How to Find a Running Coach
THE ROAD RUNNERS CLUB OF AMERICA offers this text to runners who want to find a coach. As Hal Higdon suggests in his opening remarks: "Many runners could benefit from a coach. Most do not have one, nor have they had one." This is written specifically to help runners locate coaches and learn how to use them.
In offering "How to Find a Coach," the RRCA sees three distinct audiences:
--Running clubs, wanting to add coaching as a service.
--Experienced runners, hoping to run faster.
--Beginners, seeking help in getting started.
Not to be overlooked is the social benefit derived from having a coach, who guides the training of a group of like-minded runners.
The RRCA also sees this text as an opportunity to encourage adult road runners to broaden their running experiences. Without question, many runners never ran track or cross country in school. They have never run on teams or relays. Many joggers never bother to compete. Coaches may be the key to introducing the varied aspects of running to a new audience.
The RRCA is currently developing a resource base of qualified distance running coaches through its coaching education program geared to distance running. The list of coaches at the end of this text -- coaches now certified by the RRCA's Coaching Certification Program -- is the first step toward providing qualified coaching for runners of all ages and abilities.
Freddi Carlip, President
ROAD RUNNERS CLUB OF AMERICA
© 1994, 2000, The Road Runners Club of America
WHO NEEDS A COACH?
MANY RUNNERS COULD BENEFIT from a coach. Most do not have one, nor have they had one. While some runners received coaching in high school and college, and others got a start in beginning running classes, perhaps 95 per cent or more of the runners in America train unguided. They run on their own, obtaining help where they can from friends, or attending pre-race clinics, or reading books and articles in running magazines.
Elite runners often are no different. Even the best of them find that once they graduate from school, they are set adrift to compete as teamless individuals. They must take control of their own training. Some gravitate to clubs where they continue under the guidance of a coach. Others hire personal trainers. Many just flounder, not making the best of their running ability.
Yet good coaches (and good coaching) can make good runners.
Coaches can provide inspiration and information, analysis and applause, support and sympathy. They can design daily workouts and stand beside the track holding a stopwatch. While the availability of coaches for out-of-school athletes is, at best, spotty, more and more running clubs--including many member clubs of the Road Runners Club of America--have begun to provide coaching as one of the perks of membership, and the RRCA has established a program of Coaching Certification for Adult Distance Runners.
ASSISTANCE FOR RUNNERS
Increasing numbers of coaches now provide assistance for runners, both full-time and part-time, both paid and unpaid. Some examples:
Mary Reed is among the 60 certified coaches the Atlanta Track Club makes available for its members. "When a runner has a coach," says Reed, "they can bounce ideas off each other. You get to be a smarter runner faster. You don't have to make all the mistakes; you can hear about them and avoid them."
Bob Glover heads the New York Road Runners Club's coaching program. Along with his wife and exercise physiologist, Shelley Glover, he coaches 100 coaches. "The reasons people need a coach vary according to their experience," says Glover. "At the beginner level, people benefit from being enrolled in a fitness program, because they tend to do too much too soon. For a person making the transition into racing, a coach can encourage them. The faster a runner gets, the less need to push. At the elite level, runners have so much drive they don't need a coach pushing them, they need a coach holding them back."
Jim Fischer has coached at the high school and college level for 30 years. Currently, he serves as coach for men's cross country and track and field at the University of Delaware. Once a week, Fischer welcomes adult runners to his track for interval workouts. He says: "I started my group, because a lot of adult runners, particularly women in their 30s, never had run competitively in school and never had trained on the track."
On any given week, two dozen runners appear to run under Fischer's supervision. They range in abilities from 16:00 to 24:00 for the 5K. Fischer structures training more loosely than he does with his collegiate runners. "I go with the flow," he says. "I spend a lot of time asking people, `When's your next important race?'" Fischer charges no fee; he does his weekly sessions for fun, and as a challenge to expand his knowledge.
It's probably unreasonable to expect free coaching advice, however. Ski instructors and golf pros charge for lessons. As demand for their services has increased, running coaches have begun to charge modest sums for their services. Compared to what participants in other sports pay for "lessons," runners get a bargain when they seek a coach.
ONE-ON-ONE COACHING
Finding a coach--particularly one willing to provide the one-on-one counseling service that many runners demand--is not easy. The American athletic system mostly provides coaching assistance through high school with only the most gifted continuing into college programs. After graduation, even the stars are condemned to a post-collegiate existence of finding coaching help where they can. A few post-collegiate coaches operate also as agents and charge a percentage of their athletes' winnings in this era of run-for-pay, but in most coach/athlete relationships, financial rewards rarely equal the investment of time and energy. "Our system breaks down when it comes time to provide coaching for post-collegiate athletes," admits David Martin, Ph.D., an Atlanta-based exercise physiologist, who serves as a training consultant in track and field for the U. S. Olympic Committee and also coaches a few individual runners.
Two athletes supervised by Martin--Bob Kempainen and Keith Brantly--finished second and fifth respectively in the 1993 New York City Marathon and also competed in the 1996 Olympic Trials. Martin does most of his coaching by phone, seeing his runners occasionally for testing and hands-on advice. That works if you're an experienced runner working with a knowledgeable coach. Most coach/athlete relationships probably involve the coach and runner seeing each other at a workout session at least once weekly, if not daily. The RRCA's Road Scholar® program, begun in 1995, has raised over $98,000 and funded 24 post-collegiate athletes who need financial help to train for road races.
The greatest need for coaching, however, is not for those with Olympic potential, but rather for those with more modest talent: those who finish marathons, and other races, far back of the Kempainens and Brantlys.
Some coaches work with school runners and advise out-of-school athletes as an add-on. An example is Pat Savage of Oak Park, Illinois, coach of the track and cross-country teams at Niles West High School and Oakton Community College. Savage also works with a group of adult runners, the Niles West/Oakton Runners Club, planning their training and supervising them at area road races.
