Summer Speed Society: A 12-Week Group Running Program for Bay Area Women
If you have been waiting for the right time to get serious about your running — to train with intention, fuel better, and actually show up for a fall race — this is it.
Summer Speed Society is a 12-week group running program built specifically for women. Three tracks. One community. A live interactive hub that holds your entire program. And a fueling calculator that takes the guesswork out of what to eat before, during, and after every single session.
It starts May 25, 2026. Registration is open now.
What Is Summer Speed Society?
Summer Speed Society is a structured, coach-led group running program designed for women at every level of running experience. Whether you are training for the Monterey Bay Half Marathon, trying to build consistent mileage for the first time, or starting from a walk-run foundation — there is a track built for where you are right now.
The program runs for 12 weeks from May 25 through August 16, 2026. Every participant trains inside a shared program hub, follows a periodized training plan specific to their track, and is part of a private WhatsApp community with weekly coaching, goals, and accountability.
This is not a PDF you download and forget about. It is a live, organized system you actually use.
The Three Tracks
Summer Speed Society has three training tracks. Every participant has access to all three — so as your fitness evolves, the program evolves with you.
⚡ Speed Track
The Speed Track is designed for women who are running consistently and want to get genuinely faster this summer. If you have a fall half marathon or full marathon on the calendar — or you want one — this track builds the running economy to get you there.
Quality sessions progress week by week: strides, hill sprints, 400m repeats, 800m repeats, tempo work, and 1K repeats. Week 3 is your 400m baseline session — save your splits, because you run the same workout again in Week 11 to see exactly how much faster you have gotten.
Ideal for: Women running 3-5 days per week with a fall race goal, such as the Monterey Bay Half Marathon or Big Sur Marathon.
🌱 Base Builder
The Base Builder track is for women who run casually and want real structure. Maybe you have run before, took time off, and are rebuilding. Maybe you have never had a plan that actually fit your life.
This track builds you from wherever you are to running 4-5 days per week by Week 12 — with progressive easy runs, a climbing long run, and strength work that supports every mile.
Ideal for: Women who run 1-3 days per week and want consistency, structure, and a solid foundation for fall training.
🚶 Walk to Run
The Walk to Run track is for women who cannot yet sustain 20 minutes of continuous running. By Week 12, you will run 45-60 minutes without stopping.
The track uses structured walk/run intervals in Phase 1, eliminates walk breaks in Phase 2, and builds progressively toward a Week 11 goal run. It works because it is progressive, specific, and it meets you exactly where you are.
Ideal for: Women new to running or returning after a long break who want a structured, proven path to continuous running.
What the Program Includes
A Live Interactive Program Hub
Your training plan lives in a custom-built mobile-friendly website — not a PDF, not a Google doc, not a screenshot in your camera roll.
Every week you open the hub and find your full training plan: your running sessions for the week with coaching notes and RPE targets, your Strength A and Strength B sessions with every exercise, sets, reps, and coaching cues, your weekly nutrition topic, and your community goal for the WhatsApp group.
The hub is organized by track and by week. You toggle to your track, select your week, and everything is right there.
Strength Training
Every participant does two strength sessions per week — Session A on Wednesday (squat dominant) and Session B on Friday (hinge dominant). Home and gym options are provided for every exercise.
Every session ends with the lower leg protocol: single-leg calf raises, tibialis raises, banded lateral walks, and single-leg balance. This is the work that keeps runners healthy over 12 weeks of progressive training. It is non-negotiable.
Strength progressions are periodized across four phases, with a Green/Yellow/Red light system that helps you scale each session based on how your body feels that day.
Nutrition Education
Nutrition is built into the program week by week — not as a separate module to get through, but connected directly to what you are training that week.
The 12-week nutrition arc covers:
Week 1: Protein — the non-negotiable
Week 2: Carbohydrates — your running fuel
Week 3: Pre-run fueling
Week 4: Hydration strategy
Week 5: Electrolytes
Week 6: Post-run recovery nutrition
Week 7: Fueling for long runs
Week 8: Deload week nutrition
Week 9: Race week nutrition
Week 10: Periodized nutrition
Week 11: Anti-inflammatory eating
Week 12: Fall fueling foundation
This is not a meal plan. It is 12 weeks of education that builds a complete fueling system you carry into fall training.
The Fueling Calculator
Embedded directly in the program hub is a personalized fueling calculator. This is one of the most useful tools in the program — and it is built into every week so you never have to go hunting for it.
Here is what makes it different from a generic nutrition calculator:
You enter your body weight and your session type — run day, lift day, run and lift the same day, or race day — and the calculator builds your exact targets for every fueling window. Pre-workout carbs, protein, and fat. During-session carbohydrate targets. Post-workout recovery nutrition. And on a doubles day — a day when you run and lift — it breaks down your between-session refuel specifically, because that window is the most important eating moment of the day and most runners skip it.
Not a generic formula. Your numbers, your session, your body.
Private WhatsApp Community
The WhatsApp group is where this program actually lives.
