After signing up, Athletes are asked to complete details about their currently ability, goals and much more. When this information is returned to RunClever it is reviewed and the athlete is assigned a personal coach that we think will best meet their needs. The coach will then review the information and create a holistic 3 part plan for the athlete including; A bespoke training plan, Journey through the RunClever syllabus and ‘Wellbeing & Enhancing your experience’, which consists of tasks to complete to ensure you are able to get the most out of your time with RunClever.
From information on the forms and any other info provided, your coach will also map you onto our Outcome’s Framework for each HFI (Health and fitness indicator) and provide an overall HF rating. This, in conjunction with the RunClever Ratings, will keep you informed on how you are progressing and make sure that motivation sticks with you.
How are coaches assigned?
Here at RunClever we have coaches with a variety of backgrounds and qualifications. The one thing they have in common without fail is a qualification from England Athletics called ‘Coach in Running Fitness’. To qualify for this course, they must have first completed a prior qualification called ‘Leader in Running Fitness’. It is the CIRF qualification on which coaches will base your training plans, ensuring to follow the correct procedures and principles set out by England Athletics.
However, almost all of our coaches have other qualifications and experience that will feed in to how they will approach guiding you through your fitness journey. Some have further qualifications in running such as in Athletics coaching, some have Personal Training qualifications and others bring in accredited qualifications from bodies such as the FA. This learning goes hand in hand with experience and ability, whether this is a long history of fitness coaching or the raw ability to run, and run fast.
Depending on what you want to achieve and roughly where we think you might be on the outcomes framework there will likely be a couple of coaches who are best suited to looking after your development. In most situations this ends up with a heated debate about who gets to lead the new athletes journey and if no agreement is made between the coaches, it goes to a vote. So you can rest assured that you are getting the best person for the job.
How is development tracked?
When you sign up, you provide information about yourself based on the HFIs which are either your closest guess or the result of you performing one of the tests set out. Where the information provided is not the result of a test, one of the first things your coach will do is ask you to perform this test to gain an accurate baseline.
As you feedback your progress through the syllabus, engagement and fitness sessions assigned to you, your coach will monitor any perceived progress, especially any increase in RunClever Ratings©. When your coach thinks there may be a notable increase in one of the HFIs, they may ask you to perform a relevant test.
Coaches will also slip some of our tests into your training plan without you realising to take the pressure off!
