Do You Need a Running Coach? A Complete Guide to Making the Right Decision

I felt the tension in my body increasing as I typed. “This is the right thing to do,” I assured myself, as I continued to list the arguments. But then doubts started to creep in again. “Was I being too emotional? Should I wait a few more weeks or even months? Did I give her a fair chance?”

But I decided to trust myself. After all, time was ticking and I couldn’t afford to waste another week trying to adhere to a plan that I doubted would help me achieve my ambitious running goals for the following year. It wasn’t just the plan itself—it was the pattern. Every time I voiced concerns or asked questions about the training rationale, I got the same response: “Trust the plan.” No explanation. No discussion of the principles behind it. Just trust.

I hit send on the email firing my running coach.

That moment forced me to confront a question most runners face at some point: do I actually need a coach? As a coach myself, I found the irony wasn’t lost on me. I’ve had coaches and mentors throughout my kettlebell journey and found it extremely beneficial to my growth as an athlete and coach.

In my ultrarunning journey, however, I have been self-coached since the beginning.

Now with my most ambitious ultrarunning project on the horizon in 2026 (running the Authentic Pheidippides Run – 490km – from Athens to Sparta and back), I entertained the idea of working with a coach. Mainly to ease my doubts during the preparation and to have someone knowledgeable in my corner to bounce ideas off of.

However, after my disappointing initial experience, I’ve decided not to try other coaches and instead go self-coached into 2026.

But this article isn’t about whether I made the right decision.

It’s about whether you should hire a running coach—or fire the one you have.

Because what I realized is this: there’s very little honest, practical guidance on this question. Most of what exists falls into two camps: coaches telling you why you need a coach, or self-coached runners defending why they don’t. What’s missing is a framework to help you actually make this decision based on your goals, your experience level, your personality, and your situation.

That’s what this article gives you: a system to evaluate whether hiring a coach (or keeping your current one) is the right move for you right now. I’ll cover when coaching relationships work versus when they don’t, what you should reasonably expect from a coach, the pros and cons based on different scenarios, and the signs it might be time to part ways.

By the end, you’ll have a clear framework to make this decision with confidence—whether that means hiring your first coach, staying the course with your current one, or going solo.

But before we build that framework, let’s address the most common argument you’ll hear about why you need a coach—and why it’s not as simple as it seems.

Does Every Professional Athlete Have A Coach?

This is the most common argument for hiring a coach, and it gets repeated constantly:

“Every professional athlete has a coach. If they need coaches, you definitely need one.”

It sounds logical. But it’s not actually true.

There’s a crucial distinction between “most professional athletes have coaches” and “every professional athlete has a coach.” That small difference matters. Because if some elite athletes can succeed being self-coached, the entire argument collapses. You can’t say “every pro is coached, therefore you need a coach” when the premise itself is false.

Let me give you examples:

Frank Shorter – 1972 Olympic marathon gold medalist, 1976 silver medalist. Self-coached from his junior year at Yale onwards. He explicitly said: “I was self-coached. I worked on my strengths.” And: “I’ve always been pretty much self-coached, so I took care of everything.”

Shorter launched the entire running boom in America in the 1970s. Olympic gold medal. Self-coached.

At the 2004 US Olympic Marathon Trials: 49% of men and 31% of women did NOT have a coach (https://drjasonkarp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/olympictrials.pdf). Nearly half of male elite marathoners at the Olympic Trials were self-coached.

Historical elite runners: Ron Hill, Ron Clarke, Derek Clayton, Jack Bacheler – all world-class marathoners, all self-coached for significant portions of their careers.

Lucy Gossage (GB triathlete and multiple Ironman champion): “Unlike the majority of pro athletes I’m mainly self-coached. I have several trusted advisors who help me decide how to get the best out of myself and help pull together rough plans, but I structure my own training on a week-by-week basis.”

Lionel Sanders (Professional IRONMAN athlete who went self-coached in 2025 and immediately started winning races – 70.3 Oceanside, 70.3 St George): “You have the knowledge, you have all of the knowledge you need now to reach maximum potential... You need to stop with these excuses and having this reliance that someone else is going to tell you how to do it because you’ve spent 15 years analyzing and messing around with this – you know how to do it.”

