Amanda “AJ” Russell

Founder, Exec. Director, Head Coach

AJ started Verge in 2015 for kids like her…to provide a place where youth with social/communication and other difficulties that limit their ability to successfully join typical programs can receive that same valuable team experience, discover and develop a love of running, and for some - prepare to join their school and community teams. AJ knows and believes in the power of running, fitness, and sport for personal and social development, as well as the importance of exposure and opportunities to experience new or challenging things. She wants to give similar opportunity for connection, growth, and transformation to others that running and sport has had on her throughout her life, while also providing the support and education that was lacking in her own experiences.

Running has always been AJ’s companion and vehicle for helping her navigate and process her experiences and environment and has played many roles throughout her life. She loves helping others discover its power!

AJ grew up with significant social difficulties due to struggles with expressive communication and sensory processing, and delayed social and language development. She has come a long way since childhood with the most significant development happening in her 30’s thanks to the social connections and experiences of training and racing triathlon. The sport environment has always helped her connect with others and build on developing social and communication skills as well as apply the social understanding learned in other areas of life (work, school, family). It was her experience running on her high school XC team decades ago - the first place she felt a sense of belonging - that originally seeded her idea for Verge.

AJ is intuitive, creative, curious, analytical, driven, gritty; a dreamer, visionary, and doer. She is highly sensitive and attentive to details, nuances, and patterns. She sees all sides/perspectives and is guided by aims that fulfill need and bring positive change and wholesome value to living. She finds beauty and humor in everything, and has a deep appreciation for complexity and balance in all things. She loves exploration and process.

AJ recognizes potential in people that others dismiss and likes to shape the space for them to grow. Verge helps young people develop security in themselves and strength in expressing their voices, while increasing social awareness and connection.

Experience Prior to Verge:

  • 10 year Architecture career working on all project phases from design to construction of mid-large scale projects. Education: Boston Architectural College.

  • Elite Amateur Long Course Triathlete - Every year that she competed, she:

    • Placed top 3 Overall or Age-Group at nearly every race (Distances: Long Course, Olympic, and Sprint)

    • All-American

    • Qualified for and competed at the 70.3 World Championships

  • Certified Coach - USA Track&Field / USA Triathlon / USA Cycling

    • Private Coach for individual competitive runners and triathletes.

    • Volunteer Coach:

      • Youth running club for at-risk girls ages 9-18

      • College triathlon team

      • Women's beginner triathlon program

  • Race Director - running and multi-sport races

  • Extensive Exercise and Endurance Sport Science knowledge/experience including fitness and high-performance training, injury prevention and rehab. She loves to work with athletes at all levels.

More About

AJ still runs, cycles, and swims, and loves to hike the White Mountains in winter and summer (20+ mile solo day hikes are her favorite).

She has tons of interests and hobbies! Every genre of Music (with a lean toward soulful, grooving and funky), Patterns, Ideas, Engineering, Architecture, Philosophy, Sciences, Art, Maps, Wolves, Paradoxes, Piano, Violin, Bridges, Nature, Gardening, Trains, Soar plane Flying, Industrial Age Machines & History, Books and Poetry and a fascination w/ the myriad of ways people craft words, Baking, Drawing, Languages, other Cultures (particularly African, Japanese, and Scandinavian), Adventure & Exploring new places, Old things, Simplicity, Silence, anything that Sparkles, Shadows, Textures, Sounds, Patterns.

Verge Inclusive Athletics, Inc. is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that provides inclusive running programs for youth and young adults with and without developmental challenges, all athletic abilities and goals. We are dedicated to improving the lives of participants and inspiring a love of running and lifelong fitness by helping them to expand their limits in a fun, safe, team environment with the individual support and challenge they need for success and athletic, social, and personal growth.