LRC Distance Program | Lakeland, FL

Sarah Kozul, RRCA Level II Adult Endurance and Youth Coach

Sarah began running in 2010 to celebrate turning 40, inspired by a fellow twin mom who challenged her to train for a half marathon. What started as a one‑month experiment to “make sure she wouldn’t hurt her knees” became a lifelong passion. Fourteen years and more than 20,000 miles later, she still loves the structure, the science, and the sense of discovery that running brings.

Raised on a farm in Missouri, Sarah didn’t grow up running — unless you count chasing hogs, cattle, or siblings. As an adult, running became her way to explore new places, stay healthy, and build community. She has lived in Missouri, Texas, Virginia, and now Florida, where she has coached with the Lakeland Runners Club since 2016. She has led 5k, 10k, and half marathon programs, coached middle school cross country (including her own twin daughters), and watched countless runners grow in confidence, strength, and joy.

Sarah is trained in the Galloway run‑walk‑run method, serves as the Southern Region Director on the RRCA Board of Directors, and has completed 25 marathons across 14 states and Europe. Her most meaningful race was a comeback marathon in 2023 after a 2018 back surgery — a reminder that progress isn’t linear, and resilience is built one step at a time.

She loves exploring new routes, never listens to music while running, and has ran all 1,666 streets of Lakeland — a 14‑year project fueled by curiosity and a commitment to keep showing up.

Sarah's Coaching Philosophy

Practical, evidence‑based training grounded in the principles of Daniels, Pfitzinger, Lydiard, Magness, and Galloway, balanced with the latest scientific research. No gimmicks. No shortcuts. Just consistency, clarity, and care.

Training should support your life, not take it over. Plans are flexible, adaptable, and built around your real‑world schedule.

Success is more than a finish time. It’s about learning, growing, and finding joy in the process. When you look back, Sarah wants you to remember the friendships, the confidence, and the sense of fulfillment that running brought into your life.

Safety: guidelines for group runs and running alone.

Setbacks: prevention and comebacks 

Training Progressions: volume vs speed, pace charts, using run-walk-run

Nutrition: fueling & hydration for longer distances

How You Move: form, mobility, stretching, strength, cross training 

What You Wear: shoes, tech, apparel

Training You: differences for age and gender

Goal Setting: setting A, B, C goals

Peaking & Tapering: the hay is in the barn/you can't cram for a race

Race Instructions: minimize race day stress 

The Long Game: where to go from here

Pace groups. We plan to have a broad range of pace groups (5k times of ~ 24:00 to walkers), but depending on the size of the group and where your pace falls on the normal distribution of paces, there may or may not be someone that has the exact same training pace as you. If you want to make sure you have a training buddy - invite a friend to join the program with you! 

Map Skills. The route for the Saturday run will be communicated to the group each week. While we will have volunteers scattered through the pace range, you are responsible for reviewing and knowing the route. Lakeland is a RRCA Runner Friendly Community and we will explore in all directions from the library.

Our training advice is limited to running. We are not doctors, physical therapists, or registered dieticians. We will give you general advice on these topics as it relates to running, but we cannot diagnose or write treatment plans for you.

Shoes. If you can't remember how old your trainers are, or you've been running consistently for 3-6 months, and haven't gotten a new pair, consider a new pair to reduce injury risk and general aches caused by worn-out gear.