2025 March VFE Featured Athlete – Nicole Castillo; Sport – Road/Trail Runner; Run Coach

It was one of those things that I just didn’t get. It was one of those things that was never going to be me. I have been out on the course of LA Marathon quite a bit in my teens, being one of the spectators, and not really even wanting to be there, but I had to be: My dad was running the marathon. I didn’t get it. And it was never going to be me.

Fast forward many years later, running found me, and it was almost accidental. I initially first started to run as a form of exercise and to lose the weight from going away to college. I was content with my daily twenty minute runs. It didn’t matter how much I drank the night before, how much sleep I got, I made sure to get out for my morning runs along the beach path in Long Beach, usually greeted by the sunrise and salt air.

My dad would join me on my Sunday runs, not knowing that people usually had something called a long run on the weekend. He signed us up for the Long Beach Half Marathon in 2013, and it changed everything.

You learn a lot about yourself when you’re out there, doing things that you never thought you would do, or could do. Before I knew it was signing up for half marathon after half marathon, and eventually the elusive marathon, all without a coach. I had fallen in love with the sport. It was showing me that I could do hard things.

In 2016, I had one of the biggest transformations of my life—something else that I didn’t think was ever going to be me. I made the decision to finally become sober. Alcohol had taken enough away from my life, and I was going down a really hard path. In the beginning of sobriety, I thought it was the end of my life, because that’s what it felt like. But once again, running was there for me. I leaned back into that space and started to find my way back to myself.

I got a job, I was getting my life back, and I got a coach. This was important, because I had someone there that I trusted with something that I cared about so much, and eventually inspired me to also become a coach. I have been a run coach since 2018, and later joined the Rising Mountains Coaching team in 2022, where I now coach alongside other run coaches. Talk about a rewarding job. One of the reasons why I love this job is because I get it. I understand the clients, because I too am a runner. As a run coach, I experience or have experienced many of the same hardships, joy, heartbreak that they do.

Since I have started running I have ran many different distances in both the roads and trails, enjoying the day in and day out; the grind so to speak. And with all of that wear and tear on the body, I knew I needed to give more attention to do. After all, I ask so much of it, I needed to give back. I was lucky enough in 2021 to find Vision for Enrichment. I started working with Rich and continued to see him twice a month for a couple of years. I now have transitioned over to Phil, and still keep that consistency, because it’s so important to keep my body healthy and moving. Even if some of the sessions are hard to handle, I always walk away feeling better and more open within in my own muscles and body. The thing about VFE, is that it isn’t just a place where I get body work done. It’s a caring community and welcoming atmosphere, which aligns with my own work ethic. It’s why I keep going back.

Along with running and run coaching, I am a yoga instructor, which has also helped me stay grounded throughout everything. Movement in the body is one of my tools in my toolbox. I am grateful for it every day. I’m not quite sure what racing and running will look like in the near future. But one thing that I do know is that as long as it brings me joy, I will keep doing it, regardless of how things have changed. I still have goals, and with VFE on my side, it just makes things that much easier to tackle from day to day. And you better believe there will be many more of those sunrises met with moving one foot in front of the other.