In 20 years as a coach and a lifetime as an athlete, I've learned many lessons. This has led me to a new perspective on coaching and training.
Introduction
I'm passionate about bringing a new perspective to coaching and training age group athletes in the field of endurance sport.
Whether you're a cyclist, a runner, a triathlete, an adventure racer or an athlete in any endeavour that might be defined as an endurance sport and you compete as an age-group or amateur athlete, I'm here to help you get the most benefit from your training while maintaining all the other stuff you value in your life.
The Age Group Athlete
Just in case there are those out there who don't know: What is an age-group athlete?
In my world, an age-group athlete is defined as someone who competes in their sport for the love of it. You don't get paid much if anything if you win. Any sponsorships you have are largely based on someone giving you some kit or a discount on kit in exchange for you promoting them somehow.
You have a job, a family, a mortgage and a bunch of outside interests that compete for your attention.
An age-group athlete is the antithesis of the professional. While a professional has all the time in the world to train (or so it seems), because their sport is their job, your sport will always be your hobby and you need your job to support it alongside all the other things you do.
When a professional athlete heads out training, you head to work. That's just it, you're working and so are they. When they win prize money or are paid sponsorship, they pay their mortgage and feed their family with it. When you earn money by working at your job, you use what's left over after you pay your mortgage and feed your family to buy kit and travel to races.
What's notable, is that you and the professional athlete probably demonstrate a similar commitment to your sport. It's as if you have a second job. It's only that this job doesn't actually pay you, you pay it.
The differences I've written about above are why this site exists. Coaching amateur athletes requires a coach to take a new perspective. If your life is as different to a professional athlete as it is, I believe that your training should be too.
In my 21 years coaching endurance athletes, I have always set out to coach age-group athletes. I no longer provide coaching for professional athletes and I don't aspire to coach them in the future. My interest is solely in what works for those of us who balance training with real life.
What I am insanely passionate about and very good at doing is understanding the challenges that you, the age-group athlete, face and finding ways to help you to get the most out of the commitment that you put into your sport.
I understand the power of achieving something you didn't think you could, the life-changing effects of overcoming a challenge that not long before seemed impossible. This website is a part of my response to the commitment that you show on a daily basis.
Power to you!
