This lawyer has no regrets about pursuing a career as a running coach
When people asked Lisa Levin why she stopped practicing law after investing so much time, money and effort into a Duke University School of Law degree, she wondered if she was racing the right course as a running coach.
Initially a passion project, the company Run Farther & Faster, co-founded by Levin in 2009, has allowed the former Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld associate to help runners achieve their goals while utilizing the knowledge she developed as an attorney.
“Not for a moment did I ever regret going to law school,” Levin says. “Going to law school gave me so many important skills and relationships … I built all the skills I still use today.”
Still, Levin, 51, faces questions about whether she’ll return to practicing law.
“My answer now is no. Why would I do that?” she says. “I absolutely took the right path. I do what I love. I wake up every morning and I’m excited to check in on the runners, see what they’re doing and run our business … I have no regrets.”
A 1999 law school graduate, the self-described nonathlete began running her first year of law school. What started as a way to relieve stress led to entering races, and she’s completed roughly 45 marathons since 2000.
Levin also worked as the law school recruiting coordinator at Jones Day. She took a break from her career in 2006, after the birth of her twins, and stayed at home to raise her children.
She later had a third child, and besides training requests from fellow runners, Levin was asked by a community organization to develop a running program in Montgomery County, Maryland, where she lives.
She obtained her coaching certificate from the Road Runners Club of America and with her business partner founded Run Farther & Faster.
“When we started Run Farther & Faster, it was a passion project, just to get some groups together and introduce them to running,” Levin says. “Over time, what we started shifting towards was a one-on-one virtual coaching.”
Growing from roughly 20 clients to more than 100, this latest model has allowed Levin to expand her coaching internationally. For one-on-one coaching, clients pay a monthly fee of $195. It includes a customized training plan, monitoring with consistent feedback, race day prep and access to a network of experts. Due to high demand, at press time, would-be clients must join a waitlist. Her business also does group training with corporations and other organizations.
Of its clientele, a significant percentage are lawyers. Allison Cohen, a Washington, D.C., regulatory attorney specializing in health law, began training under Levin in early 2023 as she prepared for the Berlin Marathon.
Cohen says Levin recognizes the scheduling demands of legal professionals. “She’s been in this world, and she understands how that works. It doesn’t mean that you don’t care or you’re not committed, but it just means maybe a modification during the week.”
This story was originally published in the June-July 2025 issue of the ABA Journal under the headline: “On the Right Track: This lawyer says she has no regrets about pursuing a career as a running coach.”
Write a letter to the editor, share a story tip or update, or report an error.