Other qualified coaches arrive at their trade from a different direction, outside the school systems. They translate their running experiences into information to be shared with new-time runners. It doesn't matter whether they are, or were, elite runners--or even runners at all. A good coach mainly needs to know what it takes to excel at running, at whatever level he or she coaches.
An example is Bill Wenmark of Deephaven, Minnesota, a former ice hockey player who decided on a whim one year to run the Twin Cities Marathon, despite having trained for only a few weeks! Wenmark finished--barely. His muscles were so sore (he admitted afterwards) that he had to drive home in third gear, because he couldn't use the clutch pedal. Wenmark claims to have made every mistake in the book, but learned from his errors and now teaches one of the most successful beginning marathon programs in the U.S. Through his American Lung Association Running Club (ALARC), Wenmark has guided more than 3,000 first-timers to finishes at the Twin Cities and Grandma's Marathons.
Between Savage and Wenmark, there are other coaches of adult runners with varying levels of experience and differing degrees of qualifications. Indeed, there is a danger for the adult runner seeking advice. Although USATF offers well-designed educational programs for track coaches seeking to improve their skills, the emphasis is more on sports science and individual track and field events rather than road racing. Only since 1998 has the RRCA begun to offer a certification program that defines who is qualified to coach road runners and who is not.
GUARANTEEING COMPETENCE
Even if certification provides no ironclad guarantee of a coach's competence. "Certification helps, but it doesn't certify anything except that a person has sat through a series of classes," admits Joe Rogers head coach at Ball State University and chairman of the USATF's coaching education committee.
Diane Palmason of Blaine, WA, a coach of adult runners and a member of the RRCA coaching committee, sees a great need for determining who is qualified to coach. "Particularly this is true," says Palmason, "in the area of Wellness programs, teaching people healthy lifestyles and guiding them toward running as a simple and pleasurable means of achieving fitness. At the moment, this area is pretty well owned by various aerobics or fitness instructors--many of whom don't know nearly enough, perhaps because they lack personal experience with competitive running programs."
The truth of the matter is that not everyone who claims to be a coach is qualified to serve in that capacity, and not everyone who is qualified may be the right person to offer advice to you!
Do you need a push, or do you need to be pulled? Do you merely need motivation, or are you looking for a day-by-day training program? Do you want to achieve a personal best, or peak for some major race? Are your goals related more to physical fitness, or maybe you want only an opportunity to run with others of equal ability? Not to be overlooked are the social benefits of running with a group of like-minded individuals.
A coach can be helpful in guiding you toward your running goal--or the wrong coach may send you in the wrong direction. You need to be careful in selecting a coach who will be right for you, although the major problem for most runners is finding any coach to help them
FINDING A COACH
WHEN ASKED WHY HE ROBBED BANKS, Willie Sutton once replied, "Because that's where the money is." If you want to find a coach, first visit your nearest track--because that's where the coaches are, usually beginning mid-afternoon. Even if they're not willing to coach you themselves, high school or college coaches may be able to steer you in the right direction. Coaches who train adult road racers also use tracks for speed workouts, most often in the early evening, after work. An example is the Jacksonville Track Club's Bob Carr, who assists several dozen adult runners in speed workouts each Wednesday on the Bolles High School track.
But don't stop at the track. If you're looking for a coach, there are additional places where you might find, or at least identify, one:
--CLINICS: Many major road races have pre-race clinics connected with the event, usually as a sideshow to the Expo where runners pick up their numbers and browse through equipment displays. Check the list of clinic speakers. In addition to guest celebrities from out of town, there may be several local running experts, including those who coach out-of-school runners.
Also, check the tables at the expo and near the end of the t-shirt line. Usually, at any expo there's a table or two with piles of entry blanks and information about local running activities. Coaches often advertise their services this way. If nothing else, you may be able to obtain leads to knowledgeable people, or organizations, who can guide you in the right direction.
--CLASSES: Many major road races, particularly marathons, also have classes for the benefit of runners training for their event. For example, the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon offers a training class that attracted nearly 2000 participants before its year 2000 race. The class, under the direction of Brian Piper, Bill Fitzgerald and Tom Moran, lasts four months and features mid-week clinics in five locations and weekend workouts, also in a half dozen locations.
Nor is the Chicago Marathon clinic unique. The Honolulu Marathon Clinic, begun by Jack Scaff, Jr., M.D., has been functioning for more than two decades on Sundays in Kapiolani Park, conveniently near the finish line of the marathon. In Oregon, Patti Finke, Warren Finke and Bob Williams organize a six-month training clinic aimed at the Portland Marathon. Robert Vaughan leads a training group for the White Rock Marathon in Dallas, Texas.
Joining such a class provides you with a group coach at least for the period of the class and may help you to locate and identify other coaches, who later can work with you on a more personalized basis.
--CAMPS: Historically, summer running camps have functioned to train high school runners (boys and girls) to get ready for the fall cross-country season. Dozens of summer running camps are scattered around the country, many of them on college campuses. Roy Benson, chairman of the RRCA coaching committee, and a private coach in Atlanta, operates summer camps for runners in North Carolina and Vermont. Benson recruits top coaches to appear at these camps to dispense advice and offer training plans to willing runners. Most other camps also have well-qualified staffs. Many college coaches offer camps on their campuses.
Recently, adult runners have begun to infiltrate these once youth-oriented camps, running side-by-side with runners half their ages. Young and adult runners co-exist better than you might think, because of a mutual love of running, but lately camp directors have begun to spin-off separate weeks just for adults. Camps are good places not only to get coaching assistance for brief periods of time, but also to make contact with long-term coaches.
Each spring, Runner's World and Running Times publish guides to running camps both in print and online (www.runnersworld.com/calendar/). Additional guides are carried in the March and April issues of The Harrier, a publication edited by Marc Bloom and aimed at cross-country runners. (The April issue usually has the most camps.) To obtain a copy of that issue, send $5 to: The Harrier, P.O. Box 41, Marlboro, NJ 07746.
