Today we’d like to introduce you to Carina Heilner
Hi Carina, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Carina Heilner I am 44 years old, I’ve been married to my amazing husband, Stephan, for 23 years. Together, we have five incredible kids, ages 21, 19, 16, 12, and 9, they keep life busy, loud, and full of love!
My running journey began at 27, at a time when I was struggling to find connection after moving to a new place. A few women in my neighborhood were training for a half marathon, and my husband encouraged me to join them. The truth? I hated running. But I was that desperate to make friends. 😂 What started as a social effort turned into a lifelong passion. Since then, I’ve run 28 marathons, countless half marathons and races, and have pushed my limits to achieve a marathon PR of 2:47 and a half marathon PR of 1:16.
Beyond running, I love spending time with family and friends, shopping (fashion is a guilty pleasure!), traveling, hiking, biking, and generally spending time outdoors.
But my journey hasn’t been without challenges. After having my fifth baby in 2015, I suffered a devastating injury that left me unable to run, or even move without pain. It was one of the darkest times of my life. I saw countless doctors, physical therapists, chiropractors, and even tried expensive treatments like PRP and stem cell injections. Nothing worked. I was told I’d never run again, and my heart shattered.
After a year of searching for answers, I found a physical therapist in Australia. He taught me the tools I needed to heal, and within three months, I was pain-free and running better than ever. That experience changed everything. I knew I had to share these tools with others, so no one else would have to endure what I did. I trained under that Physical therapist, and now I get to help other runners move pain-free, run efficiently, and unlock their full potential and love of running.
At Running Form Fitness, in addition to personalized run coaching, we help runners and active individuals overcome preventable injuries by retraining movement patterns. Many people unknowingly develop compensatory movement habits that lead to pain and instability. Our approach focuses on reprogramming the brain to activate the right muscles in the right sequence, ensuring efficient, pain-free movement. Through targeted exercises, we help clients restore proper mechanics, build strength, and move with confidence in both running and daily life.
I’m deeply passionate about teaching proper running form and injury prevention, helping runners stay strong, and ensuring their bodies move well for life.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I’ve faced my fair share of challenges, both in running and in business.
I’ve already shared the devastating injury that nearly ended my running journey, which was one of the hardest things I’ve ever endured. But that wasn’t my only battle. In 2018, I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. Through diet and exercise, I was able to achieve remission naturally, but in 2020, it came back with a vengeance. I tried everything, natural methods, working with a naturopath, but it reached a point where even my doctor warned me that if I didn’t get into remission soon, my life was at risk.
After cycling through multiple medications, I finally found one that worked. Now, every eight weeks, I receive an infusion of Remicade, an immunosuppressant. It’s not perfect, I never feel 100%, but most days, I’m at about 80-90%, which I consider a win.
Running a business while raising five kids is absolutely chaotic, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything! I love what I do, and that passion makes the challenges, like navigating social media and learning new technology, completely worth it. I feel called to share the tools I’ve learned with as many runners as possible, not just to help them reach their running potential, but to improve their overall quality of life.
Understanding how to move efficiently and use your body correctly isn’t just about running, it’s about longevity and freedom. Proper movement doesn’t just prevent running injuries; it helps prevent the aches and pains that come with aging. Whether it’s picking up your kids (or grandkids), carrying groceries, doing laundry, or simply moving through daily life, so many people suffer injuries because they don’t know how to engage the right muscles. My mission is to change that.
If I can help runners stay strong and keep moving pain-free for life, then every challenge I’ve faced has been worth it.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Running Form Fitness?
Running Form Fitness is built on two core principles: helping runners move pain-free and coaching them to reach their full potential.
1. Movement Remapping & Injury Prevention
I started this business because I saw so many runners, myself included, suffering from preventable injuries simply because they weren’t utilizing their bodies the way they were designed to. When I was recovering from my pelvic injury after my fifth baby, I worked with countless doctors and physical therapists. They all focused on treating my pubic bone pain, but none of them addressed the underlying issue.
The real problem wasn’t just the pain in my pelvis, it was a breakdown in my movement patterns. My body had lost the ability to stabilize my pelvis because the necessary muscles weren’t firing together. I was told I needed a strong core and glutes, and I spent months strengthening them, but the pain persisted. Why? Because those muscles still weren’t working together the way they were meant to.
This happens to so many people, whether from injury, pregnancy, poor movement habits, or simply aging. Over time, we unknowingly develop compensatory movement patterns, and those patterns become ingrained in our brain. Even if they aren’t efficient or safe, they become our default way of moving.
This is where Running Form Fitness comes in. We specialize in retraining movement patterns so runners (and non-runners alike) can activate the correct muscles, stabilize the pelvis, and move efficiently. Through deliberate, slow, and specific exercises, we reprogram the brain to send the right signals, ensuring the feet connect with the ground, sending the activation up the nerve chain to fire the glutes and core together. Once proper movement is established, we can safely add load (weight) to reinforce these patterns, so they become second nature in both running and daily movement.
2. Personalized Run Coaching
The second pillar of Running Form Fitness is run coaching. With 15+ years of marathon experience, 28 marathons completed, 13 of them under 3 hours, and countless other races under my belt, I have tested and studied a wide range of training methods. I know what works. I know how to build a training plan that prepares runners for any race distance, and, just as importantly, how to adjust when unexpected setbacks happen.
I love helping runners train intelligently and efficiently so they can reach their full potential without burnout or injury. One of my strengths as a coach is assessing a runner’s fitness level based on training paces, I can almost always predict within five minutes what someone’s marathon time will be.
Helping runners achieve their goals is just as fulfilling to me as achieving my own. Whether you’re aiming for your first finish line or a PR, I’m here to help you train smarter, run stronger, and stay injury-free.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
First and foremost, my relationship with my Heavenly Father is the foundation of everything in my life. He is my source of strength, wisdom, and purpose. A close second is my family, they mean the world to me, and I cherish every moment with them.
Relationships, in general, hold incredible value to me because I truly believe they are one of the few things we take with us beyond this life. The other? Knowledge. I have a deep love for learning and growing, and I see both relationships and knowledge as lifelong treasures that shape who we are and who we become.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://runningformfitness.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/runningformfitness/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100086850936957
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@runningformfitness5180
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@runningformfitness