Sam Long (Professional triathlete who went self-coached in 2023): After splitting from his long-time coach Ryan Bolton, Long took full control of his training and has since won multiple 70.3 races including victories at St. George, Oceanside, and Indian Wells.

So no, not every elite athlete has a coach.

But these athletes weren’t just winging it.

They all had something in common: years of foundational learning, deep body awareness, extensive training knowledge, and self-discipline. They had been coached initially, learned the principles, and earned their independence.

And this pattern isn’t just at the elite level. I’ve been self-coached since day one of ultrarunning. Five years, 17+ ultras completed, multiple podium finishes including a win at a 24-hour race, completion of CCC at UTMB.

Zero overuse injuries in those five years.

Which brings us to the real question—not “Do pros have coaches?” but rather: “Do I have what those successfully self-coached pros had?”

If the answer is no, you probably need a coach. If the answer is yes, you might be ready for independence.

Now let’s figure out which category you’re in.

What Do You Need Right Now?

Before deciding whether you need a coach, you need to be brutally honest about what you actually need. Not what Instagram tells you to need. Not what worked for someone else. What YOU need, right now, based on where you are.

You might need a coach if:

You’re just starting out and you need someone to hold your hand. Here’s the thing: running is actually pretty simple, especially at the beginning. Run easy most of the time, occasionally run harder, gradually increase volume. You don’t need a coach just because you’re new. But if you’re the type of person who feels paralyzed without structure, who needs reassurance that you’re doing things “right,” or who won’t even start without expert guidance—then hiring a coach removes the barrier to getting started. Some beginners are comfortable with “just run and figure it out as you go.” Others are too anxious to begin without someone telling them exactly what to do. Know which type you are.

You’re tackling unfamiliar territory. You’re stepping up to a new distance or a specific event type you’ve never done before. Expert guidance from someone who’s been there—either as an athlete or coach—can help you avoid costly mistakes when the stakes are high. When you don’t know what you don’t know, a coach bridges that gap.

You love executing but hate planning. Some people find programming and periodization tedious. They want to show up, do the workout, and check the box. If that’s you, a coach lets you focus purely on execution while someone else handles the mental load of strategy and adaptation.

You have a pattern of breaking down. If you consistently struggle with injuries, niggles, burnout, or overtraining, you need external oversight. A coach can see the patterns you’re blind to and stop you from repeating the same mistakes—whether that’s doing too much or not doing enough.

You need external accountability. Without someone checking in, you skip workouts, cut runs short, or don’t push yourself when it matters. If external accountability is the difference between following through and making excuses, a coach isn’t just helpful—they’re essential for your success.

These are all excellent reasons to hire a coach. There’s zero shame in needing guidance, accountability, or expertise you don’t yet have.

But notice what’s missing from this list?

There’s nothing that says “because every pro has one” or “because I’m supposed to” or “because good runners have coaches.” Those are terrible reasons. Good reasons are specific to your current situation, your gaps in knowledge, and your actual needs—not someone else’s prescription for what you should be doing.

Do You Enjoy Learning About Your Sport?

This might be the most important question in deciding whether you need a coach—and it’s one most people never consider.

Some people love training but hate learning about training. They want to show up, do the workout, and leave the details to someone else. They find training theory boring. They don’t want to spend hours reading about periodization, analyzing their data, or understanding the “why” behind programming. These people will always benefit from having a coach—and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Other people are obsessed with understanding why. They read books about training methodology. They listen to podcasts with exercise physiologists. They experiment with different approaches and track the results meticulously. These people might eventually outgrow coaching—or never need it in the first place.

I’m in the second category.

I’m a complete nerd about this stuff. I’ve been living a fit lifestyle for 20 years. I have multiple certifications: kettlebell instructor, ultrarunning coach, precision nutrition. I’ve read everything Arthur Lydiard ever wrote. I’ve studied Jack Daniels’ running formula, analyzed research on periodization, examined elite athletes’ training approaches. I’ve studied training theory not because I had to, but because I find it genuinely fascinating.

I’ve been coaching myself with kettlebells for 11 years and have stayed injury-free while steadily progressing. When I started ultrarunning, I brought this same obsession. I read race reports voraciously. I studied successful ultrarunners’ training approaches. I analyzed my own data after every run. I experimented with volume, intensity, nutrition protocols, recovery strategies.

