The coaching profession has strongly evolved. In 2011, I also joined the noble guild of coaches. Herman’s spreadsheets gave way to structured workouts in TrainingPeaks, and trackside conversations were replaced by WhatsApp calls and chats. That’s what happens when one transitions from local to national and international coaching. Every training session now generates a flood of data. Increasingly, apps churn out training plans, biomechanical and exercise physiology data, and algorithms are writing training programs. This has a major impact on coaching.
Recently, an athlete told me he could find the answer to all his questions online. His watch generates a workout for him every day. His claim: coaches have become obsolete.
This brings me to the leading question of this blog. What is the future of coaching in endurance sports? How is the role of the coach changing in a world where technology increasingly automates aspects of training?
I will answer this question in three parts. First, I will discuss the difference between a trainer and a coach. In part two, I will explore the technological revolution and its impact on coaching and training. The final part will focus on the role of the coach in the future.
1. The difference between coach and trainer
To get straight to the point: every coach is also a trainer, but not every trainer is a coach.
The coach and the trainer have distinct roles in supporting an endurance athlete, though these roles can overlap. A trainer primarily focuses on the technical and physical aspects, including creating training plans, analyzing performance, and ensuring the right balance between workload and recovery. A trainer is the specialist in the “how” of physiological development.
A coach goes further and takes a holistic approach. Beyond physiological training, a coach focuses on mental preparation, motivation, and handling setbacks. The coach asks the questions that help the athlete make informed decisions about balancing personal life, sport, and work. Coaching, therefore, goes far beyond just training the physical athlete. The coach also delves into the person behind the athlete, guiding them in their growth as a human being and in developing their full potential, both in competitions and beyond.
An example to illustrate the difference between a trainer and a coach. A triathlete is preparing for her first Ironman. The trainer analyzes her physiological capabilities by observing her in action, using field data and possibly exercise tests, creates a training plan, monitors the development of her physiological metrics during training, conducts race simulations, and prepares a race strategy. In short, the trainer ensures that she is physically ready for the race.
The coach plays a different, complementary role. During the preparation, the coach discusses with her what she wants to invest in the training—not just financially and in terms of time, but also in terms of mental energy and how the training fits in with her work, family, vacations, and other responsibilities.
When she experiences a mental dip after a poor training week, the coach helps her regain confidence by focusing on the things she can control. Before the race, the coach helps her set realistic, process-oriented goals and develops a Plan B and Plan C. The coach understands that circumstances often derail the A-plan and ensures she is prepared for difficult moments in the race and can tackle unexpected problems. For example, Daniela Ryf, who won Ironman Hawaii in 2018, lost 10 minutes in the swim due to a jellyfish sting. She fought her way back and won with a new course record.
The trainer optimizes the body; the coach helps with personal development, managing whatever life throws at you, and guides in the mental aspects of the journey.
2. The future of coaching in endurance sports: data & technology
To look at the future of coaching in endurance sports, we first need to go back in time. In the past, Herman created my training plans. Track sessions were programmed on speed, endurance runs based on heart rate. Occasionally, I would do an exercise test, mainly to ensure I was medically healthy rather than to determine training zones and intensities. That was Herman’s job. During training, he observed me and adjusted the session as needed based on my body’s signals. Not by just looking at the data, but primarily through observation. How I moved, the look in my eyes. Coaching back then was local, one-on-one, and intuitive. The emphasis was on building a personal connection and mutual trust.
Brett Sutton, coach to Chrissie Wellington and Daniela Ryf, previously trained horses and greyhounds. From that, he learned the art of observation—understanding what a training session does to someone. Knowing when to push for another repetition and when to stop. He shared the art of observing in this fascinating interview.
That brings me to the present. More and more apps calculate your training zones for you. In this blog, you can read how zones calculated by Polar and Garmin algorithms differ from those determined during a performance test. You don’t need to read it to guess the outcome. The differences are significant. Other apps, like Stryd or Join, create complete training plans. These apps are self-learning. As you improve, your zones adjust, and your training evolves. Nowadays, you need to be an exceptionally skilled trainer to design a running program better than the Stryd app…
…provided that a) you train consistently with Stryd and log all your runs with it, b) you regularly update it with test runs and races to feed the algorithm, and c) you invest time and effort into understanding the app’s nuances. For example, I learned that your Stryd metrics can vary depending on the shoes you wear. It’s not insurmountable, but it’s something you need to be aware of.
With the advent of continuous lactate meters and tools like Train.Red, which measures muscle oxygen saturation, the role of algorithms and apps in the technical aspects of training is growing significantly. I cannot imagine a future where coaches do not use these tools. Whether you like it or not, that part of the craft is becoming increasingly scientific. This makes the technical aspect of training more precise and scalable.