--HEALTH CLUBS: "Athletic Clubs" in major metropolitan areas traditionally served as downtown gathering places for wealthy male businessmen, who swam or played squash, but more often dined with customers or lounged in soft chairs reading The Wall Street Journal. The New York Athletic Club and the Illinois Athletic Club, founded in the late 19th century, began in this manner. So did the Boston Athletic Association, which organizes the Boston Marathon, although the BAA no longer has a paying membership or club house.
With the arrival of the aerobic revolution, these clubs and newly-created health clubs in many cities broadened their programs to serve a more active clientele. To stay even with the competition, privately-owned tennis clubs and YMCA's added racquetball courts, then weightlifting equipment, then running tracks. Many of these clubs have jogging classes and/or aerobics instructors, who can help with your running program.
Warning: Not all of these instructors are qualified to function as a coach for a runner who is serious about improving his or her 5-K time, as opposed to achieving a level of aerobic fitness. Typically, health clubs hire young people at minimal salaries. These instructors often have physical education degrees, or a love of sports, but may not have much personal experience coaching runners. Unfortunately, they move on to better-paying jobs at about the time they learn what they're doing. That doesn't mean you won't find some highly qualified and very dedicated running coaches connected with health clubs, but it's very much an area of "buyer beware."
--SCHOOLS: Whether or not the local high school has a coach willing to direct your training program, you may be able to find school-based fitness programs, particularly in the area of adult education. You're most likely to find such programs at community colleges, the so-called "junior colleges" that once served mainly as two-year feeder programs for commuter students who went on to attend larger universities, but increasingly have expanded their curriculum to encompass non-credit classes for adults seeking different educational skills, or simply something interesting to do evenings. Along with sewing classes and How to Create a Web Site, jogging and fitness classes have found a place on the curriculum.
Ron Gunn, the athletic director at (two-year) Southwestern Michigan College in Dowagiac, Michigan pioneered a Monday-night class for joggers, who moved on to finish marathons. Gunn's class (dubbed Marathon 101) was unique when he started it in 1978. Other schools now offer similar programs.
--WELLNESS AND CORPORATE CENTERS: Many hospitals now have individuals trained in exercise science on their staffs, as well as physical therapists. They sometimes have sports medicine centers and clinics. Frequently, hospitals offer classes in fitness, nutrition, walking and sometimes running. Whether or not the hospital has a specific program designed for your needs, individuals connected with the hospital may be able to point in the right direction.
Similarly, many corporations provide their employees with fitness programs and have in-house health clubs. Unless you're a member of that corporation, most likely you will be unable to participate, but people in charge of the corporate fitness program may be able to offer help, or do some coaching themselves. The important point is that individuals trained in exercise science often find jobs in hospitals and corporations. Look for them.
--PARK AND RECREATION DEPARTMENTS: Parks certainly are ideal places for running either individually or in groups. The park and recreation departments in many large cities often provide jogging programs. The City of Victoria Department of Parks and Recreation in British Columbia offers a six-week program of clinics for the beginning, recreational level runner, given by two instructors from the Victoria Track Club. During the summer in my home town of Michigan city, IN, two coaches from the high school run a Park District - sponsored program at the track. I often run with them. If your local park department doesn't sponsor its own program, the recreation director may at least be aware of groups using the parks.
In your search for non-profit organizations sponsoring running and fitness classes, also don't overlook your local YMCA or YWCA. Those organizations offered exercise programs long before anyone coined the term "aerobics." (Many YMCA's built during the first half of this century had overhead running tracks in their gyms.)
--RUNNING STORES: The specialty sport store where you buy your running shoes may be able to help you identify a coach. Not all stores are equal in this area; some are staffed by high school students, who may have little knowledge about running as a sport. For many chain sports stores, sales of running shoes may be only a side activity to the sales of T-shirts and posters linked to pro teams.
In the case where the store is owned, or managed, by a runner, or runners; however, those individuals usually are happy to suggest where to find coaching help. In fact, some runners who work at stores may serve as coaches themselves. In promoting her coaching services, Diane Palmason leaves promotional information at specialty sport stores, and many other coaches do the same.
--RUNNING CLUBS: Growing sources for coaching help are running clubs. The Annapolis Striders in Maryland, the Marion Pacers in South Carolina, and the Fort Wayne Track Club in Indiana are among member organizations of the Road Runners Club of America providing coaching services for their members.
Whether or not your local running club has a resident coach, the officers and members of that club often know who in the community is functioning as a coach. As more and more people ask for coaching help, clubs will react and begin to provide it.
How do you identify a running club if you're not a member and want to join? Answer: At all of the places above. Also, look in your local newspaper for information on local races and events. Most major newspapers carry such information, sometimes in the sports section, but often in special sections devoted to health, fitness or even entertainment. At the races, look around for runners wearing similar race singlets, such as the Houston Striders or the Buffalo Chips Running Club. Most runners are friendly when approached and happy to add new members to their organizations. Just ask!
To locate your nearest RRCA member club, contact the RRCA National Office or view the list of RRCA clubs on this web site.
WHY YOU NEED A COACH
LYNN JENNINGS HAD A SUCCESSFUL YEAR running in 1988. She made the American Olympic team at 10,000 meters. She placed sixth at the Games in Korea. She set a personal record of 31:39. She achieved all this as a self-trained athlete, having run the three previous years without a coach.
The following season, despite those achievements, Jennings decided she needed a coach. She contacted John Babington, an attorney, who in addition to coaching at Wellesley College directed the Liberty Athletic Club in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Jennings explains: "The emotional toll of creating a training program, making it work, and calming my self doubts was too much. I'd stalled out. I felt I needed that objective second eye that only a coach can provide."
Babington, who once had coached Jennings in high school, began directing her workouts. Under his tutelage, Jennings went on to even greater success, winning three world cross-country championships between 1990 and 1992 and placing third in the 10,000 at the 1992 Olympics, lowering her American record to 31:19.
"Every athlete has doubts," says Jennings. "Elite runners especially are insecure people. You need someone to affirm that what you are doing is right, and that's one of the job descriptions for a good coach."
