Samyuktha Sundar
Coach
“Our running shoes have magic in them. The power to transform a bad day into a good day; frustration into speed; self-doubt into confidence; chocolate cake into muscle.” – Mina Samuels
Sam has always believed in Dreaming Big for as long as she can remember. When we set challenging goals for ourselves, commit to some serious (and fun) effort, add some accountability and throw in some creative problem-solving along the way, the sky’s the limit to what we can achieve together! Sam is not a career runner and picked up the sport for the first time in her 20s. What started as an effort to drop some weight turned into a healthy addiction to the runner’s high, fueling bigger running goals over time.
She started off with a few 5Ks and local 10Ks, but really unleashed that running bug after joining RHWB, with some Half Marathons and 2 Full Marathons (Chicago in 2023 and Bayshore in 2024) over the last decade. She faced her share of hurdles, including a hip flexor injury and chronic Plantar Fasciitis, but has worked through them by incorporating a continued focus on strengthening in order to achieve her long-distance running goals. Running is now a key part of her daily routines offering not just fitness benefits but also much needed mental breaks to recharge from her ambitious, fun and jam-packed schedule.
When she’s not out on a run (with air pods on, listening to long audiobooks, podcasts or high BPM music playlists), Sam works as a Digital Product Manager for Bank of America in the AI space.
She also co-leads the Community pillar for the Asian Leadership Network at Bank of America, allowing her to work closely with Asian non-profits in the Greater Charlotte Metro area.
She also plays Table Tennis and competes in local tournaments but is finding herself lacing up her running shoes and heading to local trails over picking up her racket recently – but she’s always up for a TT challenge!
Sam and her husband, Chris (also a member of RHWB) live in Charlotte, North Carolina with their new rescue puppy, Baloo. It must be noted that Baloo is an emerging run-walk champion and loves accompanying Sam and Chris on their runs (of course with breaks built in for stick-retrieving and sniffing). Sam enjoys traveling and exploring the lesser-known parts of different places and their cuisines. She recently went on a 3 weeklong Europe trip that spanned 5 countries (including an Iceland stop with backpacking and hiking).
Sam is also an avid reader and is a part of 4 local book clubs – she finds that long runs during Marathon training and listening to audiobooks go hand in hand and is always looking for your latest recommendations!Most of all, Sam loves connecting with people and building strong communities around her interests, so feel free to hit her up to chat about anything running, reading, traveling, puppies or food!
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