What does the LetsRun universe think about coaching services that charge runners different amounts for the same services or even charging some and not others. I recently became aware of one coaching service doing this and wondered what the runners paying full price thought of others getting it for free, or if they even know.
The coaching service I am talking about is McKirdy Trained. They went from a start up to 5 coaches and hundreds of runners in the last 10 months. I follow a few runners they coach and got curious when I noticed some weird patterns. Some runners continually gave them praise and shut outs despite being injured and or not having raced (or raced poorly) all year. So I ask a friend who knows some of these runner what was going on an she told me that several of the runners got free coaching because they have large social media followings. If they give the coaching service regular shout-outs they get the full services for free in some cases or for big discounts in other cases. She said she heard some were even getting paid as recruiters but wasn't 100% sure about that. Said one put the hard sell on her even though she had another coach.
I am not sure how I feel about that. Would I want to pay full price when someone else gets it for free just because they have a big IG account. It also made me go back and look closer at some of those runners. In one case one of the runners has only worked with McKirdy for 6 months and has not raced and has been injured with no running the last 2 months ... but constantly gives him praises. Sounds pretty disingenuous to me, if not for getting paid why would you continually praise someone who got you injured and out for 2 months within a few months of starting to work with them. Also I don't like someone trying to sell me on the down-low, without telling me they are getting a commission.
I mean I get what McKirdy is doing, substituting social media hype for track record of success since he's new. Maybe a smart business move on his part, but sounds like a house of cards potentially when word gets out his biggest endorsers and supporters are essentially being paid to support him.
What do you think LetsRun Universe?