Triathlon · Marathon · Ultra · Stage Racing · Adventure Racing
You Can’t Out Train a Fueling & Nutrition Problem Endurance Coaching With Nutrition And One Without the Other Only Gets You Halfway There.
Nutrition Counseling for endurance athletes from a Maryland’s Premier Sports Performance Dietitian and a USAT Certified Triathlon & RRCA Running Coach who’s bonked mid-race, figured out why, and now builds the fueling formula that holds up when your body and your season are on the line.
The Reality
You did the training. So why does race day keep falling apart?
You logged the hours. You nailed the long runs, the brick workouts, the 20-hour weeks. And then somewhere around mile 18, the back half of the bike, or day two of the stage race, it unravels. Your legs go, the gut turns, the energy vanishes. That’s not a training and fitness gap. It’s the one variable no one ever taught you: your daily nutrition and training fueling strategy.
The Wall
You trained all season and still blew up with miles to go.
The Gut Bomb
GI distress that ends your race before your legs ever do.
Concrete Legs
Recovering slower every week, dragging into every session, and calling it “just tired.”
The Guessing Game
A daily nutrition strategy that isn’t balanced & a race day nutrition strategy you’ve never actually tested at race pace.
Endurance isn’t just built on volume. It’s crafted through a daily commitment of purposeful training, nutrition, fueling and recovery so you arrive at the start line ready to Cross Your Finish Lines!
Kris R. |
Long Distance Triathlete
“For years I didn’t fully understand the importance of nutrition and hydration in training. Now that I am getting it dialed in for my personal needs, I am amazed at the difference it makes.”
Welcome, I’m Cassandra and I’ve been exactly where you are
I came into triathlon as an athlete to celebrate my victory over cancer.
That experience of training through recovery, rebuilding fitness from scratch, finding the finish line again when everything felt uncertain is woven into every training plan I write and every athlete I coach. It gave me a perspective you can’t get from a textbook: that endurance sports aren’t just about performance. They’re about reclaiming your body, your confidence, and your joy.
I’ve stood on starting lines nervous and undertrained. I’ve crossed finish lines ugly-crying in the best possible way. I’ve coached brand-new athletes through their very first race and watched seasoned competitors break through plateaus they’d been stuck at for years.
What ties all of my athletes together isn’t pace or distance. It’s the belief that crossing a finish line changes something in you. My job is to get you there trained, fueled, confident, and smiling.
Because this sport is hard and it’s the most fun you’ll ever have. I want both of those things for you. That’s exactly why I might be the coach you’ve been looking for.
I’m a Registered Dietitian who specializes in Sports Nutrition, a USA Triathlon and RRCA coach, a certified personal trainer and an endurance athlete who’s toed the line at 80+ races, from sprint tris to 70.3s to international half marathons. My husband and I have run every Disney race from Florida to California to Paris. I’ve raced 70.3 in all-day rain and crossed finish lines I wasn’t sure I’d reach.
I’ve also questioned my fueling mid-race and BONKed when it mattered most. I learned the hard way that training harder is never the fix when your nutrition isn’t doing its job. That’s why I built Catalyst to give athletes the fueling strategy their effort deserves.
I’ve fueled athletes from youth to Olympic qualifiers, and served as the nutrition lead and chef for multi-day gravel stage racing. I’ve been on the ground, in the kitchen, and at the finish line. So I don’t hand you a generic meal plan and wish you luck. I build a nutriton strategy WITH you, around your training, your gut, and your life.
A fueling strategy built in training, not gambled on race day
You already know to eat your vegetables. What you need is a plan that holds up at hour four…when your heart rate’s high, your gut’s stressed, and every carb counts. So that’s what we build: specific, tested, and refined in training until race day is the easy part.
Fuel That Holds Up
Daily and training day fueling that ends the bonk and keeps energy steady from the first rep to the finish line.
A Gut You Can Trust
Train your gut and dial in your race fuel so GI distress stops writing the ending to your races.
Tested Before It Counts
A race day plan rehearsed at race pace, so nothing on course is a surprise.
