I have been a runner since high school (more than 2 decades!) and have experienced all the highs and lows that sports has to offer. I've won races, lost races, hit lots of "walls" in the marathon, had long frustrating plateaus, and experienced some of the common running injuries like plantar fasciitis. I also had an "overtraining" diagnosis which was especially frustrating because there is no straightforward path to recovery. Through those experiences, I have learned 3 things:

One, runners need to be happy to succeed.
Two, you will only know how long the plateau is in hindsight.
Three, it is difficult to stay motivated when you have long term setbacks

I use these 3 learnings from my own journey, to help my athletes with theirs. Most athletes believe that you need to always be working on weaknesses, but usually our strengths are also the kinds of workouts that we enjoy so I try to prioritize these. After all, you need to enjoy the process in order to stay motivated long term and if running trails regularly makes you happy, then I'll make sure it's in your training plan... even when you are preparing for a road race!

In terms of coaching education, I have done the Athletics Club Coach Workshop for endurance coaches through Athletics Canada in November 2019 and continue to read every running book I can get my hands on. Just like in running, there is always something new to learn about being a better coach.