10 Reasons You Need A Running Coach

1- A running coach will increase your motivation

Now more than ever, we must look at our motivation to run, and a coach can help in that department. 

I’ve been asked recently, “What are you training for?” 

Health. Fun. Fitness. Wellness. Life. 

With the race prospects for the near future being slim to none, we have to start back at the purpose. Talking it out with a coach can be a helpful and fun exercise to gain clarity on our why.

2- A running coach will show you how to train smarter, not harder

A run coach can help in planning both short and long term goals. There are ways to structure a training schedule to allow those goals to flourish. 

After my first half marathon, I got a little “race happy,” and signed up for a number of additional half marathons and shorter distance races that were all rather close together. Typical new runner mistake: I tried to race all of them. I managed to come away with those medals uninjured, but I certainly didn’t improve my fitness during that stretch. 

At the time, I didn’t realize there was a smarter way to go about planning a race schedule. That’s not to say we can’t participate in lots of events, but not trying to race ALL of them would have yielded much better results.

3- A running coach will customize your training 

Training plans are not one size fits all. Every athlete’s body is different, and every athlete’s availability and schedule is different as well. A coach can help to keep your training organized and fit it into a busy schedule.

There are plenty of cookie cutter training plans out there from which to choose, but without taking into account an individual’s running history and life obligations, these plans can often lead to undertraining, or overtraining and injury. 

When I start working with my athletes, I have them fill out a short running history. We discuss the motivation to run, short and long term goals, exercise that the athlete enjoys in addition to running, and the athlete’s schedule. 

One of the most important lessons I learned from working with my coach was that having a personalized plan allowed me to fit running into my life, rather than try to fit my life around running which is what had been happening in the past.

4- A running coach will provide a reality check 

A coach can look at an athlete’s current fitness and provide realistic expectations for training. Many of us are guilty of not training to where we are at with our current fitness, and this can result in slow gains in fitness or injuries. 

A plan with the right combination of recovery workouts and hard workouts is a run coach’s specialty. Having a coach takes the stress of decision fatigue out of the mix, not having to decide what workout to do on what day. 

5- A running coach will assist in injury prevention

Arriving to the start line healthy is one of the most valuable assets we can have as runners. Simply put, having a coach helps in injury prevention, and in a sport where more than half of runners become injured yearly, this is one of the most important reasons to get a coach!

Not only can a coach can assist in proper run mechanics and form, but they can provide advice on dynamic warm-ups, cross training activities that will supplement and enhance our running, strengthening exercises for the core and muscles of the lower extremities, and stretching exercises for our cool down routine. 

If an injury pops up, a coach can help in determining the appropriate rest and recovery in the training schedule so that you can get back to running safely.

6- A running coach will prepare workouts that beat boredom

Not only does mixing up workouts keep the brain interested and wondering what is up next, but it also helps our fitness. The body responds to a variety of training stresses to make different adaptations over time.

By varying workouts in terms of frequency, duration, and intensity, this is how we improve our fitness.

7- A running coach will give you a kick (when you need it)

Having a coach helps in accountability - bigtime. How many times have we tried to stick with an online training program, only to find ourselves missing workouts after a few weeks? 

The simple act of checking in with your coach once a week can help to stay on track toward fitness goals and to overcome hurdles in the moment before obstacles start to snowball. Our brains simply commit better to meeting obligations when we make appointments to show up!

I’ve also found that working with a coach has helped me to “keep easy days, easy”. When left to our own devices, we sometimes feel we need to push hard at every workout. We might feel that otherwise, we aren’t reaping the benefits of the training time.  

8- A running coach will hone your mental fitness 

We focus so much on physical gains, that often, we can get caught up in the math. The numbers are ever in our faces, with our current wearable technology. We have instant feedback on watches, phones, and fitness apps. 

Getting faster and going farther are both fantastic, but we can’t ignore the importance of honing mental fitness. A coach can help with techniques to manage the mind in both training and racing. 

In my coaching program, we delve into thoughts that may be holding an athlete back in their training or racing performance. We practice a number of techniques including journalizing, visualization, and mantras. 

9- A running coach will deliver feedback

Having real-time feedback after a workout is one of the most valuable reasons to have a coach. Training plans can be tweaked quickly and easily, so that an athlete has a clear idea of the next training session based on the results of a prior training session.

With my runners, we focus on learning a scale of effort. For my beginner runners especially, having their feedback in terms of effort level of the run helps in determining their individual conversation pace, which ultimately makes running easier and more sustainable.

10- A running coach will be your biggest cheerleader

Sometimes we need a kick in the right direction (see #7 above), but sometimes, we need a cheerleader too.

When a race doesn’t quite go as planned and there is disappointment in the performance, a coach can help in reframing our thoughts about it.

Knowing there is another runner out there who is rooting for us is HUGE! 

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There are lots of apps that have the ability to create training plans for runners. While an app can map out the training, the execution of the plan falls on the athlete, and sometimes, it is hard to know the next best step when things don’t quite go exactly as planned. 

A coach has the ability to change workouts based on how the athlete is adapting to stresses of training. A coach can advise when to pull back on training and rest, and when it is safe to push harder in a workout.

One size fits all training plans and training apps can’t replace a coach who can look us in the eyes, ring us up on the phone, and support us on our running journey.