Francie Larrieu Smith finished fifth, one place ahead of Jennings, at the 1988 Olympics. "If anyone seemed to prove you could run fast minus a coach it was Lynn," comments Larrieu Smith. "But look what happened after she got one!"
Larrieu Smith similarly feels she benefitted from a coach's advice. "I learned a lot over the years as to what one needs to do in training, but I didn't trust myself to follow through. It helped to have someone who studied and learned about new ideas and also followed old ideas to put it all together and help me reach my optimum performance level.
"The average runner thinks we are always motivated, but we suffer the same pains and problems as everybody. Having a coach helps you through the rough spots."
Kim Jones of Boulder, Colorado, had personal bests of 34:10 in the 10-K and 2:48 in the marathon before she sought guidance in 1985 from Benji Durden of Boulder. Working mostly by phone and fax, Durden helped Jones lower her times to 32:23 and 2:26. States Jones: "A good coach is someone who gives athletes workouts and explains why they will help. When I go out the door to run, I don't want the stress of thinking what I have to do that day and why I have to do it."
Durden describes another reason to have a coach: "Athletes sometimes tell you they want to do one thing, yet their behavior tells you they want to do another. In coaching, it helps to be able to read minds. I think of myself less as a coach and more as a facilitator."
Babington, who served as one of the women's coaches for the U.S. Olympic team in 1996, has another view of the athlete/coach relationship: "I think of myself as somebody who has responsibility for a super powerful race car, and part of my job is to keep it pointed in the right direction. Just correct the course by a degree or two. Not a major function, but arguably an important one."
Jim Huff explains his role as a coach with Detroit's Motor City Striders: "Someone with experience can look at a runner's training, discuss goals, and develop a program to help that person accomplish realistic goals. A lot of people don't have the basic know-how to progress toward a goal."
It matters little whether the athlete involved is training for the Olympic team or is a beginning runner hoping to finish a 10-K. The basic needs are the same. Runners at all levels can benefit from good coaching.
PERSONAL CONTACT
Francie Larrieu Smith had a series of coaches. As a teenager, she raced for the Cindergals in San Jose, California, guided by Augie Argabright. While she attended California State University in Long Beach, her coach was Preston Davis. Even after moving to Waco, Texas, Davis continued to coach Larrieu Smith by phone. Before the 1980 Olympics, however, Larrieu Smith felt she needed more than a long distance coaching relationship and moved to Waco, where she met her husband, Jimmy Smith. They moved to Denton where he studied for a Ph.D. in exercise physiology at the University of North Texas.
Larrieu Smith, however, no longer felt comfortable training with a college team. She recalls, "A friend on the team suggested her former age-group coach." That was Robert Vaughan of Dallas. Larrieu Smith made contact with Vaughan who agreed to supervise her training. At first, she commuted into Dallas for workouts; eventually she and her husband moved there.
"I considered it important to be near my coach," says Larrieu Smith. "During base training, we might not see each other for a couple of weeks, but doing intervals, Robert would be there to watch. I trained better that way. He could look at me and tell, just by watching my stride turnover, what level I was at in my training."
Vaughan explains: "Francie did not need a coach, but she liked to have one. She could have designed her own workouts. Her husband was an exercise physiologist. But sometimes you can coach somebody else better than you can coach yourself. It's good to have someone to rely on and talk to whose advice you can respect."
Ken Martin, America's fastest marathoner in 1989 with 2:09:38 for second at New York City, used a coach even while serving as a coach himself. Operating out of his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Martin helped to support himself by providing coaching aid by FAX for several dozen runners. Their ability levels ranged from 33:00 to 56:00 for 10-K. At the same time, Martin was being coached by exercise physiologist Jack Daniels, Ph.D., the track coach at State University of New York in Cortland.
Martin and Daniels actually had begun working together when both were living in Eugene, Oregon. Martin had attended school in that city at Lane Community College and the University of Oregon. At about the same time, Daniels was working as an exercise scientist and adviser with the Nike-funded team, Athletics West.
After Daniels moved to New York, he continued to advise a number of athletes, including Martin. Daniels concedes their long-distance relationship was far from ideal. "The primary reason to have a coach," says Daniels, "is to have somebody who can look at you and say, man, you're looking good today. I've coached a lot of people by phone and mail, some successfully, and the thing they miss most is personal contact."
Among runners coached long-distance by Daniels was Diane Busse, a top-ranked 10-K runner, who lived in Boulder, Colorado. He also advised Vicki Mitchell, one of his former team members living in Buffalo, New York, and Cathy Vascon, an Olympic Trials qualifier from Jacksonville, Florida. When Martin got out of the coaching business because he was too busy with his own training, he passed several of his clients on to Daniels. Two of them lived in Santa Cruz, California. Daniels notes that the only time he saw them in person was for 15 minutes in the San Francisco airport while he was en route to Hawaii. Daniels normally works with elite athletes, but also enjoyed working with people of lesser talent, which he felt offered a different challenge. How fast are the Santa Cruz runners? Daniels says of one who was 62 years old: "He would be delighted if I could coach him to break 50 minutes for 10-K."
SCIENTIFIC ADVICE
In working with Daniels, Martin felt one advantage was his coach's extensive scientific background. Daniels, who did his doctoral dissertation testing swift Olympians such as Jim Ryun, George Young and Bob Schul, stands among the top ranks of exercise scientists. "It gives you confidence to be able to rely on someone whose background combines training and physiology," says Martin.
Vaughan also feels coaches need to be well grounded in their scientific knowledge: "Like gravity you can't violate the basic laws of physiology. Some people try. Their experience may be limited to their own case, and they're not observant of others. A coach can bring information from a great number of sources and explain why something works and why something else will not."
Yet despite his scientific background, Daniels states: "The more I coach, the more importance I tend to put on the psychological and personal as opposed to the scientific approach to training."
