Originally posted October 7, 2020

Coaches help runners at the high school, collegiate, and elite levels. They offer support and guidance throughout their athletes’ progression in various aspects of their life, not just in running. What about those outside these clearly defined cohorts? Yeah, I’m talking about you! Recreational runners, competitive runners, new runners, experienced runners, etc. that lay outside these cohorts all can benefit greatly from having the guidance of a coach. Below I discuss some of the greatest benefits that can be offered from having a running coach.

Sometimes defining a goal is easy, such as a specific time you want/need to run or a race. Other times it isn’t so clear or there are goals outside of the main goal that should be recognized and discussed that may help in long term health and progress. So you have a goal. How will you get there? What steps are needed to achieve it? A run coach can help you sort through much of that and ideally get at the why behind that motivation. That why can be a huge piece of the puzzle for better or worse. Identifying and understanding it can really go a long way as it provides a sense of purpose to the decisions made on the coaching end as well as to the execution of training on your end.

It takes a lot of effort and planning to design a program. Often times takes more time than I care to admit coming up with even simple things as I consider different options to obtain a goal, even for one week’s worth of training. Remember there are many roads to Rome. That’s not considering the on the fly adjustments that can happen as much as daily. Feeling sore, didn’t sleep well, have family coming to town, maybe a pain/niggle presents? All things that may require training adjustments. It can be exhausting always thinking about your next best move. Having a run coach takes it off the table for you so you can just focus what needs to be done on a particular day.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we all had hours and hours of time available to train if desired? I think it would be nice at least. In reality is there are a limited number of hours in a day and we can only do so much. As much as we’d love the free plans on the internet to work with your schedule specifically, my guess is that most if not all don’t. Don’t forget to consider if they are too much or too little for you? There is a specific type of individual in mind when those plans are made for. Consequently, it works for them. Unfortunately, there are still a lot of people it doesn’t work for. Your training plan needs to work for you! That goes for the frequency of runs, the duration, the intensity, and be flexible to whatever happens in your life that is currently unforeseeable. A running coach can work with you to help devise a plan that does just this.

By creating a personalized plan, you can be assured that it is much closer to the ideal that will work for you. That’s not to say running coaches are perfect. We aren’t all knowing. We make mistakes. But through those mistakes and your feedback, we learn and begin helping make decisions for you around your training that put you in the best position possible for success. Thus, decreasing the likelihood of injury, burnout, training errors/mistakes, or not being able to complete the plan. Not to mention the significantly increased chance of you hitting your goals!

As simple as running may seem, it is in fact quite complex as it utilizes nearly every system of the body. A running coach can help analyze what you’re currently doing, how you run and move, and then combine that with your goals to design supplemental drills and exercises that can enhance your running and maintain consistency in training. Not to mention the gains in neuromuscular control from various drills and increased resiliency in muscles, bones, and tendons from strength training.

I often say, you have to eat to train! Particularly the more you do it. There are so many myths and ideas around nutrition and weight in the running community that are detrimental to the health and well-being of those hearing it if not educated well. Additionally, in the multi-hour events especially, it is not just pre and post-race/workout nutrition that matters. What you drink and eat during a race/workout begins to play a large roll in how you feel, perform, and recover. While most coaches don’t have formal education with nutrition, they do tend to have the basic knowledge about nutrition specific to running to get you moving in in the right direction. In regard to the first point made here, a good running coach will have a network of clinicians to help meet the needs of every individual if needed including dieticians, psychologists, and physicians to help in this area.

As in life, your running will have good and bad moments. A coach helps to provide a bird’s eye view on the perspective as they aren’t caught up in the moment nearly as much we can often get being the athlete. With that, they can offer insight into the bigger picture of things. More times than not, even on a bad day, there are things to learn as we move forward in our training. It’s never as bad as it seems. A coach is there to support you through the good and bad times, like your own personal cheerleader!

Have you been doing the same training plan or workouts for years and yet to see significant forward progress? It may be time to invest in a coach. A running coach can help take you to the next level through an individualized plan that hits aspects you’ve been missing and/or refine what you are doing. That could be a more appropriate intensity distribution, long runs, a plan that fits into your life better, and the list could go on and on.

Coaches in the running community aren’t just for the elite. Running coaches help all runners at all levels whether that is running your first 5k, returning to training, qualifying for Boston, or winning your age group. The principles remain virtually the same throughout each level of participation. It is the dosage that really determines success. A coach helps you identify that and execute so you can meet your goals regardless of the level of runner you are.

Pain and niggles happen when you are training consistently, especially when trying to push your physical boundaries. Do you know how to best react when that happens? Yes, sometimes rest is an option acutely. Often times though through the right modifications you can keep training and limit any losses in training and fitness. Not to mention adjusting training going forward to mitigate future risk through smarter training or the addition/subtraction of various drills and exercises.

Are you ready to capitalize on the benefits a running coach can offer you?

Check out our page all about our coaching services here or you can schedule a free consultation call to discuss if coaching with RunMental would be the best fit for you.