This matters because self-coaching requires genuine interest in the learning process.

If you hate reading about training, if you find periodization boring, if you just want someone to tell you what to do—you probably need a coach long-term. And that’s completely fine. Not everyone wants to become a training expert. Some people just want to run.

But if you’re like me—if you find training theory interesting, if you enjoy analyzing your own patterns, if you get excited about experimenting with new approaches—you might have the foundation to coach yourself successfully.

Ask yourself:

Do I find training theory interesting or tedious?
Do I want to understand my training or just execute it?
Am I willing to invest significant time learning about training methodology?
Do I enjoy analyzing data and adjusting my approach based on what I learn?

Your answers will tell you a lot about whether you have the curiosity and commitment needed for self-coaching—or whether delegating that mental load to a coach is the smarter choice for you.

Can You Listen to Your Body?

Body awareness is one of the most underrated skills in endurance sports—and it’s critical for determining whether you’re ready to self-coach.

What is body awareness?

Body awareness means having a keen sense of your body’s strengths and weaknesses. It’s knowing your limits and how far you can push them. Can you handle another mile today? Should you back off because something feels off? Is that soreness productive or a warning sign?

Developing this awareness helps you structure training efficiently, optimize technique, and—most importantly—prevent injuries. Athletes who lack body awareness or don’t listen to their signals often end up in a cycle of breakdowns: recurring injuries, chronic niggles, or burnout. If that pattern sounds familiar, it’s a clear sign you need external oversight.

Body awareness is a skill you develop over time.

After years of consistent training, experienced athletes learn to recognize patterns:

What fatigue feels like versus what laziness feels like
What “good pain” (adaptation) feels like versus “bad pain” (injury warning)
When you’re undertrained versus overtrained
How your body responds to different types of stress and volume

I developed this body awareness through 11 years of kettlebell training. I learned what sustainable progression feels like. I learned the difference between pushing through discomfort and pushing into injury. I learned that my body gives clear signals if I pay attention.

When I brought this awareness to ultrarunning, I noticed something important: my body loves high volume. Those 100+ kilometer weeks that wreck some runners? I could handle them without developing niggles. My body was telling me it thrived on Lydiard-style base building.

If you don’t have this body awareness yet, you probably need a coach.

A good coach helps you develop this skill. They teach you to recognize patterns. They help you interpret signals you’re not yet experienced enough to understand on your own. They stop you from making mistakes before you even know you’re making them.

And if you’re working through an injury? That recovery process—though frustrating—can actually accelerate your body awareness development. Physical therapy and careful rehabilitation force you to tune into your body in ways you might have ignored when everything felt fine.

Ask yourself:

Can I consistently tell the difference between “I’m tired and need rest” versus “I’m being lazy”?
Do I know what my body feels like when training is going well versus when I’m heading toward injury or burnout?
Have I successfully navigated multiple training cycles without major breakdowns?
Do I have enough experience to know how MY body responds to different types of training?
Can I recognize when something feels “off” even if I can’t immediately explain why?

If you answered no to most of these, you need more experience—ideally with someone helping you build that awareness. If you answered yes to most of these, you might have one of the key prerequisites for self-coaching.

The Prerequisites for Self-Coaching

Let’s be clear: self-coaching isn’t for everyone. But it’s also not as complicated as the coaching industry wants you to believe.

If you’re a beginner who just wants to run a few times a week for enjoyment and fitness—you probably don’t need a coach at all. Running is simple: run easy most of the time, occasionally go harder, gradually do more. You can figure this out as you go.

But if you’re a beginner with ambitious goals (first marathon, first ultra, qualifying for Boston), or if you’re an experienced runner looking to self-coach toward specific performance targets, you need certain prerequisites in place.

Remember what we learned from the successfully self-coached pros? Frank Shorter had excellent coaches before going solo. Lionel Sanders spent 15 years learning the principles. Lucy Gossage has trusted advisors she consults.

They all built a foundation first. If you want to self-coach toward ambitious goals, you need to do the same.

Here’s what you need before you can successfully self-coach:

Body awareness (Can you listen to your body?)