According to Gordon Bakoulis, a 2:33 marathoner who now coaches other runners: "There are so many intangible ways that working with a coach helps on a day-to-day basis. A coach provides support, and shares decisions, and offers a plan you can stick to--then is around to praise you when the plan pays off."
U.S. Olympic Committee consultant David Martin claims that as athletes get more accomplished, they get a good feeling for what works best in terms of certain details: intervals, reps, long runs. It is then that they need someone to bounce ideas off, as well as someone to moderate the intensity of their efforts.
"Two things happen," says Martin. "First, you need to do more and more work for increasingly smaller gains in fitness. So the injury risk is very high, the burnout rate is very high. Second, the better the runner, the higher the stakes. More money in prizes. More pressure to perform, both internally and from the press. Your motivation becomes extreme. A coach needs to tone this down."
Martin feels that it's difficult for any athlete to step away and analyze his own training. "That's why the athlete needs someone to trust. My idea of a coach/athlete relationship is that of a very small and powerful team."
Keith Brantly, who trains under Martin's guidance, adds: "Putting in the work is easy for a world class athlete. The hard part is knowing when enough is enough. That's where a coach is most useful."
Bob Glover of the New York Road Runners Club works with runners having a variety of ability and experience. He believes the needs of the ordinary jogger are similar to those of the elite athlete, and that includes knowing how much to do. "When in doubt," says Glover, "the coach should do less, and I've gotten softer every year. By minimizing injury and gradually increasing training, a runner will improve."
Why do you need a coach? In summary, there are ten reasons:
1. MOTIVATION: Getting started is important for beginners; keeping going is a necessity for even experienced runners. A good coach can provide the necessary jump-start in the first case and continuous pushing in the latter. Reporting on a regular basis to a coach/mentor--even only once weekly or by mail or phone--can provide an important keystone to any training plan. "Your `average' athletes aren't as highly motivated as Olympians," explains Robert Vaughan. "They work 9-to-5 jobs and can't be expected to train twice daily, or get a massage four times a week. But given their limited time, a good coach still can motivate them to achieve their best."
2. SYSTEM: "Good coaches are like chefs," claims Gary Goettelmann, a coach in Santa Clara, California. "They have a methodology and a system. A disciplined athlete who follows his coach's system is bound to improve." Often, the details in any system are secondary to its mere existence. Jack Daniels claims you could use eight different systems to train the same athlete and achieve the same results. He says, "Having confidence in the system is more important than the actual system itself."
3. PLANNING: "Proper planning can help sharpen a person's goals," says Atlanta's Mary Reed. "A person who would like to break 40 minutes for 10-K and three hours for a marathon may fail at both goals because they're too diverse." A coach can help pick goals that are realistic and design training plans to achieve those goals, both long- and short-term." Goettelmann adds: "This frees the athlete to concentrate on the activity rather than the planning of it. That provides better focus."
4. ADVICE: Once a runner has been working for several years with a coach, the training plan becomes obvious: long runs on Sunday, intervals on Wednesday, rest Friday before the race. But even dedicated runners need advice. Benji Durden worked with 2:26 marathoner Kim Jones for nearly a decade. "I don't do as much coaching as I did at beginning," says Durden. "I've gone from being a coach to being an adviser. Kim developed to the point where she didn't rely on me for every decision." Jones concurs, adding: "Every athlete needs someone there to guide them with those decisions." One key role for coaches advising elite athletes is that of picking races, particularly knowing when to say no in this era of run for the money. But average athletes need similar help to avoid over-racing.
5. INJURY PREVENTION: A coach who carefully monitors an athlete's progress can recognize when the athlete begins to show signs of the fatigue from overtraining that often precedes any injury. A coach standing beside the track during a hard interval workout can call halt, whereas an uncoached athlete might plunge ahead. If and when injuries do occur, a coach can chart a course of rehabilitation and call upon the best medical advice to affect a cure. According to John Babington: "A coach's most important role may be preventing overtraining, which leads to injury, which puts you out of commission."
6. PLATEAU BUSTING: Sooner or later, all runners reach the point when they fail to improve. How to get off a plateau is a common problem. "When I was self-coached, I felt I got stuck at one level," says Lynn Jennings. "I had accomplished all I could do alone." Jennings' first world championship in cross-country came after she began working again with Babington. The same advantage is available to average runners who find a coach. "New runners only do what's fun," explains Reed. "If speed is fun, they train only on the track. If distance is fun, they never do any speed work." A good coach can suggest different types of training that may allow the plateaued runner to climb upward to a new level of performance.
7. CHECK LIST: A good coach keeps an athlete on course by making certain the athlete follows the system and plan, as above. According to David Martin: "A coach who is doing his job remembers where the athlete is heading. He will have a check list of what's important about different phases of the training plan. So when it comes time to do a specific workout, the coach can remind the athlete what they are trying to achieve. This frees the athlete to concentrate on the actual training itself."
8. FEEDBACK: Most runners have a hard time evaluating their own training. Keeping a diary helps, but still is no substitute for a good coach. "Runners tend to doubt their training," confesses Jennings. "If they are worried that they haven't quite done enough they think, `Gee, I better do more.' Having a coach circumvents that, because a coach is an unbiased observer. A coach can look at your workload and evaluate it more objectively than the athlete. That's positive, because a coach can say your mileage looks pretty high, time to do faster work. Or too much speed, you need more of a mileage base."
9. CHEERLEADER: Runners' muscles run on glycogen, but their minds often run on praise. They need encouragement. According to Gordon Bakoulis: "A coach can be emotionally helpful particularly when you have a bad race. The coach can offer a pat on the back, for starters, then later after you've digested your disappointment, the two of you can sit down and analyze: why the bad race?" She adds with a smile: "When you've had a good race, it's also nice to have someone to celebrate with."
10. FUN: Finally, a coach can make training fun by varying what the athlete does--even where they run. The coaching environment offers an opportunity to interact with other runners working with that same coach. "Athletes do need coaches," says David Martin, "but how do you define athlete? Even the everyday jogger, whose only goal is to have fun, can benefit from a coach." For those who run for enjoyment, that may be the best reason to seek coaching help.
