Along the way, many have offered me platforms to stand on as a young athlete, student of exercise physiology, entrepreneur, and Coach. Becoming a professional dedicated Coach to endurance athletes thankfully didn’t happen overnight. It happened over years of learning, listening, doing, racing, training, loving, suffering, understanding, not understanding, testing and embracing. My expertise as a Coach comes from years of being a sponge to information and hundreds of endurance races and thousands of training hours, mentors sharing, coaches guiding me and teachers teaching me. As ancient as the concept of “endurance” is, we are all still learning how the pieces of the puzzle fit together. But, what we know for sure is the individuality of prescribing progressive training concepts to athletes matters most. In fact, only matters. And to those that instilled knowledge in me, I am forever grateful. My goal is now to carefully pass along this knowledge to athletes with endurance goals of any nature and to explain the big picture as much as to communicate the minutiae of details. This approach reaches far beyond training plans and workouts. It goes deeper than files and Garmins. It starts with a relationship based on trust, communication, and sliding pegs in sand. It covers lifestyle, time constraints, bodily constraints, nutrition, global wellness, hormonal balance, community engagement, and a true honest real connection with purpose. My longevity in this sport comes from an ebb and flow of priorities and commitment routed in purpose and drive. Everyone deserves to experience something sustainable.

To touch on my experience: I am the founder of Brite Coaching. I spent 18+ years racing as a pro cyclist and triathlete while living in Vancouver, BC. I have a degree from McGill University in Exercise Science coupled with a Training Peaks Coaching Certification and USAT Coach Certification if that matters. My real experience and knowledge is based on being in the trenches with 42 IRONMAN (7 times at the Hawaii Ironman World Championships), countless Half IM, marathons, 10km, adventure races, swim runs, road cycling races, and criterium, road cycling stage races, nordic skiing loppets and now, more often than not, snowshoe extravaganzas with my golden retriever.

In the fall of 2014, I launched an indoor cycling program for cyclists, triathletes, and mountain bikers. The success of this program spun off into specialized training camps, beginner workshops, women’s only cycling programs, corporate coaching, and team coaching. With the rise in Zwift and various training apps, we wrapped this program up to embrace the new training habits of time-starved athletes. I work best with corporate executives, highly functioning individuals, and spirited athletes determined to work on something together.

  • KAREN THIBODEAU

    Karen has always been passionate about sport, and all aspects of healthy living. Her early love for training and competition started as a competitive swimmer. Swimming eventually earned me an athletic scholarship to the University of Pittsburgh, where she obtained a BS in exercise physiology. 

    Several years later she was introduced to the world of biking and running and found herself in the fortunate position to pursue a career in Triathlon. Karen competed as a professional long-distance triathlete for 7 years. Career highlights include two 2nd place finishes at Ironman Canada and representing Canada at the World Championships in 2017.

    However, above and beyond personal athletic success it has been the sports community and its like-minded players that have imprinted her life in meaningful ways. For this reason, Karen is passionate about coaching others, not only to achieve personal success but to cultivate an environment that provides a similar sense of connection and community. 

    When not training you can find Karen working as a nurse in the areas of mental health, addictions, and obesity medicine.

  • GINA GRAIN

    Gina Grain has been a member of the Brite Coaching Team for the past 10 years. Gina holds numerous roles with Brite including our resident Sports Scientist, Strength & Condition Coach and resource for specific power, strength, endurance assessments.

    Gina also runs TWG Sports (Train With Grain), as a team member of Brite she works with 99% of the athletes we lead from an assessment and strength perspective. Due to the changing world we live in right now, Gina has opened up some of her precious time to take on a small handful of athletes to coach from both an endurance and strength perspective. For more information about her services and rates, please contact us.

    Background: Gina is a track cycling Olympian and professional racer, with numerous international titles and Canadian championships. Complimenting her professional cycling career, Gina holds her Masters degree in Exercise Science and Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology. She is a certified Strength and Conditioning Coach with the National Strength and Conditioning Association and a Certified Speed and Agility Coach.

  • ELEANOR ROBERTS

    Ellie (Eleanor) is a graduate from the University of British Columbia where she completed her undergraduate degree in Kinesiology and Master degree in Management. As a child she was heavily immersed in yoga, dance, soccer and horseback riding, but ask her about most sports and she has at least tried them. In her spare time has competed in several half marathons and is currently an elite cyclist racing in North America.

    Certification: British Columbia Association of Kinesiologists Registered Kinesiologist (BCAK)

    - RYT 300hr

    - Mat Pilates 60hr

    - Pelvic Health Solutions

    - Pelvic Floor Prenatal Physical Institute Pilates

    - Bike Fit Level 1

    - NCCP Level 1

  • MCKENZIE SUMMERS

    McKenzie was a competitive swimmer for 17 years and swam on the UBC varsity swim team from 2013-2018. Now retired from competitive swimming, McKenzie has a love for coaching the sport and has been coaching since 2018. Outside of the pool or ocean, McKenzie is a registered physiotherapist working at Metrotown Orthopaedic and Sports Physiotherapy Clinic, and fascinated with rehabilitation of sports injuries, and injury prevention in all athletes. 

  • ADRIAN

  • SEAN

  • ALLAN P