Running coaching pays dividends

Running's simplicity is one of its beauties but reaching your potential while staying on top of work and home life is easier and more fun with some readily-available support and expertise.

Coaches can help you put all the pieces of the running jigsaw together

If you're reading this, you're probably someone who likes or is interested in running and has questions about it.

Most people do, even if one of the questions is as dismissive as: isn't running bad for your knees? (answer: no - in fact in most cases it's good for them!).

While running is natural to us and, with a bit of effort and persistence, almost everyone can do it to a decent standard, there is still a hell of a lot about it that we don't intrinsically know.

The world has evolved since running was one of our primary actions and regular modern lifestyles - how we sit, stand, look at devices, travel and so on - haven't made it any easier.

The environments we run in are more complicated too and the industry that has grown up with the sport has created a sometimes deafening level of noise around it.

On the plus side, our knowledge of what makes us more efficient runners has grown immeasurably and we have learned ways to counteract the negative impacts of modern lifestyles on the body.

A coach can help you in both of these areas. He or she can cut through the noise and give you the best and latest advice on what will help you improve and enjoy your running. A coach can also save you the serious time commitment required to try to research relevant topics and educate yourself, not to mention the pain of trial and error.

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The right kit, nutrition, recovery, cross training and goal-setting are just some of the areas a good coach can help you with, and that's before you get to the best training for you and your unique physiology that will fit into your busy life.

Then there's the psychological side. Running can be as much dependant on mental as physical strength and having someone give you good strategies for working on this side of things is invaluable. How great would it be to have someone who can quickly assuage your doubts and answer your questions?

Having a friendly, independent expert as a sounding board can also help in other ways. Us runners can be pretty obsessive and - some may say - dull when we bang on about the sport we love. Partners are not always fully understanding or supportive and having another outlet, even if it's only on WhatsApp, can save you from some trying times at home.

Sometimes a coach will provide a simple fix or two that will make a big difference, other times they will massively reduce the worry levels about whether you are training right for a goal race. They can save you from decision-making fatigue, too, when it comes to fitness, exercise, rest and recovery.

You can do it all on your own, of course, and some get great satisfaction and success this way - there's a wealth of knowledge and material out there, after all. But the important thing is that you enjoy the process and grow as a runner - and a person - as a result, and getting a good coach is a great way of being able to do that.

If you're interested in getting a coach, Runners' Mentor can help you with all of the above. Details of the package are here and, for a limited time, you'll get a free technical T-shirt when you sign up. If you've got questions or just want to discuss how coach Leo can help you, drop him a line here.