Runners Guide

I started Beyond Ultra because I love spending time outdoors. My experiences in nature have given me so much, making my life more exciting. I want to share that and show how rewarding it can be.
If you are new to coaching, this post will give you some insight into how it all works.

First Steps

We want to make our coaching as accessible, and as customized as possible to your needs. One thing that helps us do that, is getting to you.

1.        Please make sure our Fitness History form has been completed. The more detail in this the better.

2.        Contact us to book a time to chat, this can either be via video or phone. Apart from a general introduction to each other, this is a great time to discuss what you would like from the coaching and expectations.

3.        We will send you a link to attach our Training Peaks accounts. The free version is all you will need.

4.        Once linked, we can plan in either your full program (16/24 week) or the first 3 weeks (monthly program).

5.        Once you are happy and all setup, we will send you a payment request.

Training Peaks

Training Peaks is the program that we find is the best way to deliver your training and track your progress. Once you have attached yourself to our coaching account, we will be able to drop in all your runs and workouts.

Completed workouts will colorised based on compliance.

Green – Completed value is +/- 20% of planned values.

Yellow – Completed value is 50%-79% or 121-150% of planned values.

Orange – Completed value is more than 50% above or below planned.

Red – Workout was not completed.

If you have access to a gym, great! Don't worry if you don’t though. We can plan on what you have available. If you can get anything though, a set of looped resistance bands, long and short would help. You can tell us what you have access to in your fitness history form.

 If you are looking for any equipment/shoes or advice, we can offer discounts via Ellis Brigham.

 Warm up, make sure you do it! We want to keep you injury free as much as possible. One way is to do your warmups properly. If you’re not sure about how to do one, we wrote a blog post with some ideas and why it’s so important. Read here.

FAQ’s

How do I know if I am doing workouts correctly?
There is two ways to look at this, if you are using Garmin, that will give you a % completion after each workout. This can be a great indicator, but not always correct. Each of our workouts has detailed descriptions of how to perform them, but if you aren’t sure, we are quick to reply and help!

How do we communicate?
We find that the easiest way is via WhatsApp, but email also works if you prefer.  

What is the weekly time commitment?
We would throw that back at you and say what time do you have the capacity to commit to. We have the capacity to train the time-crunched athlete, making sure the key workouts are selected.

Can you make a plan for someone with little spare time or a variable schedule?
If you have a variable schedule, we recommend our monthly coaching plan rather than a 16/24-week program. The difference between these is that with the monthly plan we allow for constant adjustment. Tell us on a Monday you can't do something on a certain day, we will re-program, so it fits for you better.

What if I get injured?
Hopefully you won't! be these things happen. If you get injured and need some time to get back to health before running again, we can pause your coaching. We add in strength and conditioning and yoga into your run program to limit the chance of injury, but in case of injury, we recommend visiting your doctor or sports physio.