Starting a coaching business?

Dont want to put you off but most athletes belong to a local running club with coaches to work with them weekly for little or no cost. So why would/should they pay you?

Only perhaps elite runners who want specialist one to one private coaching would consider using a coaching business.

Sorry! but good luck anyway.

Are you american? The club system is very underdeveloped in the US.

And I dont want to make a bunch of money from this. I just want to help local people reach goals. And besides, spending $100 on a pair of shoes with no direction gets you no where, right?

No English- hence my reply.

Good that you want to develop local runners reach goal with your expertise and commitemt to coaching.

Agree with point about expensive kit-might look good but what about the performance and effort. It needs nurture and encouragement as well for success.

Dont think you will make a million but you will get lots of personal satisfaction. Do you need a motivational coach to work for you?

Cheers

I can't imagine anyone paying a coach even though there are people who make good money off it. Personally, I think it is a total rip-off for those paying. I think it's getting to be more popular because of the "new generation" of yuppie runners who think it's all about spending money and having everything, including a coach. I've seen people charge $100 - $150 per month or $200 for a 12-15 week marathon program. To me, it's a total waste of money. I have never charged anyone for information nor would I ever do so. When people ask me about private coaches, my response is, "Take your $150 and go buy Daniels Running Formula, Better Training for Distance Running, Advanced Marathoning, Peak When it Counts, anything by Lydiard, Periodization: Theory and Methodology of Trainig, and if you can get it Road to the Top. You now have a lifetime of training rather than just 12-weeks."

TRUE

Well, your going to have to compete with guys like me who coach for free for the pure enjoyment of it. Sorry about that.

Training Peaks has lots of great software geared toward personal coaching. It was $10 a month per client last time i checked. it makes your job a lot easier. there is money to be made from this but you have to network really well. there are a lot of people who want someone who has read those books and UNDERSTANDS them to tell them what to do. most people are clueless and will remain clueless even if they read those books. keep in mind that a lot of the people will not be committed to improving though. my roommate makes $200/month from a lawyer to be more of a cheerleader then a coach. the best/worst part is he only spends maybe 5 hours a month with the guy and most is one the phone. i know he isnt really popular on here but runcoachjason.com is a good site to get some structural ideas from. hope this helps.

oh and in reference to the Daniels VDOT post...where are you from in FL?

Shoe fetish, I am originally from Jacksonville - born and raised. I have not lived there since 98, when i moved down to gainesville for grad school (exercise physiology). Left in 02 and have not lived there since. In CO now.

Thanks for some of the info folks. Regarding paying for coaching, again, I know it wont be a lucrative business...maybe I'll make gas money..at the MOST. But that's all I care about. See, in jacksonville I was an asst women's coach at JU. So I knew people. In gainesville, I was a track official, always at the track, lived next door to two distance runners, and coached some guys (friends), one of whom walked on to the xc team after i worked with him a year (back when doug brown was there) and actually ran in some smaller meets. I also knew the running club and the triathlon club members and used to consult with a number of them. Anyway, I've been out of that kind of environment for a while (college town loaded with runners) and now I am not sure where to start with marketing, what with a full-time job already and all, and not being any kind of business major. That's what I was looking for...marketing ideas.

Oh, and UNDERSTANDING those books is very important. I do understand them, as I have the background knowledge, the competitve running experience, and the coaching experience. Anyway, what's that old saying about, if you pay for it, you're more likely to stick with it. So, maybe it wont get going, maybe it will...I dont know yet. But the number of downers on this board amazes me.

Some of you guys are ridiculous.

Yes, reading books is good, but paying for a good coach (althrough one who can see you, not internet coaching) is well worth it.

Are you telling me that you wouldn't pay for a Canova, Vigil, McDonnel, Whetmore, etc. coach you? Are you going to tell Canova that you bought his marathon training book for $8 so you don't need to pay him b/c you already know what to do?

As someone who has coached at high level, there is much more to coaching then is just in those books.

Cookie-cutter programs, ala following Daniels formula, rarely bring out the max potential of an athlete.

Tony wrote:

Can anyone give some adivice/pointers on how to start marketing one's self and business to the local running community?

Don't make fun of Mississippi

i charge 20 bucks a session and usually have 3 kids per session. so it ends up being like 60 for an 1 1/2 - 2 hours. but I only work with hurdlers so it may be worth while to them because they get the nice small group instruction.

I have great success with it. I have a name in my community and people will pay for my service - which includes things that a lot of my competition can't provide: the fact that I can literally run alongside perfectly aerobic at any of their anaerobic speeds on surfaces that even bikes cannot, providing self-talk the entire way. I also have PR's that are internationally competetitive and I was not a superstar H.S. talent, so given a choice against my slower competitors in the business, I usually get the client - they will pay for the ferarri over the cheap cars when given the choice. With my namesake, the clientele demonstrate pride in themselves on saying I'm under their tutelage at the races and the results? I've had people lop 6-8 minutes off 10ks, shed half-hours off marathons as well as bodyfat. My system is unique, it is mine, it sells and produces a result they have been unsuccessful without self-accountability.

I have discovered in myself that I am a highly eloquent motivator, passionate and compassionate, and my skills, now honed and professional have made given me a reputation that bring more.

Furthermore, if you are a self-titled "coach" and you move into my turf, I enjoy kicking your ass right back into your little hole...just like I did as a runner.

Excuse me, Ladies and Gents, I meant "their" tutelage

..was really "my" tutelage.

If you charge them, they will pay.

Seriously, there is an *ssclown in my town that has no credentials and no competitive background, but he has read some books and calls himself a coach and he gets all these recreational runners to pay like 20 or 30 bucks a month to follow his running program.

Funny thing is when he first started he didn't charge and he only had a few people coming out. Once he started charging I guess he became ]legitimate in the eyes of the weenies.

Coachforhire,

I am looking at marathon Coach or experinced person to HELP me in my training...I am out of USA and difficult pay ( economical position ) Do you would help me or other person ?

Thanks

We have a guy here in KC that has a coaching program that has grown to 300 members paying around $200 for a program that culminates with a target race.

You can do the math.

http://www.therunnersedge.net/

"From our first program in 1997, we have grown a thousand percent to our current total of 300 participants. The beauty of this program is that we attract people of all ages, all abilities, and all goals – from 14 to 72 year olds, from 8 minutes a mile runners to 20 minutes a mile walkers, from those trying to qualify for the Boston Marathon to those wanting to walk their first 5K. It is a true representation of the Kansas City running and walking community."

"Because it is more feasible to commit to a short term goal, we have 3 sessions a year. Our Spring Program begins at the end of January and continues through mid-June. Our Fall Program begins in July and finishes in early November. To minimize the winter weight gain and stay in shape, we have a Winter Maintenance Program that goes from mid-November to mid-January. In all 3 sessions, we have people training for various marathons, half marathons, and 5K-10K races. Along the way, we have separate spring and fall hill and speed sessions for those who want to focus on getting faster."

cgray, this is the kind of thing i was looking for.

thank you

Yikes. Unfortunately a simple search of the internet tells me this guy shouldn't be charging $200 to coach someone.