Working on the
Unicorn Inside

Hi, I'm Dani Raschel. I help people start running at the stage of life they were told it was too late.

In 2018, I challenged myself to run 12 5Ks in 12 Months. I wasn't a runner. I'd weighed 250 pounds — twice — and the closest I'd come to a finish line was watching other people cross theirs on Instagram. I signed up anyway.

Eight years later, I'm an official ultramarathoner. I've run marathons, halves, 10Ks, 5Ks, and I'm currently training for my first Ironman with Tri Peak Athlete Coaching. But the number that still matters most to me isn't a distance or a PR; it's the version of myself who laced up for that first 5K not knowing if she could finish.

That's who I coach.

What I Do

I'm an RRCA-certified running coach offering 1:1 custom training plans for $150/month. My clients are mostly newer runners — people chasing a first 5K, a first half, a first "I actually did that." I build plans around your life, not a template, and I coach the whole person, not just the legs.

How I Coach

I believe training is spiritual work as much as it's physical. Mileage matters, but so does the story you tell yourself on mile three when your brain says you're not built for this. That's why I integrate a personality assessment (Enneagram or Zero Risk HR, depending on what serves you) into our coaching — because the way you're wired affects how you train, recover, self-talk, and stay consistent. I want to know who you are before I tell you what to run.

My approach is a mix of softness, discipline, and a little bit of magic. The softness is the permission to start where you are. The discipline is showing up anyway. The magic is what happens on the other side of both.

A Little About the Rest of Me

I call the DFW 'burbs home, where I live with my husband, two cats, and three dogs — two Pomeranians and one All-American mutt. I'm finishing my M.S. in Communications (Strategic Communications) at the Newhouse School at Syracuse University. I believe in the restorative power of strawberry pancakes at Jackie's Ham-N-Eggs in Lewisville. And I am, always, working on the unicorn inside.

If any of this sounds like your kind of coach:

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