Chapter 01 — The Beginning
New York roots. Rugby first. Running came later.
Sierra grew up in New York. Long before marathons, there was rugby — years of semi-professional play that built the kind of physical and mental toughness you don’t learn on a treadmill.
She started running seriously in 2022. Three years later she was on the Fleet Feet Tuscaloosa Racing Team and stacking marathons. The rugby never left. It’s still in how she trains, how she races, and how she coaches.
Semi-pro rugby · before the marathons
Chapter 02 — The Credential
Moved south. Got the degree. Then did the advanced work.
Sierra left New York to pursue her Master of Science in Sport and Performance Psychology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The MS is the foundation. What came next is what sets her apart.
She delivered resilience and mental performance training to US Army soldiers and athletes — and earned her Master Resilience Trainer Level 2 certification. MRT is Army-developed, advanced-practitioner, and in the endurance space, effectively no one else holds it.
She layered on the CCWS — Certified Corporate Wellness Specialist — because the work extends beyond athletes.
Chapter 03 — The Practice
Full-time wellness at the University of Alabama.
Today Sierra is a full-time wellness professional at the University of Alabama, delivering resilience and mental performance programming to faculty and staff. The same framework that trained soldiers and athletes — now built into a university community.
This is daily reps. Thousands of touchpoints a year. The mental skills she teaches on the podcast and on race weekends aren’t theoretical. They’re what she runs on her own training blocks and what she coaches five days a week at her job.
Crimson Couch to 5K · UA wellness programming
Chapter 04 — The Proof of Concept
Eight marathons. A Boston PR. First ultra done. A hundred-miler ahead.
The credentials matter because they’re backed by the miles. Eight marathons. A Boston Marathon finish at 3:05 — a two-minute PR, Sierra’s sixth marathon and second World Major. Chicago for the first Major.
April 2026 brought the first ultra: Lake Martin 50, documented on the podcast as it happened. Next on the calendar: the Vermont 100 in July 2026.
She also got her whole family training for a marathon. That part’s not on the resume — but it says everything about how she approaches this sport.