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM A COACH
ARE YOU LOOKING for guaranteed improvement and a personal best, or simply a structured program and the companionship of other runners in training? What should you as a runner expect from your coach? What should your coach expect from you?
To avoid disappointment, you probably need to determine the answers to those questions. Not all coach/athlete relationships turn out successfully, either for the athlete or the coach. The athlete quoted below (who prefers to remain anonymous) is a physician with a 10-K best near 35:00 and a marathon under 2:50. Several years ago, he decided to seek a coach in hopes of improving to a new level. The experience proved unsatisfactory. He explains why:
I learned a lot during 16 years of running. I've gotten a little better each year, reaching my peak at age 45. Having done it all myself, I was looking for an `edge.' Recently, I hired a coach. I paid him $75 a month to supervise my training.
I'd known the coach for several years, since he supervised group practices for my running club. I liked him, still do. But as soon as we started to work together on a one-on-one basis, we encountered problems. A lot of coaches who work with young athletes use training techniques not made for old timers. I wasn't given enough time for recovery. I was training for a track race. By the time of the race, I could hardly walk, much less run. I had to take a week off, I was so overtrained. I ran the race and finished only two seconds off my best, but wasn't happy.
I've learned over the years what my body can do and what it can not. My new coach didn't know this. I know how to taper from trial and error, but he didn't give me enough rest. If I had followed all his advice, I would have gotten into real trouble.
I still hire him. One reason is that he is supportive. Over the years, my family and friends have lost interest in my running. He comes out and times me. He may be able to help change my running form. Who knows? I'm going to stay with him a little longer. If I beat my marathon time, it will be worth it.
Is this an example of a coach who failed to comprehend the needs of the runner he trained--or is it instead an example of a runner with unrealistic goals, who failed to communicate those needs to his coach? (After all, the runner did run within two seconds of his fastest 10-K time at an age when most people slow noticeably each year!) It could be a little bit of both--or it could be neither.
Without question, effective communication between coach and athlete is an essential ingredient to a successful program. Equally important is the recognition by a coach that his or her system may not work for all athletes. "Too many coaches fall into a trap of believing it is the system that is the solution," says former Washington State University's track coach John Chaplin, "but this overlooks the fact that every athlete has different needs and different levels of ability."
In approaching a coach, thus, the runner has to carefully evaluate what he or she has to gain from the relationship.
WILL THE COACH LISTEN?
According to Gordon Bakoulis, five-time Olympic Trials qualifier on the track and in the marathon, "First you need to establish whether your coach will listen to you to determine what your goals are, what your needs are, what your training history has been, and what you want out of the coaching relationship." Bakoulis stresses that no matter what level the runner, he or she needs to find someone who can communicate.
Second on Bakoulis's list is stress/injury prevention and fitness ahead of competitive goals. "Not that competitive goals aren't important," she says, "but you need to be healthy to compete.
"On top of that, it depends on what your level and what you want to achieve. Are you looking to lower your PR? Do you want to build a consistent training program, which might have eluded you in the past? Is your goal a marathon, or some other important race? Anyone looking for a coach has to do a little bit of thinking before they sign on the dotted line."
Cathie Twomey Bellamy qualified for the marathon at the World Championships in 1987. She was an Olympic Trials finalist in three different events: 1500, 3000 and 10,000 meters. She now coaches masters runners in Eugene, Oregon. Bellamy believes that runners seeking a coach should not merely check that coach's credentials, but also see how he or she reacts with runners.
"I invite prospective clients to show up at our workouts a couple of times," she says. "Check the chemistry between athlete and coach. If it doesn't exist, they probably don't want to join us. See how much feedback athletes get during workouts. What's the atmosphere? Is it fun?"
Bellamy believes that workouts should be relaxed, but in an organized fashion. "Let's face it: if you want to hire a coach, you're obsessed with your running. You're probably not training that hard only for the fun and camaraderie. You're looking for improvement. You want to set PR's. But training needs to be flexible, depending upon peoples' goals. And there's no reason why it can't be fun."
She also believes in a hands-on approach. She meets runners in her program three times during the week at the track or on trails for workouts. She speaks of another coach who operates long distance by phone and email. Understanding that may be a necessity for runners who don't have access to coaching in their area, she nevertheless dislikes operating that way.
"I like to personally be there at the track, observing form and talking with the runners while they work out," says Bellamy. "Sometimes you arrive at the track after having had a terrible day at work. I'll change your workout. Just because we wrote a workout plan a month in advance, I'm not afraid to change it."
PERSONAL TRAINER
Bellamy suggests runners check in advance concerning the type of training they will be doing: "Does the coach immediately try to bang you into a program, ignoring what you've done in the past? Most runners are looking at a coach for improvement, not for total change. How many questions does the coach ask about you? How much is the coach willing to consider your previous program, good or bad? Does the coach ask you about total mileage, or whether you've done cross training? Will the coach make unrealistic demands on your schedule? Can you handle the extra commitment? Can you afford to have a coach--not the cost, but the personal commitment?"
Some people don't want a coach; they want a personal trainer. There's a difference, suggests Bakoulis: "They want someone to run with them every day. Like Madonna, they want a body guard."
Bakoulis was contacted by one runner looking for someone to run with him at 6:00 in the morning. The runner trained at a 10:00 mile pace, considerably slower than Bakoulis's regular training pace. Bakoulis said no, but concedes that under certain circumstances she might have agreed to become a personal trainer.
Some coaches run with the runners they train; some do not. Some runners stand beside the track with a stopwatch; some ride alongside on a bicycle or travel by car, stopping to offer fluids and encouragement on long runs. Some remain back at the parking lot and wait. Others coach by phone or fax. Depending on the situation, and the individuals involved, one coaching approach is not necessarily better or worse. The important fact is that the runner seeking a coach know what to expect in advance. If not, both runner and coach may walk (or jog) away from the relationship disappointed.
