"I need a coach...."

I need a coach....Any advice on how to chose a coach?

Sure! Putting aside for a moment my thoughts on how many individuals conflate a NEED with a WANT, I find myself intrigued by the number of people looking for a coach.  Is it because they think that having a coach will automatically get them to the finish line with a series of personal bests in the shortest time period possible?  Any coach can take a (relatively) new runner with sporadic and/or haphazard training with little to no accountability or motivation, put them into the most basic program without any personal customization and still reap some short term rewards.  Said another way, give a new runner some consistency in training, and they will almost immediately see improvements in their performance.  My job here is to get in front of that runner and help them choose the right person(s) for the job.  I firmly believe that with the right person helping them out,  they stand to enjoy running for many years to come.  There's so much to think about and it's not just a popularity contest.  

At the end of the day you are a consumer, and you need to make informed decisions with the relevant facts and circumstances in front of you.  Whether you're spending hard earned disposable income on a coach, or spending a significant amount of your free time trying to improve yourself as a runner, a basic monitoring of your perceived Return On Investment (ROI) is of utmost importance.

Step 1:  Define your goals

What do you want to get out of running?  Are there specific races you heard about?  Are your motivations social or performance-based?  You don't go to a used Toyota dealership if what you're looking for is a brand new Porsche GT3, and vice versa.  Know what you want to do before you start shopping.  Once you find what you want, will it fit into the rest of your life?  Can you find the right balance?  Knowing where you want to go, and how you want to get there are key factors before moving forward.  Knowing what you want ahead of time will prevent you from getting talked into something you don't want or need.

Step 2:  Where's the balance?

Running isn't the only thing in your life.  You've got a life outside of the running community.  Figure out how much time you're going to allot towards training.  Find a coach that is flexible and is willing to take input from you, to consider all of the factors in your life as part of the overall program.  If you have a rigid coach who's telling you to get outside after 15 hours worth of work because the easy run 17 weeks away from the marathon is the most important part of your day, they may not be fully considerate of your situation.  Look for the coach that's going to work with you, and adjust on the fly for these kinds of situations.  As long as you're working hard, they should find a way to keep you on track towards your goal, or work with you to modify the goal to fit the rest of your life.

Step 3:  Ask your potential coach some questions:

1. How long have you been involved with running?
2. I'm looking to run certain kinds of races, have you done any of them yourself?  Their specific performance doesn't prove or disprove "qualification" to coach you, but provides opportunities to guide you through the process.
3. How long have you been coaching?  What's the average duration per athlete?  A coach who's been at it for 20 years but has an average duration of 6 months/client with clients versus a coach who's been at it for 5 years and has an average duration of 4 years/client should make you think before choosing someone.
4. What's their definition of SUCCESS?
5. What's their definition of INJURY? 
6. What's their definition of RECOVERY?
7. Get into a conversation with them on QUALITY and QUANTITY
8. Do they define "customized plan" as different paces for the same workout for everyone?  RED FLAG:  If there are 10 people in a group all running different races at different times with different distances, if everyone is running the same workout (only the pace being modified) MOST OF THE TIME....you might want to ask more questions about that observation!
9. Can I ask you questions?
10. If I don't meet my goals, how can I expect you to address this issue? 
11. How often will we talk?  How will we communicate?  How often will you adjust my schedule? 
12. What's their philosophy on running?  Low mileage high intensity?  High mileage low intensity?  High mileage high intensity?  What kind of runner are you?  
13. Are they certified?  Did they maintain that certification? (certification doesn't always matter)
14. How much have they "studied" the sport of running? A few google downloads or a room full of all the running books, magazines, and research journals ever produced?

If you're face to face with this potential coach, pay very close attention to the answers and watch for changes in mood.  They should be very comfortable providing any of these answers.  If they seem defensive at any point, take that into consideration.  They aren't hiring YOU to run for them.  You're employing them to provide you with a service.

 Step 4:  Get referrals from people.  

Ask people who are with a coach.  What's it like with their coach?  What do they like?  If they could improve anything, what would it be?

Ask people who used to be with a coach. Why did they leave?  Did they feel like they were no longer maximizing their ROI?  What did they LIKE about that coach?

Step 5: RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH

1. If they have an online website, go there. 
2. Do they have social media accounts?  
3. Maybe they have a YouTube channel, do they offer instructional videos?  Is it related or beneficial to running?  Do they know what they are talking about?  A few clicks through Google and you should see if they're selling you snake oil, blowing smoke, or accurate.  If it doesn't look or sound right, at least you know BEFORE you sign up.
4. If you know they will be at a race, observe them interacting with their current clients.  A good coach will congratulate an athlete for a good performance.  A great coach will be able to console an athlete without saying a word after a day doesn't go as planned. Be there to see how all the athletes are treated.
5. Are they presenting information to another group?  Go listen.  Are they describing their services or are they using words that are designed to make you think they might have some idea about the secrets behind being a great runner?  Stay away from the person saying things like "ADP....dark phase....Krebs cycle concentric osmosis....mitochondria....lactate interval threshold long hill sprints"  They are just dropping words in from running magazines they read.

While this is no means exhaustive, that's basically it in a nutshell!  Figure out what you want to do with running, see if it will fit into your life, ASK A TON OF QUESTIONS, talk to people about that coach, and VERIFY.  

There's a lot more to coaching than just giving you your next workout.  

My next post will be up soon.  What's my definition of a "good coach"?  Stay tuned to find out!

The best of luck to all of you. If you have any questions feel free to reach out.