Do I need a running coach?
If you're thinking about getting a bit more serious about your running or cycling, there's a good chance you've wondered whether you need a coach.
Perhaps you've been following a training plan you've found online. Maybe you're training regularly but aren't getting any faster. Or perhaps you've got an event coming up and you're not entirely sure how best to prepare for it.
The truth is, you don't necessarily need a coach. Plenty of people get fitter, faster and complete some incredible events without ever working with one.
It really comes down to what you're trying to achieve, how you're going about it at the moment, and whether a bit of guidance could make the process easier.
Can't I just follow a training plan?
Of course you can. There are plenty of good training plans available online, and if you're relatively new to running or cycling, following a sensible plan and sticking to it consistently can make a big difference.
It doesn't know how tired you've been after a difficult week at work, whether you've slept badly for a few nights, or whether that session you struggled through has left you needing an extra day to recover. It just tells you what to do next.
And that's fine when everything goes to plan. But real life rarely works like that.
One of the benefits of having a coach is having someone who can look at what's happening, help you decide what to do next and make changes when necessary.
Sometimes you'll need to push yourself a little harder. At other times, the best thing you can do is ease off. Knowing the difference is an important part of training well, but it can be very difficult when you are in the thick of it to decide the best route forward.
I'm training regularly, but I'm not getting any faster
This is one of the common reasons people start looking for a running or cycling coach.
You're putting the hours in, you're trying to do the right things, but your times aren't improving. Or perhaps your cycling FTP has stopped going up, despite all the hard work you're putting into your training.
It's frustrating, particularly when you feel you're doing everything you should be doing. There could be several reasons for it. You might be doing too much hard training and not recovering properly. Perhaps your training lacks structure, or you're doing plenty of sessions that make you tired without really helping you move towards your goal. Without looking at the bigger picture, it's difficult to know.
A coach can help you work out what's going well, what's not working and where a few changes might make a difference. There's no guarantee of getting faster overnight, but at least you'll have a clearer idea of what you're trying to achieve and how to go about it.
Do I need a coach for a marathon or ultra?
Not necessarily. If you're preparing for your first marathon, ultra run or long-distance cycling event, you can find plenty of information to help you get ready.
But the bigger the challenge, the more there is to think about. With a marathon, you'll need to build your running gradually and get used to spending longer on your feet. With an ultra or a long-distance cycling event, you'll also need to think about pacing, fueling, hydration and how you're going to manage fatigue over several hours, or even days.
A big consideration is the need to fit training around work, family and everything else going on in your life. That's where having someone looking in from the outside can be useful.
A coach can help you prepare for the demands of your particular event rather than simply getting you fitter in a general sense. They can also help you avoid the temptation to do too much, which is surprisingly easy when you're worried about whether you're doing enough.
And if you're taking on a big challenge for the first time, having someone to talk things through with can make the whole process feel a little less daunting.
What if I haven't got much time to train?
You don't need to be training every day to benefit from coaching. In fact, if you're juggling work, family commitments and training, it can be particularly helpful to have a plan that takes those things into account.
It's easy to assume that getting fitter means doing more. But if you've only got a limited number of hours available each week, you need to make the most of them. That doesn't mean every session has to be hard or that you need to squeeze training into every spare moment. It means understanding which sessions matter, how they fit together and when you need to recover.
A good training plan should fit around your life as much as possible. It shouldn't leave you feeling that you're constantly failing because you haven't managed to complete every session. And if it isn’t working, then it must be flexible and adapt to the athlete and their life and other commitments.
Isn't coaching just for serious athletes?
Maybe you imagine that a coach is only for someone competing at a high level and training for hours every day? But you don't have to be an elite athlete to benefit from having someone help you with your training. A good coach will not just help you perform better, but keep it enjoyable, and we all want training to be fun don’t we!
You might simply want to run your first marathon, improve your cycling, complete a challenging sportive or see what you're capable of if you train a little more purposefully.
You also don't need to know everything about training before you start. Part of having a coach is learning along the way and understanding why you're doing certain sessions rather than blindly following instructions.
And if you're already an experienced runner or cyclist, coaching can still be useful. Sometimes it's difficult to be objective about your own training, particularly when you're working towards a goal that matters to you. Many coaches are also coached themselves! A second opinion can be valuable, even when you've been doing this for years.
What should you look for in a coach?
I think this matters just as much as deciding whether you need one in the first place. You want someone who listens to you, takes your goals seriously and understands that you're a person with a life outside sport.
You should feel comfortable asking questions and explaining when something isn't working. Your coach should be willing to listen to your feedback and adjust your training when needed. And they should have some understanding of why you're doing what you're doing. As often, as the challenges get bigger, less people do understand your motivation.
For me, coaching shouldn't be about handing someone a training plan and expecting them to get on with it. It's about working together to find an approach that makes sense for that individual.
The aim is to help you become a better athlete and to understand your body better, not to make you dependent on somebody else to tell you when to go for a run or ride your bike.
So, do I need a coach?
If you're enjoying your training, making progress and happy with what you're doing, you might not need one.
But if you're struggling to improve, unsure whether you're training properly or preparing for an event that feels like a big step up, it could be worth considering.
You might not need more training. You might just need a bit of direction, someone to help you see the bigger picture, or the reassurance that you're heading in the right direction. And sometimes, having someone else take a look at things can save you months of trying to work it all out yourself.
Ultimately, coaching isn't about making training more complicated. It's about helping you make the most of the time and energy you're putting into it.
Could I help you with your training?
At Neil Bryant Endurance, I work with athletes who want to improve their running or cycling. You don't have to be an elite athlete, and you don't need to have everything figured out before you get in touch. You just need an idea of what you'd like to achieve and a willingness to work towards it.
Your training should be built around your goals, your current ability and the time you have available. It should challenge you, but it should also be realistic enough to fit into your everyday life.
If you're wondering whether a coach could help you, why not get in touch? We can talk about what you're aiming for, where you are now and whether coaching might be a good fit.
You might find that you don't need a coach at all. But if a little guidance could help you get where you want to be, it's worth having the conversation. Please use the form below, or email and we can chat.