That's not fair for the runner, but it's also not fair to the coach! Most coaches accept their paid assignments not only for the money--which often is minimal--but because they sincerely enjoy working with runners in a personal relationship and sharing their achievements.
Bob Williams, a former All-American steeplechaser who guides runners in group settings with the Portland Marathon and Team Oregon, has had both successes and failures in nearly three decades of coaching. The successes far outweigh the failures, otherwise he would not have lasted that long. But one unsettling experience continues to nag his memory.
He had worked for a year with a woman who set as her goal 2:50 for a Midwest marathon. Williams notes that he was the first coach to have kept the woman healthy during an intense training program lasting that long. She ran one of her best-ever races, placing in the top ten, but because of having to buck a stiff headwind for 13 miles, ran only 2:52. "She thought she had failed," sighs Williams. "She took a nosedive emotionally for six months. It was partly my fault. I didn't read the warnings, the red flags that popped up every few weeks, that this woman was putting her entire life into this one race."
For the coach/athlete relationship to work, both coach and athlete must communicate their needs and goals.
APPROACHING A COACH
Certainly, it helps to have a goal in mind when you approach a coach seeking training aid. That comes down to the old saying: When you have no destination, any road will take you there. Having predetermined goals makes the coach's job easier. According to Williams: "I have runners who put themselves in my hands and say, `Whatever you ask, I'll do it.' That's a tough responsibility."
If your only goal is fitness and losing a few pounds, it may not make sense to enter a program centered around interval quarters on the track twice weekly. If you want to improve your marathon time--not merely finish--a group program designed for beginners featuring mostly slow jogging and advice you read three years ago in Runner's World won't satisfy you.
On the other hand, part of the job description of a good coach is to assist runners in setting their goals. The coach must be willing to listen and perhaps offer options that the runner might not have considered before. "One of the problems with many runners is they become PR-oriented," says Bellamy. "They want to continuously move from one Personal Record to another. But after you've been running a while, and after you've begun to age, continuous PR's no longer are attainable. The coach needs to teach runners to cope with that fact. The coach needs to show runners how to set reasonable goals--and I mean goals that both coach and runner can achieve together. It's particularly important when you're working with masters."
WHAT TO TELL YOUR COACH
David Martin, Ph.D., the Atlanta-based exercise physiologist who serves as a training consultant for the U.S. Olympic Committee, says that if an athlete approached him and wanted to be coached, these are the questions he would ask the athlete. These are the questions that--if he were the athlete--he hopes he would be asked.
1. What is your general health? This is basic information. A coach can't work with a runner without knowing his or her medical history, particularly in the area of injuries. A look at wear on the runner's shoes sometimes will give clues that can be helpful in injury prevention. (Inevitably, however, you are responsible for your own safety and are obligated to communicate any potential medical problems to your prospective coach.)
2. What type of training have you done? Is the runner a beginner, or an experienced runner who already knows the meaning of fartlek and interval running? A runner's base and background--particularly whether he or she may have competed in high school or college--dictates where the coach can begin.
3. Where do you train? If the athlete doesn't plan to run each workout under the coach's supervision, what access does that runner have to training facilities: track, trails, road? Particularly if the coaching relationship is to be long distance--mail, phone or e-mail -- the coach needs to know where his runner will be training and, particularly, on what surfaces.
4. What do you expect from running? Does the athlete merely want to get in shape, or is he or she an experienced runner looking for improvement, or guidance in finishing a marathon or making the Olympic team? Most good training programs are goal-oriented. Coach and runner need to determine that goal early in the relationship.
If all of those questions are answered honestly, both coach and runner will have an easier time achieving success together.
CHECKING OUT YOUR COACH
HOW DO YOU DETERMINE whether or not a coach you approach is qualified and can help you more than hurt you? According to Francie Larrieu Smith: "It's bothersome to me that anyone can hang out their shingle and say, `I'm a coach.' There's no way to check credentials."
But now you can! The RRCA offers a coaching certification program for coaches of adult road runners. USATF offers coaching education classes leading to three levels of certification for track and field, but the program does not encompass road running. "It's a sincerity hurdle," admits Roy Benson, chairman of the RRCA coaching committee, who has participated in the program. "It at least suggests that the person qualifying for certification is furthering his or her coaching skills."
Benson was an RRCA leader in developing the RRCA's Coaching Certification of Adult Distance Runners. Initially, the publication of this booklet, was the first step in that direction. Working with Benson on the RRCA's Coaching Committee was John Chaplin, former coach at Washington State University. Chaplin warns that no system, or program, can guarantee that any coach--no matter how many his past successes--will be able to help you as a runner.
"It is too easy for coaches to get caught up in their `systems,'" says Chaplin. "They believe that their great coaching created Joe Blow, World Champion, and sometimes overlook that it was that person's great talent, which they were fortunate enough to tap. We're dealing with individuals, and there are many solutions to different problems."
Diane Palmason believes that classroom education cannot make a good coach. "Spending a week in a certification program listening to people talk theory may help fine-tune your coaching skills, but there's no substitute for working with athletes--and working with a lot of them," she says. Palmason is a product of the Canadian system where certification at the highest levels requires working with a "master coach," who critiques each candidate's coaching style. The Canadian program also includes ongoing education. "I'm in favor of certification," says Palmason, "but you don't become a coach by going for three days and listening to a lot of talk."
One other question that the RRCA has begun to address is the area of liability. What happens when an athlete gets injured? More to the point, what happens when an adult athlete, following an intensive training program, suffers a heart attack? Individuals who work at the high school and college level usually have institutional coverage. Physical educators can obtain coverage through the American College of Sports Medicine. Safe to say, however, most individuals who coach adult athletes probably do not have liability insurance.
Former RRCA president Carl Sniffen, Esq., believes that runners must be responsible for their own safety. "Running at any level can be strenuous," says Sniffen. "Despite the presence of a qualified coach, only the runner knows how he or she feels during any particular workout. Ultimately, the key to avoiding injury is proper communication between athlete and coach."
