I first started running in high school in my native Scotland, at about the age of 12 or 13. I loved cross-country in the winter months, and in the summer back in those days I was actually a sprinter specializing in the 100 and 200 meter and 4 x 100 meter relay events. I didn’t run very much after I left school and while I was at University in Glasgow, although I did keep fit by doing step aerobics and other fitness classes. I dabbled with running again in my mid-20s, training for and twice running as part of a team in the Edinburgh Marathon Relay.

Some of the following several years were a tough time personally for me, and running took a real back seat. At the age of 35, however, I discovered my love of running again, and trained for and ran my first two half marathons. In the past ten years (I’m now 45) I have stuck with running (apart from a few short off periods here and there) and have become a huge fan of long distance running. In 2015 I joined the Glasgow-based running club, Bellahouston Harriers, and trained and competed with them until I moved to Colorado, USA in February 2020. In May 2016 I ran my first marathon (Belfast, Northern Ireland) in a time of 3:11:53, and 2016 was probably my best year of running to date – I ran my half marathon PR (Balloch to Clydebank, 1:32:05), my 10k PR (Clydebank, 39:46) and my 5k PR (Greenock Parkrun, 19:22) that year.

I have continued to run since I moved to the States in 2020, and that year I became a member of online running community / in-person race organizers RUN to Change Lives (https://runtochangelives.org/). Since the beginning of 2022 I have been lucky enough to be a RUN to Change Lives Elite Ambassador, which I absolutely love, and I’m also delighted to be involved with them behind-the-scenes on the organizational and coaching side of things. I ran my second marathon in April 2022 (Delaware Marathon Running Festival) in a time of 3:40:13. I was absolutely thrilled that this time earned me a good-for-age place at the Boston Marathon 2023. In April 2023 I completed the Boston Marathon in a time of 3:58:43, then just over a month later I completed the Denver Colfax Marathon in a time of 4:04:06. As a running coach, I would never advise a client to do two full marathons in the space of just over a month, but I decided to go against conventional wisdom and squeeze two marathons out of my Boston training. I’m glad that I did it but I wouldn’t do two marathons in such a short space of time again.

To date, in all, I have run four full marathons, fifteen half marathons, a few ten-mile road races, plus many 10ks, 5ks and cross-country races. I continue to be passionate about running, and I qualified as a Road Runners Club of America Level 1 Run Coach in June 2022. I am also a Certified Personal Trainer and Strength Coach (USA), a Level 3 Personal Trainer (UK) and I hold a few UK Fitness Instructor qualifications. I worked as a self-employed Fitness Instructor and Personal Trainer back in Scotland from November 2017 – February 2020, and also have recent experience working as an in-person Personal Trainer here in Colorado. I am delighted to say that I am now offering online Running Coach services here at Lynne Flores Running LLC – https://lynnefloresrunning.com/online-run-coaching/ . I also offer online Personal Training services (for runners and non-runners alike) – https://lynnefloresrunning.com/online-personal-training/ .

Many thanks for reading!

Lynne.

My Belfast Marathon medal (May 2016).
Representing Bellahouston Harriers at cross-country in Ayr, Scotland, December 2016. (Photo credit to Kenny Phillips.)
Approaching the finish line at the Delaware Marathon in April 2022. (Photo credit to MarathonFoto.)
Me and my husband, Max, before running the Denver Colfax Half Marathon in May 2022.

(Photos with no photo credit are my own images.)