more about Julie and the film here or check out her Instagram @queenofthecatskillsny. Julie has also put together an awesome backcountry resource document that can be accessed here.  You can find more information about The Running Kind here. https://therunningkind.net/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/therunningkind/ @therunningkind_ Aimee Kohler  Founder of The Running Kind @aimskoh Produced by Aimee Kohler Music Dim Red Light by Don Dilego  

Aimee is joined by Don Weise of NYNJ Trail Conference on today's episode. Don Weise is the Director of Donor Advising for the NYNJ Trail Conference, as well as a former board member and trail run leader. For over a century, the Trail Conference has been the trusted steward of trails across the region. They build, maintain, and protect trails to ensure safe, sustainable, and enjoyable access to the outdoors. Their commitment to conservation and stewardship keeps these trails open for generations to come. More information about the NYNJ Trail Conference can be found here: https://www.nynjtc.org/ You can find more information about The Running Kind here. https://therunningkind.net/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/therunningkind/ @therunningkind_ Aimee Kohler  Founder of The Running Kind @aimskoh Produced by Aimee Kohler Music Dim Red Light by Don Dilego  

Summit For Her is a celebration at the intersection of women in running and sustainability in sport! We are excited to join forces for International Women's Day on March 8th, 2026 with Trail Sisters, Emmaus Run Inn & HOKA. We are not only celebrating women in the sport, but also Trail Sisters 10th anniversary! As a women-owned organization, it has always been a priority for Trail Sisters to break down barriers for women in trail running. That combined with The Running Kind's passion for connecting runners to more sustainably driven solutions lives at the intersection of feminism in sport. AND NOW we are excited to give you a day to celebrate that with us! Gina Lucrezi has always been stubborn and bold, so when it came to advocating for women's rights and equality in the outdoors, she was bound to make changes. As the founder of Trail Sisters, Gina's goal is to grow participation and opportunity in women's trail running. Gina is also County Commissioner for Chaffee County, Colorado, an active member and former Vice President of Chaffee County Search & Rescue - North, and Race Director for the Lake Sonoma 100k, 50k, and Trail Sisters Half Marathon. Erin Azar is a self-proclaimed struggle runner. She started her journey in running after having her third child and has quickly become a social media personality and inspiration for runners all over the world. She is the host of "Non-Members Only" podcast where she is notorious for her honesty and transparency in her run journey. Sharon Tejada is heavily involved in the Philadelphia running community. She is the Treasurer and a run leader of Queer Run, which empowers LGBTQIA+ runners to show up authentically, connect in community and thrive in the sport, from pavement, to trail, to starting lines. She is also the Treasurer of Women in Ultrarunning, and runs with many other run clubs in the city. Sharon earned her RRCA coaching certification through the Game Changers program, which brings in more Women of Color as Certified Run Coaches, thus redefining who is seen as the experts and leaders in the run industry. She is the owner and coach of Purple Runner Performance, LLC, where she empowers athletes of all abilities to thrive in their training through personalized coaching that fits running into life, instead of life into running.