So you want to be an endurance coach? That’s awesome!
Coaching can fulfill, frustrate, enlighten, expand, humble, inspire, and challenge you in equal measure. You’ll experience highs of inspiration when you work effectively with an athlete. But you’ll also pass through dark times when it feels like you don’t know what you’re doing, and any athlete would be crazy to trust you.
Coaching, after all, requires honest interactions with other people—and therefore reflects all the challenges of the human condition.
If you want to wrestle with this very real situation, one in which you are responsible for other athletes’ hopes and dreams, then read on. Welcome to this beautiful, infuriating, and authentic journey.
Why Do You Want to Coach?
OK, real talk up front: Coaching is deeply rewarding, but it’s incredibly difficult to make it your full-time job. If you aren’t primarily motivated by the process of helping others improve, it’ll be hard to stay motivated when things get tough.
Take a few minutes and jot down at least 10 answers to the question: “What do I want to get out of being a coach?” Be honest with yourself, because inauthentic answers now will lead you down unproductive paths later.
Seriously—stop reading, grab a pen and paper, and make me a list.
What’s Driving You: Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Motivation
OK, you’re back? Great. Look at your list. Are the majority of your answers external rewards, like “getting affirmation from my local triathlon community” or “supporting my own triathlon training”? If more than half fall in this bucket, you might be viewing coaching as a path to extrinsic rewards, rather than as a way to support and help others.
Intrinsic motivation will keep you in your coaching chair through moments of fatigue and frustration. Extrinsic rewards, as you may have experienced in racing or life, feel like retail therapy: a quick hit of pleasure that fades fast.
As Ethan Hawke once said about acting: “Do you still want to do it if you’re acting in a community theater in front of 20 people in rural Alaska?” Yeah? Because in order to do this job, you have to want to do it regardless of what you might get out of it.
If your list includes intrinsic motivations like “helping others succeed makes me feel excited and motivated,” then you probably have the mindset to coach for the long haul.
Let’s keep moving.
Start With Who: Identifying the Right Athlete for You
Once you’ve sorted out your “why,” it’s time to move on to “who.”
No coach can serve every type of athlete well. If you aim for universal appeal, you’ll likely appeal to no one. Do you want to work with women only? Men only? Beginners? Para-athletes? Elites?
Grab that paper again. Under your “why” list, write what excites you about triathlon. Is it performance? Community? The energy of newbies? Do you love being physically around athletes, or does remote planning appeal more to you?
Now close your eyes. Picture your ideal athlete. Who are they? What do they want? What do they look and sound like?
This is your client avatar—the person you’re most excited to work with. Start there. That enthusiasm will carry you through the self-doubt and difficulty that inevitably comes with the responsibility of guiding someone else’s dreams.
Your ideal athlete already exists in your community. Now comes the hard part: ask them directly if you can coach them. Yes, it’s vulnerable. Many coaches never develop this skill early on and carry imposter syndrome with them for years. Learn now that most athletes will be flattered by your attention. Building this confidence muscle is crucial to long-term success.
Develop Your Coaching Philosophy: Science & Soft Skills
You’ll soon find that building training programs becomes the easier part of coaching. The skills required, like being open to new ideas, reading widely, attending education programs, and using trial and error, are ones you likely already have.
The principles of endurance development are simple. Write them down near your workspace, whether that’s a desk or your kitchen counter:
- Progressive overload: Training must be just a bit harder than what came before—weekly, monthly, or annually.
- Supercompensation: Athletes need rest to absorb training and rebuild stronger.
- Energy system balance: Train all systems over the course of a season—Z2, Sweet Spot, Threshold, HIIT, etc.—or risk stagnation.
- Fatigue matters: It’s proof of overload, but too much leads to underrecovery and health issues.
- Speed is a skill: Practice technique in every sport.
- Easy work matters: Most development comes from low-to-moderate intensity and enjoyment. Use intensity sparingly.
- Smart coaching: Know when to push, when to rest.
- Aerobic base is everything: Make the training pyramid’s base as wide as possible.
If you keep these principles in mind, you’ll develop a training philosophy that works for you and your athletes. My threshold sessions may look different from yours, but with these principles, both of us can succeed.
The Importance of Listening, Empathy, and Connection
You’ll learn quickly what works physically. Managing motivation and engagement is trickier.
A happy athlete is a fast athlete, but in today’s world, stress is high and attention is low.
You’re not a therapist, but you can be a good listener. Don’t rush to “fix” a bad workout or race. First, let them feel it. Listen. Mirror. Reflect. Empathize. Analysis can come later.
These so-called “soft skills” are the backbone of masterful coaching. They matter more than physiology. Because training is simple, but people are complex.
You Need Business Knowledge, Too
Coaching also requires talents you may already have:
- Marketing and communication to stand out in a crowded field.
- Tech fluency, including websites, social media, and writing persuasive copy.
- Financial literacy, including budgeting, managing expenses, and setting rates that reflect your value.
Fortunately, there’s a lot of resources out there to help you on the business side of things. Here’s a list of TrainingPeaks blogs that can help you with marketing,
Do You Need Certifications?
Short answer: No—but why not?
Most certification programs are revenue streams first, education second. They often use a pyramid structure that rewards ongoing investment. That doesn’t make them bad, but it does mean a certification is a “rubber stamp,” not a reflection of coaching skill.
Still, you’ll always learn something. That’s the reason to pursue certification: to add tools to your toolbox. Just remember that every org has an agenda. Ironman U will teach long-course coaching—because it benefits Ironman.
Explore options like USA Triathlon, British Triathlon, Ironman U, and UESCA. Choose the one that resonates with you. But remember: completing a course doesn’t make you a coach. Only experience does.
The Financial Reality of Triathlon Coaching
I’ve coached for 16 years, raced professionally for 15, taught high school English, and studied coaching obsessively.
In a good year, I make about $60,000.
That might sound great now, but this is my full-time job, and it comes with full-time expenses: websites, software, marketing, insurance, bookkeeping, certifications, and more.
Now factor in your time. A pro freelancer charges $50–$110/hour. Let’s say I charge $75/hour. I spend 8–10 hours per athlete per month. That’s $600/month per athlete.
The industry average is $200/month. That’s $25/hour. And if you’re just starting out, it’ll take longer to deliver value.
Let’s say you want to coach full-time. You need 20 athletes at $200/month to hit $48,000/year. Now subtract business costs (20%) and taxes (10%). You’re down to $35,000 for 2,000 hours of work.
Most coaches do this as a side hustle—and that’s fine. But don’t underprice yourself. If you’re delivering real value, start closer to $300/month. Own your worth.
The Secret Phrase That Will Make You a Great Coach
“I messed up.”
You will make mistakes. You’ll overtrain someone. Misjudge a taper. Miss a red flag. Some athletes will get injured.
Good coaches own their errors. When you admit fault, your athletes won’t respect you less; they’ll trust you more.
Say it: “Hey, I got this wrong, and I apologize. Let’s figure out why and find a new approach.” That kind of honesty isn’t weakness—it’s a superpower.
Coaching is a relationship business. Relationships require trust. And trust requires vulnerability.
If you have questions about coaching, feel free to drop me a line at chris@campfireendurance.com. Thanks for reading—and welcome to the world of coaching.
Like any teaching profession, you’ll end up learning just as much as you teach.