Fueling built for the events you’re racing
Every endurance event makes its own demands on your body and your fueling. These are the ones we go deep on strategizing.
Triathlon
Fueling across all three disciplines, plus the bike-to-run transition and GI management most plans ignore.
Marathon & Ultra
Strategies that keep energy steady whether you’re out there four hours or eighteen.
Multi-Day Stage Racing
Between-stage fueling and daily recovery for when your body is already depleted and has to do it again tomorrow.
Adventure & Eco-Challenge Racing
Fueling efficiently with limited resources, in unpredictable conditions, while moving through the terrain.
Individual
Performance
Nutrition
Counseling
Good news: This may cost you nothing.
For 94% of people, working with a Registered Dietitian is completely covered by insurance or just the cost of a regular copay. Catalyst accepts insurance for nutrition counseling through a third-party platform.
Before you decide anything about budget, let’s find out what your insurance covers. It takes less than 5 minutes.
If you’re not covered by insurnace, Catalyst Nutrition & Performance offers a self-pay options for individual nutrition counseling.
Your Plan, Built Around Your Training and Your Goals
- One-on-one nutrition counseling built around your sport, training schedule, gut, and goals ending the bonk, fixing GI issues, hitting a body composition goal without wrecking performance, or chasing a PR.
- Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) is often covered by insurance. We’ll check your coverage before we start.
- Endurance-specific expertise: triathlon across all three disciplines, marathon and ultra, multi-day stage racing, and adventure/eco-challenge racing.
- A dietitian who trains, races, and still toes the line herself in your corner.
Let’s build the fuel strategy that finally matches your effort.
Get StartedThe goal isn’t just a faster race. It’s steady energy, a gut you trust, recovery that keeps up, and finish lines you cross
Catalyst is In Network with
Real Results from Real Athletes
Danika V. | Ultramarathoner
“I’ve never felt this good in a race! I finally placed 9th overall in a marathon (1st ever Top 10 finish)! Before working with Cassandra, I was feeling really fatigued after just 30 miles/week of training. After learning how to fuel strategically, I am consistently training over 50 miles/week and feeling much stronger.”Tim C. | Eco Challenge Athlete
“I couldn’t figure out why my Zone 2 data and threshold data were basically the same. I’ve hit so many PRs this past week since learning how to fuel myself. I was clearly underfueling!”Jon N. | Ultramarathoner
“THANK YOU for all your help! This was the first time I can remember where I didn’t feel completely exhausted after my A race! You taught me so much about sports nutrition. I feel confident planning my race nutrition whether I’m doing a 50K or a 100 Miler. In the past, the last half of my races were miserable and I knew it was because I wasn’t fueling properly. Practicing my nutrition during training was a game changer in helping me figure out what worked for me.”Amy C. | Long Distance Triathlon
“My race went great last week! I was definitely prepared and fueled properly. I’ve recovered well and working to get back on my normal eating pattern.”Jess C. | Marathoner
“My run was SO much better this week! Ended up doing 20 miles and it felt MUCH better than the 17 miler.”Kris R. | Long Distance Triathlete
“For years I didn’t fully understand the importance of nutrition and hydration in training. Now that I am getting it dialed in for my personal needs, I am amazed at the difference it makes.”Ready to Stop Out Training Your Fueling?
You’re putting in the work. Let’s make sure your nutrition is too. Check your coverage and let’s get started.
Yes! I’m Ready!Limited availability for new clients. Virtual consultations available.
Bring It to Your Athletes
Coaches, tri clubs, and running teams: I run talks, clinics, and hands-on fueling workshops for endurance athletes — practical enough that your athletes put them to work at the very next long session.
Ready to get started with nutrition coaching?
Complete our Verification of Benefits form and we will get back to you to discuss your coverage for mendical nutrition therapy.
Whether you’re chasing a PR, tackling your first (or new) long-distance event, or looking to solve persistent nutrition challenges, the right fueling strategy can be the difference between just finishing and achieving something extraordinary.
No More Guesswork. Let’s Level Up Your Nutrition to Fuel Smarter Now.
