david45 wrote:
In other sports, coaches are important for planning in the game and all sorts of other things. In running, coaches just tell you what training to do. Such training can be done by the athlete themselves without a coach. So, are coaches pointless in running?
First "track and field" is a wide ranging sport. For the more technical events (throws and jumps), you could spend a lot of time figuring out how to do it on your own. Go get a javelin and see how long it takes to figure out how to throw it. Sure you can go in the internet and watch videos; you also likely will end up with contradictory information. Then what?
There are certainly books about training that one can read; you then need to take the time to take that information and figure out how to write the training plan. You can find training plans for some events pretty easily (the longer the distance I think the more training plans you will find). The downside there is that the training plan assumes everyone will respond the same to that "cookie cutter" plan. What if you do not respond well?
What if adjustments need to be made? I have coached adult marathoners for three decades (off and on admittedly). Many come after trying a Higdon or Galloway plan. Now those plans will get a large number of people to the start line and through a marathon, but one issue that is common is the runner who needs to adjust the program because of his/her life. I have trained nurses and firefighters who don't work a traditional 9-5 job. Another person needed someone to hold them accountable or just ask questions about specific things that are not covered in the plan. Also, what happens if you have a cold or the flu (not COVID) and miss a week of training. I have yet to see a plan that tells you what to do in that case.
Coaches of elite athletes often adjust the training on a daily basis. I have had the great honor to sit with Joe Vigil and ask questions. One of the biggest lessons I learned was he plans the training but talks with the runners each day and based on the answers he gets about how the runner is doing will adjust the workout even hours before hand. One example he gave was a runner who had a particularly hard workout scheduled, but based on the info Vigil got that morning about how recovered the runner felt and how poorly he had slept, Vigil changed the workout to another easy day. He pushed back the hard workout.
Some athletes might be able to make such an adjustment, but a lot become slaves to a schedule they wrote out weeks before or that they got from a book. The coach should be an objective viewer and adjust accordingly.
There are also tactical considerations on the coaching side as well.
That is my case for having a distance running coach.