What’s Up & Running? | Up & Running

Up & Running is a movement. A mantra. And a belief.

It’s a portal to exhilarating growth & transformation — the kind that happens when you get off the couch, out of your head, and back into your body.

We offer e-courses for super-new and seasoned runners tackling 5K, 10K, and half-marathon runs — and training guides to keep the momentum rolling, between races. We’ve got a vibrant members forum for our e-course rockstars. Free wisdom, on our blog. And a big mission to fulfill — one million women, Up & Running.

Whether you’re in Australia or Antarctica — and whether you’re a size 2 or a size 26 — our practical & passionate programs will get you on your feet, out the door, and into the world.

Just trust us. You’ll see.

Meet Your Makers

Up & Running was created by expert Running Coach Julia Jones (an American in Italy) and Community Director Shauna Reid (an Australian in Scotland).

Our virtual friendship began in 2001 when Shauna posted her now-infamous Things To Do When I’m Skinny list on her blog, The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl. #1 on the round-up of skinny-activities? “RUN!”

Julia (a big-time blog-fan & admirer) convinced Shauna that she didn’t need to be “skinny” to start running, and nudged a reluctant Shauna into her first 5K training program.

Shauna said YES. Then what-the-eff-have-I-done. Then sweet-Jesus-I’ve-DONE-it!

A decade of emails, virtual coaching calls and platonic love notes later, Julia pitched Shauna a bold new idea: an online coaching website for women who want to transform their bodies, and take their lives to a gorgeous new level. Long-distance running meets personal development, with e-courses & goodies & forums, galore!

Shauna said YES. Then no-thank-you-just-kidding. Then swung back, with a resounding LET’S DO THIS!

We met in person for the very first time in January of 2011. Up & Running was born a month later. Since then, we’ve helped hundreds of women run, walk, skip and sprint over all kinds of finish lines — building not only strong bodies, but self-worth & courage.

Not bad for two ladies, a pair of laptops, and a dream.

About Julia Jones

Running Coach. Wine lover. One-time Lady Universe crown-holder. (Long story.)

For over ten years, I’ve trained thousands of people to achieve their big, bodacious, braver-than-brave running goals, from the 5K to the marathon. Running is my livelihood, my legacy — and a perpetual lesson in mindfulness and presence.

I grew up in Marin County, California in an outdoorsy, granola-munching, ocean-dipping family. A visit to Italy at age seventeen opened my eyes to an intoxicating new world — women who smoked, who wore eyeliner, pencil-thin heels, and rode on the back of their boyfriend’s Vespas.
I wanted IN. And I found a way.

I spent the ‘80s living & working like a modern-day Renaissance woman — leaping into every opportunity (until the next grand adventure came along.) My degree in Italian Literature allowed me to work as a translator, as a VJ for the Italian equivalent of MTV, in the world of high-fashion textile sales, and as a plus-size model for Valentino, Versace, and other couture virtuosos. I even worked the Italian pageant circuit, earning the lofty title of Lady Universe — tiara, and all.

Then, a fateful trip to NYC in ‘86 brought me to the finish line of the New York City Marathon. I stood, mesmerized, and watched the race for five hours — smoking a cigarette (oh, the sweet irony). Just watching the runners filled me with a sense of electricity & power.

And I thought, How would it feel to actually RUN?

Today, running is the love of my life — next to my husband & two children, of course. I’ve now run 33 marathons, numerous triathlons and a half Ironman. I write a monthly column in Italy’s most popular running magazine, I’ve penned a bestselling book, and I’m the creator of a women’s running course with over 30,000 participants — and superstar sponsors like Nike and Avon.

Up & Running is a beautiful new addition to the life & career I’ve created — a way to bring pleasure, power & a renewed sense of purpose to women of every nationality, fitness level & size. And that means more to me than all the Lady Universe tiaras in the world. Truth.

About Shauna Reid

Community Director. Zumba zealot. Author, blogger & online jibber-jabberer.

I’m living proof that exercise can change your life.
And as the Community Director for Up & Running, I’m here to keep you inspired, connected & devoted to your goals — big, small, and supersonic.

For the first 24 years of my life, I struggled with my weight — and more importantly, with my sense of self-worth. I lived in a tiny corner of my mind, disconnected from my body — and the incredible world, outside. When I embarked on a life-saving weight loss mission in 2001, I weighed 351 pounds. Forget running a 5K — I could barely walk down my driveway.

Julia came into my life at precisely the moment I needed her, deeply — and for years, she served as my running coach, mentor & friend.

Through running, I discovered I was capable of more than I ever dreamed possible — more devotion, more distance, more strength. I soared on endorphins, and discovered new muscles. And when I crossed the finish line at my first 5K race, I bawled like a baby. It was that powerful — believe me, you’ll see.

Today, I’m a health & wellness blogger with over 11 years of posts tucked away in my archives. I’m also a published author — another one of those dreams I thought was impossible.

While cycling, yoga & Zumba are my current activities of choice, running was the portal to the life I always wanted — but didn’t think I deserved. And now, I inspire other women to walk, run & radically re-invent themselves — physically, mentally & emotionally. Dream job? That’s putting it mildly.

I’m so glad you’ve found Up & Running, and I can’t wait to meet you inside one of our stellar ecourses. Don’t be afraid if I burst into tears, when you share your finish-line success story. It’s just this thing I do. You’ll learn to love it.