For Charlotte Ashley-Roberts, known to many as “Charlie”, movement is far more than a means to fitness. It’s a practice in resilience, a pathway to mindset growth, and a metaphor for life. A career coach, business owner, mother of three, and proud Jeffer, Charlie’s story is one of grit, self-discovery, and the power of showing up, especially when no one’s watching.
Charlie runs her own business as a career and leadership coach, helping individuals, often at a crossroads in life or work, reconnect with their values, direction, and sense of purpose. Whether she’s coaching clients through career transitions, delivering outplacement support, or guiding them toward more meaningful work, Charlie brings clarity and compassion to her work. And behind the scenes, she’s someone who has trained for and completed 100km ultras while juggling her business, family, and the pursuit of a black belt in MMA - all by listening to her body, embracing her pace, and choosing mindset over mileage.
The Run-Walk Revelation: Discovering Jeffing
Although Charlie’s earliest experiences of running were wrapped in school cross-country and P.E. challenges, she "hated," she kept coming back to it. Like many, her first foray into races came with high expectations and a harsh inner critic. “I ran Nottingham Half in 2005 and hated every step,” she laughs. “It was hot, I didn’t meet my time goal, and I just thought - why am I doing this?”
But things changed when she discovered Jeffing - a run-walk method developed by Olympian Jeff Galloway. Instead of pushing herself to run continuously, Charlie started structuring her runs with intervals: “I’d run for four minutes, walk for 30 seconds. Later it became 90 seconds on, 30 off. I got faster and enjoyed it more. It changed everything.”
That method gave her something even more valuable than speed: freedom. It allowed her to return to running after having children, train sustainably, and embrace her body as it was, 44, perimenopausal, carrying that little extra weight that “won’t shift” and deeply capable.
Race to the Stones: 100 Kilometres of Growth
In July 2024, Charlie completed Race to the Stones, a 100km ultramarathon across the Ridgeway. She camped overnight, 50km one day, sleep in a tent, then 50kn the next, and the experience was seismic. “It was never about winning,” she says. “It was about proving to myself I could do hard things.”
Her training was unconventional but effective: 23-mile runs along a half-mile farm track near her house, planned that way to manage IBS symptoms and stay close to home. “I was running up and down that same stretch again and again. My brother, who's a serious ultra runner, came down and said, ‘Aren’t you bored?’ I hadn't thought of it like that. But that’s the mental strength it takes.”
On race day, Charlie faced blisters, pain, and moments of serious doubt. But she kept going, with Jeffing, support from her ultra-running brother, and a self-belief forged over months of slow, consistent training. “I’d run through dark, snow, rain, heat. I’d done the reps. And when I got to 80km and started running again, something just shifted. I finished jeffing 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off.”
Resilience Beyond the Trail
Charlie speaks candidly about how the lessons from running, especially ultras, bleed into life and business. “There’s a calmness now,” she says. “I know I’ve run 62 miles. So when I have to do something tough, I think: I’ve done harder.”
As a coach, she now speaks frequently to clients about self-mastery, not just setting goals or boosting performance, but building emotional discipline. “That whole nine months of training taught me more than the race itself. It changed how I work, how I parent, how I lead.”
Not About Winning
For Charlie, running isn’t about personal bests anymore. It’s about personal breakthroughs. “Back-of-the-pack runners like me are on our feet twice as long,” she says with a smile. “We might be slower, but we’re still out there. We’re still doing it.”
And what would she say to someone contemplating an ultra but convinced they’re not the “type”? Her answer is simple: “You don’t have to win. Just decide. If you believe you can do it, you will. You don’t have to be fast. You just have to begin.”