What is athlete-first coaching?
At Method Endurance, we believe great coaching starts with one simple principle: the athlete comes first. In a sport like ultrarunning, it can be easy to find static or prescriptive training plans that are influenced by personal experience, goals, ambitions, or achievements rather than the needs of the athlete. Athlete-first coaching makes the athlete the coach’s top priority, and the athlete’s goals, performance, feedback, and well-being are at the core of every decision.
Here we break down what athlete-first coaching looks like in practice and why it’s central to everything we do.
1. The athlete is the top priority.
Athlete-first coaching allows the athlete’s goals, priorities, experiences, and progress to drive the program, with guidance and support from science-backed training methodologies. Frequent, two-way communication is critical to ensuring the training plan is always working in the best interests of the athlete. This is why we offer a single, all‑inclusive coaching package with weekly one‑on‑one calls. These conversations allow us to fully understand the athlete’s experiences, responses to training, and any life changes that may affect performance. The strongest results come from a plan that grows with the athlete and is shaped by their goals, informed by science, and supported through consistent engagement.
2. Training plans are built on science to support athlete goals.
While personal experience and anecdote can provide inspiration and perspective, it shouldn't be the foundation of an athlete's training plan. Effective training plans are built on proven, evidence‑based methods that prioritize the athlete’s individual needs and long‑term development.
A science‑driven approach ensures that training is purposeful and progressive, reducing injury risk and promoting sustainable performance gains. Workouts target specific adaptations that are appropriate for the athlete and essential to achieving their goals. Adjustments are guided by both data and athlete feedback, creating a dynamic plan that evolves as the athlete does.
3. Athlete feedback is essential.
While quantitative metrics, like pace, heart rate, and training load, provide valuable insight, they only tell part of the story. Data never fully reflects how the training felt. Factors like perceived effort, fatigue, motivation, and even life stress play a crucial role in how an athlete responds to training and adapts over time.
This is why every Method Endurance athlete is provided with a full Training Peaks account, which allows for detailed post‑activity notes and feedback. These notes give context to the raw data, helping identify trends, anticipate recovery needs, and adjust training before small issues become setbacks. Weekly one-on-one calls complement post-activity feedback and provide a dedicated opportunity to review the week’s training, discuss how training is feeling physically and mentally, and make any necessary adjustments. The combination of data and dialogue ensures each training plan remains grounded in science but also reflective of real-world experience.
4. The athlete defines their goals.
When it comes to setting goals, a coach’s role is to guide, support, and help clarify the path forward, but the goals themselves must be authentically the athlete’s own. A coach can provide valuable perspective, identifying realistic timelines, breaking down big ambitions into achievable milestones, and ensuring that goals align with safe, progressive training, but lasting success comes from pursuing something personally meaningful to the athlete.
Taking the time to identify, clarify, and define the athlete’s goals ensures the training plan is designed not only to prepare the athlete physically, but also keep them engaged and motivated through the highs and lows of training. Establishing this alignment early creates the conditions for success, because when an athlete truly owns their goal, every step of training has a purpose.
