New Runners Should Hire a Coach

Should new runners hire a running coach?

To put it simply, yes.

“Doh! I should have worked with a coach!”

While it’s true to a point that running is nothing but putting one foot in front of the other a little faster than you do when you’re walking, there are a lot of things that can (and often do) go wrong for runners–both newbies and seasoned veterans alike. If new runners hire a coach, even for just a short period of time, they can avoid some of the missteps that may lead to burn out, dissatisfaction, or even worse–injury.

5 Reasons New Runners Should Consider Hiring a Coach

• Decrease Injury Risk–Nothing is worse than seeing new runners be excited to start running, only to learn that they wound up with a running related injury shortly thereafter. Running is a great form of exercise, and can be incredibly safe, but it’s easy to overdo things and wind up with an ache or a pull. A good running coach can help new runners pull back on the reins a little bit, and that can go a long way to staying injury free.
• You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know–Why do we hire coaches or work with professionals anyway? Because they typically have some level of knowledge, experience, or expertise in an area that we can benefit from. New runners simply don’t know what they don’t know, whether that’s differences in stride rate, shoe styles, target heart rates, or anything else that a coach can help steer them onto the right path with.
• Can Save You Money–Not only can a running coach save new runners money by keeping them healthy or giving them sound advice about what shoes/products they should buy, but a good coach can save you money by telling you what stuff you really don’t need! I love our local running store, and I try to support them as much as possible, but there are so many products out there for runners that are at best not needed, and in some cases, completely worthless. Yet many runners don’t know any differently, and end up with one of everything after their first few visits to the store.
• Reach Your Goals More Quickly–Many new runners have a reason they start running, whether it’s the health benefits, a desire to run a particular race, or any number of other personal reasons. Whatever your goal/reason for taking up running, it’s nice when you feel like you are making progress toward your goals. A running coach can keep you on the right track towards achieving your goals, which helps to make the running that much more rewarding.
• It’s Easier–It can be a drag planning workouts and holding yourself to them when you just don’t feel like doing a long run sometimes. Believe me, I know! If you’re serious about sticking with running for the long haul, leave the planning and monitoring to a coach so you can just get out there and run. Also, having someone to keep you accountable is actually a great motivator to tackle that long run on Saturday morning, instead of staying in bed !

It’s Your Call

Not every new runner needs to hire a running coach.

But many new runners would be wise to at least consider it, because a good coach can be well worth the cost to help you get your “running career” off on the right foot.

If you’re interested in learning more about what a good running coach can do for you, I’d love to talk to you more about the benefits you can expect from working with a coach. Feel free to use the “Contact Me” form to send me a quick email, or if you’d rather, I’d be more than willing to jump on a Skype/Google Hangout/telephone call with you to answer any/all of your questions. Just click here to go to my online scheduler, and pick a time that works for you.

And if you just want to shoot the breeze for 15 minutes, that’s cool too! 🙂

What Questions Do You Have About Working with a Running Coach? Feel Free to Reach Out to Me & I’ll Be Happy to Answer Your Questions.

(And I promise, no sales pitch. I hate when people do that crap to me, so I won’t do it to you! Just shoot me an email or schedule a time, and I’ll be glad to help in any way.)