We covered this in depth in the previous section. You need the ability to distinguish fatigue from laziness, productive discomfort from injury warnings, and recognize when to push versus when to back off. If you have a pattern of recurring injuries or burnout, you’re not ready to self-coach.

Training knowledge foundation (Do you understand the “why”?)

You need to understand fundamental training principles: progressive overload, specificity, periodization, the difference between volume and intensity, recovery adaptation cycles.

You don’t need a PhD in exercise physiology. But you do need to understand WHY you’re doing what you’re doing. What adaptations different types of training create. How to structure a training block. When to push, when to maintain, when to back off.

I’ve spent 20 years studying this stuff. I have multiple coaching certifications. I’ve read extensively about training methodology. When I started self-coaching my running, I wasn’t starting from zero—I had a deep knowledge base to draw from.

If you don’t have this foundation yet, you need to build it—either by studying extensively on your own or by working with a coach who teaches you the principles, not just prescribes workouts.

Self-discipline and consistency

A coach provides external structure and accountability. When you self-coach, you’re responsible for both.

Can you stick to a plan even when motivation is low? Can you show up for the hard workouts when no one is watching? Can you be honest with yourself about whether you’re actually following through?

I’ve proven to myself over 11 years with kettlebells and 5 years with ultrarunning that I don’t need external accountability. I show up. I do the work. I don’t make excuses.

If you need someone checking in to keep you consistent, you’re not ready for self-coaching. And that’s okay—external accountability is valuable.

Objectivity about yourself

This might be the hardest one. You need the ability to look at your own performance objectively and adjust accordingly.

Are you training enough or too much? Is this approach working or should you try something else? Are you making excuses or listening to legitimate signals?

Some people can never be objective about themselves. They either push too hard (ego gets in the way) or don’t push hard enough (fear or comfort-seeking takes over). If you can’t be honest with yourself about your patterns, you need an external voice.

Time and genuine interest (Do you enjoy learning about your sport?)

Self-coaching isn’t just executing workouts—it’s researching, planning, analyzing data, adjusting strategy, troubleshooting problems.

This takes time. And more importantly, it requires genuine interest. If you find this tedious, delegate it to someone else.

As we discussed earlier, I love this stuff. I’m genuinely fascinated by training methodology. I enjoy analyzing my data and adjusting my approach. For me, this isn’t extra work—it’s part of the enjoyment.

If that doesn’t describe you, you probably don’t want to self-coach even if you technically could.

Making Your Decision

You’ve read about the myths, considered your needs, evaluated your curiosity and body awareness, and reviewed the prerequisites. Now it’s time to actually decide: do you need a coach or not?

Here’s a simple framework to help you make this decision:

You probably DON’T need a coach if:

You’re a beginner just running for fun and fitness (not training for anything specific)
You have strong body awareness developed over years of consistent training
You genuinely enjoy learning about training methodology and find it interesting (not tedious)
You’ve proven you can be consistent without external accountability
You can be objective about your own performance and willing to adjust when something isn’t working
You have the time and interest to research, plan, and analyze your own training

You probably DO need a coach if:

You’re a beginner with ambitious goals and feel paralyzed without structure
You’re tackling unfamiliar territory (new distance, new event type)
You love training but find planning and periodization tedious
You have a pattern of injuries, niggles, or burnout
You need external accountability to stay consistent
You can’t be objective about your own training (either pushing too hard or not hard enough)
You don’t have the time or interest to become a training expert

You might have OUTGROWN your coach if:

You’ve developed all five prerequisites through your coaching relationship
You find yourself disagreeing with programming based on your body awareness
You’re genuinely interested in taking over your own planning
You feel restricted rather than supported by the structure
You’ve learned the principles and are ready to apply them independently

A note on transitions:

Many successfully self-coached athletes weren’t always self-coached. They worked with coaches initially, learned the principles, developed body awareness, and then transitioned to independence. There’s no shame in needing a coach now and not needing one later—or vice versa. Your needs change as your experience, goals, and life circumstances change.

My decision:

I decided to fire my coach and return to self-coaching because I already had all five prerequisites. I had body awareness from years of training. I had extensive knowledge from studying training methodology. I had proven self-discipline. I could be objective about my performance. And I genuinely love the planning and analysis aspect.

