About Tattersols
Embracing Diversity and Inspiring Unity of Women Through Running
Established in 1997, by Coach Vince Digneo, the mission of the Tatterols Women’s Running Team is to promote women’s success in the sport of running, to empower women to achieve personal athletic goals, and to maximize health and vitality through a supportive team environment.
The Tattersals were a group of Aboriginal women in the Australian outback who ran from settlement to settlement, communicating messages, sharing goods, gathering food and water, and in the process spreading culture. To the European (chiefly Scottish settlers), the women’s tribal dress looked very much like the traditional Scottish tattersal plaid, which the westerners quickly used to identify these runners. We use the name “Tattersols” to honor these strong, resourceful, and athletic women. We’ve changed the last syllable to “sol,” Spanish for “sun,” renowned in philosophical traditions with The True, The Good, and The Beautiful, and — for us — to signify the rise of women in athletics and the sport of running.
Coaches
CoachLauraMendelson
Coach Laura has been with the Tattersols for over 20 years. She has run races from the 5K to the marathon with several age group placements. In 2015, she started assistant coaching for the team, and started as head coach in 2021. She is a United Endurance Sports Coaching Academy (UESCA) certified run coach and a National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) certified personal trainer specializing in corrective exercise and training injured athletes. When she is not coaching or working with clients, she is out on the trails or spending time with her family.
CoachBarbHennings
During a fulfilling career in elementary education, where she also coached her students to run as a class team every day, Coach Barb pursued a dream of becoming a Certified Personal Fitness Trainer. She achieved this goal through World Instructor Training Schools, completing her internship at De Anza College in 2012, as a Level III instructor. She started her own business as a trainer in 2016 and soon after, retired from elementary education, and has enjoyed working in the fitness industry ever since. Barb works with private clients of all ages and abilities. She joined Tattersols 18 years ago completing 7 marathons, including Boston. She began coaching Tattersols as a substitute for Coach Laura in 2019.
“Coaching this group of amazing athletes is a gift. The energy, support and dedication shown by this group of women is unmatched.”
“It is a joy to work with, coach, and run with the Tattersols’ athletes.”
CoachMarkFadil
Mark started running as a teenager and has been involved with running in numerous capacities ever since. He competed in cross country and track during high school and then at both Dartmouth College and Stanford University. While at Stanford he was an All-American, Captain of the 1995-96 Track and Field Team as well as a school record holder in the Indoor Distance Medley Relay. After college, Mark was a member of the Nike Farm Team based out of Stanford, CA.
While competing, Mark struggled off and on with an IT Band injury which prompted him to pursue a career as an Orthopedic Massage Therapist with a focus on injury prevention and rehabilitation. In 1997, he co-founded the Sports Medicine Institute in Palo Alto and has worked with athletes ranging from first time runners to Olympic gold medalists and everything in between.
Mark has also coached in a variety of capacities. He has experience as the cross country coach at San Mateo High School, a volunteer assistant track and cross country coach at Stanford University and a Team in Training Marathon Program Coach. He has been involved with coaching the Tattersols since 2018 and also performs one on one individual coaching services.
Mark continues to run on a daily basis and is dedicated to helping runners of all abilities stay healthy, active and on their feet.
CoachVinceDigneo
Founder & Coach Emeritus
Coach Vince founded the Tattersols as an answer to the need for quality, professional run coaching, specifically for women in the San Francisco Bay Area.
He helped establish the national marathon and half marathon training programs for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training program (TNT). During his 14 years at TNT, he coached over 3,500 athletes, the majority of whom were women. He knew early on that there were few, if any, options for women runners and that they tended to improve faster, perform far better, and have more fun over the long term when coached in a women-only environment. In 1997, the Tattersols became a reality and 25 years later it is still going strong with Coach Laura leading the team.
A former world-ranked Alpine skier and member of the U.S. National Ski Team, Vince competed in NCAA Division I skiing and soccer through college. He has run over 20 marathons and ultramarathons with a top-25 overall finish at the Honolulu Marathon. He has had a top-10 national age-group ranking, earned top-10 age-group finishes at a number of triathlons including a 9th place finish overall at the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon, and solid finishes at Ironman Australia, Ironman Florida, and Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawai’i.