Community Highlights: Meet Eliana Lin of Up and Running Performance

Today we’d like to introduce you to Eliana Lin.

Hi Eliana, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I have been in the running world for a while. I started competing in track and field as a freshman in high school. That’s really where my love for the sport evolved. I ended up going to college at Northeastern University where I also was on the Division 1 Track and Field team. I was a pole vaulter. I also was getting my education in the 6 year physical therapy program at Northeastern.

Fast forward to my last year of Track and field and I sustained a career ending knee injury. I had 2 surgeries and the return to run process was very long. It took me probably about a year and a half to two years to be able to run again. I was passed around from a bunch of different PTs because of covid and it was really tough to come back. This got me really into the rehab side of return to run.

I finished out my physical therapy degree, which ended with a clinical rotation at Notre Dame Track and Field. This was an amazing experience, where I got to combine my track knowledge and PT skills to help runners stay in the race.

After graduation, I got a regular outpatient PT job. I began working and it was not what I truly loved to do. The outpatient PT world also failed a lot of higher level athletes. Unfortunately, our system is set up to get people back to functional and daily living but not running. I saw way too many athletes and runners, who were not getting the care that they needed. That’s when I started Up and Running Performance. Up and Running Performance began as an online platform to help runners. My mission was to keep runners healthy and help them never miss a race.

In March of 2024, an opportunity to open an in person location became available and we jumped on it. We took over the space above Ann Arbor Running Company in downtown Ann Arbor. We had a soft opening in March and our Grand opening was in April. Since we have been operating out of that space where we provide runners with tools for injury prevention and performance through strength and run coaching.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not been an entirely smooth road.

First, logistically, I am not a business person. I had to learn a lot of the ins and outs of running a business.

Acquiring a space was a huge leap of faith. It was not necessarily something I was looking for or was ready for, but we dove in. It was scary and a ton of work to set up, but we learned a lot and have made it work.

There are tons of ups and downs in business. It’s all a learning curve and solving problems. But this business allows us to help so many runners so we continue to trouble shoot and make things better as we learn.

We’ve been impressed with Up and Running Performance, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Up and Running Performance is a gym designed for runners created by runners. It is our mission to keep runners healthy, running, and never missing a race. We use individualized assessments and gait analysis to create individualized running and strength training programs for runners. Too many runners are sidelined from preventable injuries and we have made it our mission to teach runners how to get out of that cycle.

I am a physical therapist, so I have used this expertise to build our programs. Having this background definitely sets us apart from other coaches because we have the knowledge of rehab but also of running. We are a perfect mix to be able to work on deficits and weaknesses while also working on performance.

I am most proud of the community we have created. Everyone in the gym likes to get to know each other and it is incredible to see friends being made who last and go for runs outside of the gym. I love watching relationships develop and everybody helping each other. It warms my heart to go to group runs and see people who met at the gym hanging out and enjoying each other’s company. The vibe in the gym is also super fun. Everybody is always having a good time, which helps make lifting more enjoyable for runners (who typically don’t like to weight train)

Brand offer/services:
-Individual running assessments and gait analysis
-personalized running and strength training programs
-group runners strength classes

How do you think about luck?
Luck has definitely played a role.

The biggest piece of luck was the gym space becoming available which we had not anticipated. This was right over Ann Arbor Running Company, which was a perfect location. We weren’t even looking for a space but it was just the perfect location and set up and it kinda just appeared.

I am also very lucky to have such a supportive spouse, Austin, who has encouraged me the whole time to follow my passion. He has believed in me way more than I believe in myself, which allowed me to quit my full time job to pursue this.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://upandrunningperformance.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eliana.up_and_running/