More importantly, the coaching relationship wasn’t serving me—it was restricting me. But that’s a story for the bonus section.

Your decision:

Be honest with yourself about where you are right now. Not where you want to be. Not where you think you should be. Where you actually are.

If you need a coach, hire one—ideally one who teaches you principles and builds your independence rather than creating dependency.

If you don’t need a coach, trust yourself. You have what you need.

And if you already have a coach but you’re questioning whether it’s still the right fit? Keep reading the bonus section.

Bonus: Is Your Coach the Right Fit For You?

So you’ve decided you need a coach—or you already have one. Great. But having a coach isn’t automatically valuable. Having the RIGHT coach is what matters.

Good coaching can accelerate your progress, prevent costly mistakes, and build your competence over time. Bad coaching can kill your joy, ignore your body’s signals, and create dependency rather than empowerment.

Here’s how to tell the difference.

Good coaches teach principles, not just prescribe workouts.

They explain the WHY behind the WHAT. They want you understanding the purpose of each session, what adaptation it creates, and how it fits into the bigger picture.

My kettlebell coaches were like this. They never just told me what to do—they explained the reasoning. They wanted me asking questions. They were building my competence so I could eventually make good decisions independently.

My running coach wasn’t. Every time I voiced concerns or asked about the rationale behind certain sessions, I got surface-level answers or “trust the plan.” That’s not coaching—that’s asking for blind obedience.

Good coaches listen to your feedback and adjust accordingly.

Your body’s signals matter. A good coach knows that YOU are the expert on your own body, and they’re the expert on training methodology. Together, you’re figuring out what works for YOUR unique physiology.

I told my coach my body thrives on high volume. I explained that I’d successfully trained Lydiard-style with 100+ kilometer weeks and gotten faster without breaking down. I have 11 years of injury-free kettlebell training proving I can listen to my body and progress sustainably.

She dismissed it. Kept prescribing low volume—one rest day, one day with just a one-hour walk, no proper long runs. She wasn’t coaching MY body. She was coaching her philosophy onto my body.

Good coaches are flexible and support intelligent adjustments.

Training plans are guidelines, not gospel. A good coach understands that intelligent adjustments based on conditions and body signals are signs of developing competence, not rebellion.

One morning the weather changed suddenly, making my prescribed interval session impossible. I adjusted on the fly—switching to a different workout that made sense given the conditions. She got irritated. Another time I felt exceptionally good during a run and extended it because my body was telling me it could handle more. She wasn’t supportive—she was annoyed that I’d deviated from the plan.

This rigidity kills joy and stifles athlete development.

Good coaches empower your growth, not create dependency.

Good coaches make themselves progressively less necessary. They want you learning and developing independence. They celebrate when you start understanding your own patterns.

If your coach gets defensive when you ask questions or seems threatened by your growing knowledge—that’s a problem. They’re protecting their role rather than empowering your growth.

When It’s Time to Part Ways

Sometimes coaching relationships run their course:

You’ve outgrown them. You’ve developed body awareness, training knowledge, self-discipline, objectivity, and genuine interest in planning. You’ve learned what they had to teach.
The relationship feels restrictive. You feel suffocated by the structure. The coaching is holding you back, not moving you forward.
They’re not listening. You’ve communicated concerns and shared feedback—and it’s being dismissed or ignored.
You’ve lost trust. Whether it’s because they don’t explain their reasoning, they’ve made mistakes, or you fundamentally disagree with their approach—if the trust is gone, the relationship can’t work.
Your joy is gone. I didn’t realize this until after I fired my coach. Then suddenly, training became fun again. I could listen to my body. I could adjust based on how I felt. I’d reclaimed the spontaneity and autonomy that make running enjoyable for me.

Your Decision

If you’re questioning your current coaching relationship, trust your gut.

Good coaching should make you better—more knowledgeable, more confident, more capable. It should empower you, not restrict you. It should build your independence, not create dependency.

If that’s not what you’re experiencing, it’s okay to make a change. You’re not being difficult. You’re not being ungrateful. You’re protecting your progress and your joy in the sport.

And sometimes the most important decision is knowing when to take the reins yourself.