If you think that running coaches are only for the professional runners or elite athletes, you would be wise to reconsider. Whatever your level of running, employing a coach can offer many benefits. We take a look at why a running coach might be exactly what you need.
You are more likely to be successful in achieving a goal, such as a or 10k time, or completing your first , with the guidance of a coach. A qualified coach will be experienced in assessing your current fitness and ability and helping you to train towards the goal. Do you feel you have reached a plateau in your running career? Have you run all the race distances you can think of and now feel like you do not have anything to train for? A coach can help you to think about new goals, whether it’s to achieve a PB, a best-for-age time or to tackle a race on the trails, or in the mountains, instead of the road.
It’s all very well telling yourself that you will complete a variety of training runs, including hill reps, speed sessions and longer distance tempo runs, towards your goal – but it’s another thing actually doing the sessions. A coach will make you accountable and expect you to record the runs completed in a training programme. Doing too much running, or progressing too quickly, can lead to .
A qualified coach should be able to guide you to a better running performance and avoid injury. Most runners know they should include stretching and for better all-round fitness but how many actually do this regular.
