In this episode, we sit down with Nike Running Coach and Sport Nutritionist Mishti Khatri to unpack her transformative journey through fitness, coaching, and her mission to empower women through movement.
Alongside her coaching career, Mishti is a dedicated researcher currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Sport and Exercise Nutrition. She holds an MSc in the same field and is certified by both the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the International Fitness and Aerobics Academy (IFAA).
From her early days in fitness to becoming a coach and nutritionist, Mishti shares the insights that have shaped her approach to both personal and community-based growth.
Topics Covered:
I. Background & Becoming
- How Mishti’s relationship with fitness evolved through school and college
- The pivotal shift from outcome-driven training to movement as identity
- How Mishti’s shift from self-training to coaching shaped her growth and leadership.
II. Training & Coaching
- Blending her roles as coach, nutritionist, and academic
- The most powerful mindset shifts she’s witnessed in her clients
- Coaching through self-doubt, injury, and imposter syndrome
- Why mental health is inseparable from physical training
- What her current training week looks like — and how it’s evolved
- Why gym anxiety is so common, and how we can shift that culture
III. Running
- Her personal journey with running — from marathons to run clubs
- How India’s running culture is shifting, and where it’s headed
- A behind-the-scenes look at Nike’s After Dark Tour: a bold moment reclaiming women’s running with grit, celebration, and sisterhood
- Coaching one of the biggest women-led running communities in India
- Advice for new runners and the biggest myths about marathon prep
- Mishti’s personal approach to long runs and recovery rituals
IV. Nutrition & Fueling the Female Athlete
- How her relationship with food has grown alongside her fitness
- Common myths around performance nutrition — especially for women
- Speaking to women in India about fueling enough, not shrinking
- Her food philosophy: consistency without guilt or rigidity
- Her take on supplements like collagen, creatine, and more
V. Women in Sport: Power, Progress & Perspective
- The state of women in fitness in India today
- How we can create more entry points for young girls to move
- Gendered challenges in sport — both globally and locally
- Supporting women to lead (not just participate) in sport ecosystems
- What it takes to create safe, inclusive spaces in fitness
VI. Mindset, Motivation & Mental Strength
- The role of breath, rhythm, and mindset when the miles get heavy
- What movement has taught her about resilience — in sport and life
VII. Legacy & Looking Ahead
- The impact Mishti hopes to leave behind — as a coach, an athlete, and a woman
- What continues to make her a work in progress