Coach Stephanie VandenBerg is a native of the northeast region, a “South Jersey Mother Runner” living outside Philadelphia on the Jersey Shore with her husband and four incredible kiddos!
Steph is our in-house strength training queen, and loves bringing her passion and expertise to all of her 1:1 athletes as well as to our entire team with thoughtful monthly programming, mobility and core workouts that serve to make us all stronger, more powerful and resilient runners. We are so lucky to have her on our team!!
Read Below to learn some fun facts about Coach Steph! You can also learn more by following her on instagram at @southjersey_motherrunner. She would love to hear from you if you have questions or are interested in working with her either 1:1 for comprehensive run coaching or via a monthly strength training subscription! You can email her directly at steph@paceofme.com, any time!
Coaching Style
Steph describes her coaching style as being centered on flexibility and trust. She strongly believes that achieving success requires us to adjust to schedule changes that arise when life presents challenges or opportunities. Steph encourages all of her athletes to embrace their lives beyond running while still trusting the process with their training.
Favorite Workout
Coach Steph’s favorite workout to program is a series of descending marathon-paced miles during a long run. By beginning with miles that are slower than your goal pace, you’ll learn how to pace yourself effectively for race day. This workout truly challenges your patience and encourages you to focus on starting off slow to achieve a faster finish!
Running Playlist
Coach Steph listens to a wide variety of music including songs from the 90s (her favorite!) or country. She also loves listening to podcasts to learn and laugh while on the run. Ali on the Run, The Drop, Nobody Asked Us, Fuel for the Sole and I’ll Have Another are her very favorites!
Words of Encouragement from Coach Steph!
“Fuel is cool. If I have learned anything in my running career, it is that we need to nourish our bodies properly in order to perform well. One of my favorite parts of coaching is helping others learn to fuel better before, during and after the run. Fueling not only helps us to feel better during the run, but it also helps us to recover faster. I truly love helping my athletes learn how to fuel and perform!”
Coaching Experience + Running Inspo
Steph has been coaching runners from entry level to advanced since 2019, and is a certified running coach through both RRCA and VDOT02. She is also an ISSA Certified Personal Trainer!
Steph has been running since she was 14 years old, running her first marathon in 2010 and competing in her first Boston Marathon in 2014. Since then, she has continued to race distances from the marathon to the 5k along the way, all while having four kids (she is a true expert in postpartum running!) in a span of 6 years. Steph just ran a marathon PR of 3:07 at the Louisiana Marathon and is gearing up for her 4th Boston Marathon this spring!
In the Media!
Runner’s Round Table with Stephanie Diaz, Season 6 – Episode 10: In this episode Coach Steph shares some of her favorite running memories and opens up about how her personal journey with food and body image taught her the importance and power of fueling and self love. Steph shares why she believes FUEL IS COOL and how this became her mantra. This conversation is brave, inspiring and thoughtful.