Can you outsource the technical aspects of training to technology? Herman, who proofread this blog, responded:
With the rise of AI, MySasy, TrainingPeaks, Coros, Garmin and Polar–like “self-thinking,” largely algorithm-based programs, there’s a major risk lurking:
Dependency!
The classically trained coach who keeps up with the times will use these new developments as tools, complementing decades of practical experience. Old-school coaches will extract the benefits but will rarely discard traditional methods entirely or dive headfirst into AI and other online tools.
The young coach, raised in the digital world, often lacks references to training methods that older coaches have learned over time. They don’t have a “full backpack” of experience in guiding athletes. Moreover, it’s unreasonable to expect a young coach to possess the intuitive thinking that older coaches have developed over time. Creativity, “fingerspitzengefühl,” proactive action, and emotional anticipation are qualities we would want to instill in young coaches. These skills are not learned on the World Wide Web.
The coach’s role is to help athletes see the forest for the trees in the ever-expanding jungle of technology. The earlier example of how a coach might respond to an athlete’s question about the Stryd app illustrates this. Building on this example, that app won’t tell a triathlete how to approach their swim and bike training or how to adjust their running sessions accordingly. It certainly won’t help with managing work-life balance.
(As an aside: ChatGPT is increasingly capable of taking on this role as well, albeit with the risk of personifying the technology or receiving advice that crosses moral or ethical boundaries. That, however, is outside the scope of this blog.)
The limitation of apps and online tools is that they don’t accommodate the emotional, intuitive, and human aspects of the athlete. Fortunately, we are not robots that automatically swim, bike, or run faster by mindlessly following a training program.
3. De toekomst van coaching in duursport: coördinator en life coach
The two main themes of coaching in endurance sports for the future, as I see them, are: a) that of a coordinator, and b) that of a life coach.
3.1 Coordinator
Let’s make this practical right away by building on the example of the athlete preparing for her first Ironman. To keep this blog from becoming even longer, I’ll focus on three categories where coordination is essential.
Training Planning
When training for a triathlon, you need to include swim, bike, and run sessions. Training once a week for each discipline won’t suffice (well, maybe, but don’t ask how you will race;). Add at least one strength and stability session per week, and you’re looking at a minimum of 3×2+1=7 training sessions weekly. The challenge is to figure out when to schedule which training session in a sustainable way—so you can maintain it over the long term, keep enjoying it, and avoid ending up jobless or with a ruined marriage by the end of the process.
How can you fit your training into your workweek? When is the pool open? Which group sessions do you want to keep attending—because fun and joking with fellow athletes is so important! And, last but not least, how do you balance high-intensity sessions with endurance and recovery workouts?
Planning becomes even more critical when you get injured or find yourself overwhelmed with work, forcing you to cut back on training. In such situations, it’s invaluable to discuss your options with your coach and make informed decisions about adjustments.
Technology, Apps, and Knowledge
By now, you’ve seen several examples of apps and tools that can help you train smarter or make the process more enjoyable. For illustration, here’s a screenshot of my most-used apps. There are 18—and they’re not even all of them.
3.2 Life coach
The second theme is the role of life coach. At the start of a coaching relationship, the focus is usually on the technical aspects of training. This makes sense, as athletes initially want to understand the how and why behind their training program. However, as the coaching journey progresses, other topics often come to the forefront. Motivation, how to handle setbacks, finding balance in work, life, and sports, or reflecting on the lessons from a race that doesn’t truly reflect the athlete’s potential.
As an athlete, it’s comforting to be able to vent to your coach, to share in the frustration when things don’t go as planned, and to celebrate together when goals are exceeded. This requires mutual trust and open, honest communication. This aspect of coaching focuses on the human element—understanding the social and historical context of the athlete, respecting their unique motivations, and acknowledging the diverse ways people engage with their sport.
A coach must also be able to sense when something is off, show empathy, and ask the tough questions when necessary.
4. The Human Value of the Coach
In the future of coaching in endurance sports, technology and AI will have a significant influence on the training role. However, this does not render coaches obsolete. Quite the opposite. Coaching is inherently human-centered. While an app can tell you how to train intelligently, only a coach can help you grow as an athlete and, more importantly, as a person.
The coach of the future will combine technical training expertise with the ability to advise athletes which tools to use, and their limitations. This coach will provide perspective, help set priorities, and support athletes in seeking out specialists when the situation demands it.
The most important—and beautiful—aspect of coaching remains the relationship built with the athlete, founded on mutual trust. Open and honest communication is essential. When these conditions are met, a coach can foster growth in their athletes—not just in their athletic performance, but, most importantly, as individuals.