Runners seeking to identify whether or not a coach is qualified to help them might consider the following check list, developed by Benson, who coaches adult runners both in person and from a distance. Coach Benson suggests asking questions in ten basic areas:
1. Credentials: Ask your potential coach about his or her coaching credentials. In addition to the RRCA's and USATF, several other organizations offer seminars and programs designed to advance a coach's ability to train individuals in the areas of health and fitness. The American College of Sports Medicine certifies trained people as exercise scientists. The Cooper Clinic in Dallas certifies individuals as fitness instructors. The International Dance Exercise Association (IDEA) certifies aerobics instructors. That doesn't mean an individual knows how to coach, but such programs provide varied knowledge that may be helpful in coaching.
2. Education: A coach's educational background is one indication of his or her knowledge. If you plan to work under a coach, you have a right to ask whether or not that coach has earned any degrees. The original degree of choice for coaches was a bachelor's or master's degree in physical education. Those graduating from college since the onset of the fitness boom are more likely to have a degree in exercise science, sometimes a Ph.D. If someone has an exercise science degree, they probably at least know how to design a training program.
3. Experience: Making such a program work then becomes a matter of experience. Ask how long the coach has been coaching. Equally important, what kind of runners has he or she coached? Coaching an adult to run 10-K races is significantly different from coaching high school cross-country runners. Coaching marathoners requires a still different approach. Just because someone was an elite runner capable of winning races does not qualify that person to instruct others. In fact, that person's experience may interfere with his or her ability to relate to the problems of less-gifted, or less-dedicated, athletes.
4. Success: Coupled with experience, what success has your new coach achieved working with runners similar to you? If you were about to have arthroscopic surgery on your knee, you would legitimately want to know whether your doctor had performed previous operations on runners. Be similarly fussy about picking a running coach. Ask for references of runners he or she has coached--and how well they have run. Warning: Success is not measured only by titles won or records set. Someone finishing their first marathon in five hours may be as great a success story as another runner who qualifies for the Olympic team.
5. System: What kind of system does the coach use? Is it a highly structured program that involves a specific time commitment on the part of those being coached? Will you meet regularly, or not at all? If the coach requires your attendance at practice three times a week (a not unreasonable request), you have to decide whether or not you can make that commitment. Most coaches develop ways in which they interact with (i.e., coach) their athletes. How will that coach/athlete interaction be structured? This is particularly important if you are working with a coach in which the only contact is going to be by mail, by phone, or by fax.
6. Consultation: How much of the coach's time do you get for your money? Will you see your coach only as part of a group, or will you have the opportunity for one-on-one consultation and help in planning your training schedule and addressing your specific needs? There's nothing wrong with getting your coaching help as part of a group, catching pieces of advice here and there on the run. But if your only personal contact with the coach is going to be talking to him through the window of a car before he drives off to his regular job at a hospital, you should know that fact in advance. If scheduled appointments are part of the agreement, where will they take place, and for what length of time?
7. Clientele: What kind of runner does your prospective coach train? Elite athletes absorb a lot of coaching time and energy. A coach trying to train someone to win the gold medal may find it difficult to accommodate the needs of someone whose goals are not Olympian. (High-performance athletes need to carefully choose their coaches for a similar, but opposite, reason: they probably do need more attention.) A few coaches successfully balance fast and slow clients, males and females, youths and masters. Others state specifically what runners they prefer to coach. John Babington, who coaches Lynn Jennings, works only with female distance runners at the elite level. He states that up front. Trying to fit yourself into a program designed for others with dissimilar goals does neither you nor the coach any good.
8. Philosophy: What approach does the coach bring to the sport? Whether the coach stresses high or low mileage, whether the focus of training is going to be on paced repeats or fast sprints, will determine whether or not you'll be comfortable in his or her training program. One coach may offer a highly structured program, and expect everybody to follow it, while another coach might look at you and say, "Let's try this." Either approach can be wrong or right. However, don't walk away from a coach, because his methods are radically different. Sometimes runners need to change, which is one reason why they seek a coach. Most important, know in advance what to expect.
9. Cost: How much does the coach charge? In the past, most runners received their coaching "free" as members of high school or college teams. (Even then, they were paying indirectly in the form of taxes and/or tuition.) With the increase in demand by adults for coaching help, paid relationships have more recently begun to develop. There is no set fee, although monthly charges of $50 to $100 are common. Price depends largely on the amount of services rendered--or demanded--and the time spent by the coach. Some coaches charge by the month; some by the year. Others are involved in programs or classes for which there is a set fee. Coaches working with elite athletes sometimes earn a percentage of prize money won. And many coaches don't expect to be paid, and may prefer no payment, feeling it dilutes the reason for their commitment. One coach working with a young athlete rejected repeated offers by a parent for payment. Give me something for Christmas, said the coach finally. (The thankful parent spent $500 on the present!) You wouldn't walk into a running store and buy a pair of shoes without first asking the price. In choosing a coach, ask for a complete breakdown of services and charges. Whether the coach accepts cash, checks or payment by Visa also tells you something about the operation. So does how the coach advertises his or her services.
10. Termination: Sometimes, no matter how carefully you pick and choose your coach, you may not be happy. Or, you may become injured, thus unable to participate. Anticipating a divorce is not a comfortable way to begin any relationship, but you have the right to know whether you can terminate your agreement and recoup your money, or stop payments. This may be particularly important if you have agreed to work with a coach, or join a program, for a period of time. Remember, however, that much of a coach's time and psychic commitment may come in designing your initial program. Knowing the rules in advance will lessen problems if you need to ask for a refund.
Inevitably, there is no set way by which a runner can determine whether or not a chosen coach is competent, or will be able to provide the necessary help that runner desires and deserves. In the end, it often comes down to a matter of chemistry as to whether or not coach and athlete can and will work successfully together. Using the above checklist before entering into a coach/athlete relationship will increase your chances of achieving success.
Posted by Editor at April 16, 2005 06:17 PM
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