THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Northgate High School Athletics

Coach Ruth transitioned from a corporate philanthropy role at GSK in London, to that of a full time parent when she moved to the US; living first on the East Coast and then moving to Walnut Creek in 2012.  Coach Ruth fell in love with distance running first as a hobby for herself, and specialized in marathons, running the celebrated Boston Marathon four times, but also started to coach adult runners and worked in a running store on the East Coast.   When she moved to Walnut Creek thirteen years ago Ruth initially joined the cross country team as an Assistant Coach under the then Head Coach, Peter Brewer.  Her role was to run with the varsity girls and she was also a parent with a freshman son on the team.  Coach Ruth quickly transitioned into the Distance Coach a few months later and had the privilege to coach school record holder in the 1600m and 3200m Danny Stalters that first season.  In 2017 Ruth was made Head Coach for Cross Country, and shortly afterwards the Head Coach for Track and Field.  Coach Ruth and Coach Ceresa continued to coach distance runners through the pandemic.  Cross Country was the first NG team to set up a camp during the pandemic, with pods of students based in nearby Arbolado Park.  That consistency of approach combined with a talented and stable coaching team has  brought a new era of success for the Broncos, who are now enjoying their strongest years since the team was created in 1974.  Prior to the pandemic we had always qualified one or two individuals to the State Meet, but with a consistent approach, a strong summer program, and increased recruitment the Broncos have fielded teams at the State meet eery year for the past three years, with both teams attending in 2021, the girls in 2022, and the boys in 2023. More teams have reached the pinnacle of achievement in the past four years than at any other time in our program.  Coach Ruth is USATF certified to level 1, and was the recipient of the NCS California Coach of the year nomination in 2019/20.  She has coached multiple relay teams and individuals that appear on the track record board and in the cross country record books  In 2023 Coach Ruth stepped down as Head Coach of the Track Team to focus solely on her first love, cross country.  She still gets to run with the team but has moved from being able to run with the varsity girls to our newer runners.  She wakes up every day excited to coach believing that distance running can be a tool to understanding our core identity, and helps us formulate our sense of how to live a good life in a challenging and changing world.