What comes next?

Over the past week I have made a couple of mentions of exciting developments coming in my immediate future with regard to coaching. Yesterday I mentioned that I would try and write about those developments today.

So what is happening???

Drum roll please....

What is happening is that over the next month or so I am going to start triathlon coaching for Front Runner Sports.

Regular readers of this blog will be fairly familiar with Front Runners. I have done quite a bit of work with them in the past, including attending many of their running sessions and a few of their training camps. Their head coach Raf Baugh is somebody who I have a lot of respect for, as well as somebody who I consider to be a friend.

While Front Runners started off specifically targeted at running, their scope has grown over the last few years to include an ever increasing contingent of triathletes.  Now their triathlon squad numbers around 20 to 30 people across a wide variety of abilities, from relative novices to top level elites.

When the issues with my heart first arose and I was deciding what I should do next, Raf was one of the people I turned to for advice. He told me to take my time and let myself be drawn to what I wanted to do next. As I grew more and more sure that I wanted to be involved in coaching I started having conversations with Raf about what that might look like. With my starting my Level 1 Triathlon Development Coach course last week, it was time to make the next step official.

That official next step happened on Monday when I signed a contract to provide coaching services for Front Runners.

While it is an official next step, it is only the first one. There are a number of other steps I need to take before coaching becomes a reality. Firstly I need to complete my Level 1 Certification. I also need to progress my professional development with resident Front Runner's Sports Science Guru Ben Green. I also need to gain more experience. Quite a bit more.

To that end I will be starting out by helping with some of the normal Front Runners Triathlon sessions, perhaps running a few of the sessions myself. As I learn more and get more comfortable with the Front Runner systems, the goal will be for me to eventually take on athletes of my own, particularly those with a focus on Ironman. Providing these services will increase the coaching resources available at Front Runners meaning that more support and sessions can be offered to athletes, sessions such as open water swim, long group rides, technique sessions etc. I am looking forward to helping provide some of these services.

While I will be helping Front Runner out, by far the biggest winner in this deal is me. Working with Front Runner will also be allow me to gain invaluable experience and knowledge from a well established and very well researched coaching system. I can't think of a better place for me to be taking these next steps in my sporting story. I can't wait to see what comes next.

To learn more have a look at the site below:

Front Runner Sports