Meet Aaron

Aaron Velting, MVP trainer and accomplished triathlete, shares the power of mindset to help push others to achieve their goals.

Meet Aaron Velting, Group Exercise Manager and Personal Trainer at MVP Crahen. A highly accomplished distance runner, Aaron brings her deep knowledge of training, mental grit, and goal-setting to every client she coaches. She has devoted her life to fitness, learning how to push herself and others to reach new limits. “Fitness is just part of who I am. It’s not just something I do. It’s how I live,” she said. Aaron’s love for sports and fitness began in elementary school on a competitive jump rope team. In high school, she played basketball, volleyball, and track. After playing intramural sports in college and moving to West Michigan, she channeled her passion into endurance training and discovered a new love for training alongside friends and teammates.

To date, Aaron has competed in countless 5Ks, 10 Ks, half and full marathons, and hundreds of local triathlons, some of which she’s won, earning rankings with USA Triathlon (USAT). She’s also raced nationally, including 11 consecutive Chicago Marathons, ten straight Boston Marathons, and more than 20 Riverbank Runs. Each year, she aims to complete an Ironman or ultra-distance triathlon, and has finished over ten in her career.

Aaron also uses her passion for endurance sports to help others. Through My Team Triumph, she runs alongside athletes with disabilities, helping them to cross the finish line. Aaron also enjoys serving as the pace leader for local races around Grand Rapids. Recently, she was a pace leader for the Riverbank Run 25K. “You’re not racing the race for yourself,” she said. “You’re guiding people and encouraging them, making sure they stay on pace and keeping them engaged. It’s cool to see people achieve a goal that they are really relying on you to help them achieve, much like personal training.”

With years of experience, Aaron brings discipline, stamina, and strategy to all she does. While physical fitness is key, she emphasizes mindset. “Endurance sport is so much more mental than we realize,” she said. “We all want to believe we can do hard things—and we can. We just need to find those moments of ‘hard’ and put our bodies and brains to work together. That’s where a coach comes in. Together you and your coach can really dig deep in the mental game.”

This mental challenge is what she loves most about competing. She enjoys pushing herself, especially when it gets tough mentally. Her favorite racing memory comes from her very first ultra-distance marathon. After completing her swim, Aaron began her 112-mile bike ride.

“I was 30 to 40 miles in, and my husband was out there with his camera. He sees me coming and has the shot ready,” she recounted. “As I came around the corner, I yelled to him, ‘I’m doing so good! I’m doing so good!’ because that’s what was going through my head the entire time. The moment you whisper to yourself—’I can’t do this,’ or ‘I don’t know if I can do this’—those words become real. You are probably right. Flipping that script and actually saying out loud: ‘I am doing so good! I can do this,’ will do amazing things for your body.”

Community also plays a big role in Aaron’s success. She loves how running and fitness can bring people together. “It’s not just about individual goals or times; it’s about the relationships and support systems that develop. I try to carry that into my role here at MVP,” she said.

Aaron began working at MVP in 2016. She devotes herself to supporting her clients, helping them unlock both their mental and physical endurance to realize what they’re truly capable of. As a trainer and instructor, Aaron finds joy in knowing her experience can help others reach their milestones.

“I think people just don’t realize what they’re capable of until they’re pushed a little, and that’s where I come in. Whether it’s a personal training client who never thought they’d lift a certain weight or someone in group exercise who finishes a class they were nervous about, I love being part of that moment,” she said. “That’s why I love MVP. It’s not just a gym. It’s people who show up for each other and encourage each other. That’s what makes it special.”

If you’re training for a race or interested in working with Aaron, you can find her at MVP Crahen in Grand Rapids.