Runners are not all the same, some like to run for miles and miles, others focus on shorter faster races. Some win the Olympics others aim just to reach the finish line. But, no matter which runner you are, all runners tend to have a one thing in common. They have a goal, a target they are aiming for and they are willing to train to achieve it. It would be nice if we could all be as good as Chris Thompson and win the Olympic Marathon trials. This was obviously a phenomenal achievement and you could see how much it meant to him, but all runners can experience this sort of thing, in their own way, from their own achievements.
It was notable that in his post race interview Chris referred straight to his coach Alan Storey, paying tribute to just how important a role he has played in this success and how valuable it is to have a someone in your corner trying hard to find the best way they can to help you achieve your goals. You might think that having a coach to help reach that goal is something only for the serious or elite runners, but it can be the just as valuable for all runners in helping them reach new levels and keeping them going when they aren’t sure if it's possible.
Here’s just some of the ways a good coach can help you train smarter, train better and enjoy your running more:
A good coach will help you pick the right goals. It’s often not possible to go A to Z in one jump. Picking realistic goals to work towards will make your running journey easier, more fun, help prevent burn-out and injury. It will keep things moving forward so that the dream goal will hopefully eventually become a reality.
A good coach will design a training plan around you. They will listen to what you can do and when you can do it. They will find training sessions that you find exciting, motivating and fun. They will observe and gather feedback on whats working, whats not working, whats doable and whats not and then provide a training program that fits in around your life, but provides all the elements that you need to achieve the goals.
A good coach will do the easy job of providing praise when things go well, and the slightly harder job of providing encouragement and support to help identify the positives when things don’t match up to your expectations. But a good coach will also (carefully) do the hard job of making sure you stay accountable for your choices and help stop you from harming your chances of success.
A good coach will help you develop your running technique and provide guidance on the strength and conditioning training that will support your training and racing, to help keep you injury free and get your body working better for you.
And a good coach will be able to look objectively at your training and see when things need changing, or when extra rest and recovery are needed. Sometimes, its easy to think that training more or training harder are the answer, when often the opposite is true. A coach will make sure that you give your body the care it needs so that it can grow stronger and faster.
A good coach won’t worry what level you are, they will help you plan, train for, and achieve your running goals, whether you want to run faster, to run longer, or just simply to run, all are worthy and worth celebrating.
If you would like to find out if Bigfoot Running could help you then book a free training evaluation or an introductory meeting or click the email button below with any questions.