Every Monday morning you receive a coaching message with the week theme, track-specific training callouts, and your community goal for the week. The group is one community — all three tracks together — which means you are running alongside women at every level, sharing wins, checking in, and holding each other accountable.
If you are local to the Bay Area, the WhatsApp community also opens the door to in-person group runs. This is one of the best parts of a local program — you are not training alone.
Community Race Week — Week 9
Week 9 is community race week. Every athlete in Summer Speed Society races — Speed Track, Base Builder, and Walk to Run. The distance does not matter. Showing up does.
No official race near you? Set up your own time trial. Mark a distance, warm up properly, and race yourself. The point is effort, celebration, and sharing the result with the group.
This is supposed to be fun.
A Client Portal
Every participant gets access to a ThriveCart Learn portal that organizes all program resources in one place: your track PDF, nutrition guides, Garmin workout builder guide, race week protocol, fueling calculator, and what comes next after 12 weeks.
You never have to hunt for anything. It is all there, organized, waiting for you.
A Plan for Real Life
Life happens during a 12-week program. Travel weeks, family commitments, getting sick — these are not program failures, they are just life.
Summer Speed Society includes specific guidance for stepping away and coming back without losing your progress. One week off? Two? Three? The program tells you exactly where to pick back up and how to re-enter so your first week back does not wreck you.
Is This Program Right for You?
Summer Speed Society is built for women who want to train with real intention this summer and arrive at fall training — or at their fall race — already ahead.
It is right for you if:
You are training for the Monterey Bay Half Marathon, the Big Sur Marathon, or any fall race and want a structured summer build
You are a Bay Area runner who wants to train alongside other women and potentially run together in person
You want to lift consistently alongside your running without guessing how the two fit together
You want to understand nutrition — not follow a meal plan, but actually understand how to fuel your training
You are building from a walk-run foundation and want a progressive, proven path to continuous running
It is not right for you if you want someone to tell you exactly what to eat every day, if you are looking for a one-on-one coaching relationship, or if you are not willing to show up for the community. This program works because the community shows up. That is the deal.
Monterey Bay Half Marathon Training
The Monterey Bay Half Marathon is one of the most popular fall races for Bay Area runners. If this is on your calendar — or you are thinking about registering — Summer Speed Society is designed to be the summer bridge between where you are now and where you need to be in September.
The Speed Track builds running economy through the exact stimulus that prepares you for half marathon racing: progressive interval work at 5K-10K effort, tempo sessions, and a peak long run in Week 7. The deload in Week 8 and community race in Week 9 give you a race experience and a recovery window before the final weeks of the program.
By the time you start your fall race-specific training, your aerobic base will be stronger, your lactate threshold will be higher, and your legs will know what fast feels like. That is what summer training is for.
Program Details
Start date: May 25, 2026 Duration: 12 weeks (ends August 16, 2026) Investment: $129/month × 3 months Community: Private WhatsApp group Tracks: Speed, Base Builder, Walk to Run Location: Online — open to women everywhere. Bay Area runners welcome to join group runs. Registration: Open now at coachkirsten.co
About Coach Kirsten
Coach Kirsten is an online personal trainer, nutrition coach, and running coach based in the Bay Area. She specializes in periodized nutrition and training for women runners, with a focus on helping women build sustainable performance without burning out.
She is a former collegiate athlete, a marathon and half marathon runner, and a mom of three. She has hypothyroidism and brings a lived understanding of women's health to every program she builds.
Summer Speed Society is built around her coaching philosophy: science-backed, periodized, and built for real life. Strength and running in a system that actually works together. Nutrition that educates instead of restricts. Community that shows up.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a gym? No. Every strength exercise has a home option and a gym option. You need dumbbells, a resistance band, and a step or stairs.
What if I miss a week? The program includes specific guidance for stepping away and coming back. One week off, two, even three — there is a re-entry plan for each scenario.
Which track should I choose? If you can run 30+ minutes continuously and have a fall race goal, start with the Speed Track. If you run casually and want more structure, start with Base Builder. If you cannot yet sustain 20 minutes of continuous running, Walk to Run is built for you. Not sure? DM Coach Kirsten directly — she will tell you in two minutes.
Can I do this if I am training for a specific race like the Monterey Bay Half Marathon? Yes. The Speed Track is designed as a summer build for exactly this scenario. Your fall race-specific training starts after Week 12 — and you will enter it from a stronger position.
Is this only for Bay Area runners? No. The program is online and open to women everywhere. Bay Area runners have the added opportunity to run together in person through the WhatsApp community.
What happens after 12 weeks? The program closes with a fall training bridge — specific guidance for each track on what comes next based on your fall goals. Participants also receive a 20% discount on 1:1 coaching with Coach Kirsten.
Registration for Summer Speed Society is open now. We start May 25. Link in bio or visit coachkirsten.co to register.
If you have questions, DM Coach Kirsten on Instagram at @coachkirsten.co. She responds personally to every message.
