Is Ultra Running Coaching Broken? | Running Rants with Helen Mino Faukner | Ep.3

[@Vo2maxProductions]

Good point on "talented and fast athletes" being already "good"....even before the coach! I think it's easier to coach a super talented runner (compared to a less talented runner) because it's mostly about keeping the athlete healthy. Ultra running coaches coaching more than 40 + runners at a time certainly don't have enough individualization and individual attention with all their athletes imo

[@AMostlyFunctionalJess]

It does baffle me when I see coaches taking on tons of clients. How on earth can you possibly keep track of how everyone is doing!? I coach strength training primarily aimed at endurance sport and I take on new clients very gradually because I know I just won't be able to take care of them if I increase my client base too quickly or past a certain point. Frustrating that some people seem to get into coaching without the athletes best interests at heart.

[@WildOutdoorLiving]

Your last line has me baffled haha Great topic btw my wife and I were talking about some of this last night. There is definitely a balance between making it fun and taking it too seriously. Where you need to be in the middle of that spectrum really depends on the athlete.

[@helenminofaukner]

Yes exactly! It’s super dependent on the athlete and that’s why I think it’s important to get to know them!

[@sasquatchrosefarts]

​@@helenminofaukner99 percent of your focus should be on the skeletal health and recovery of the athletes. Especially skeletal alignment and spinal column alignment and mobility. Nutrition, hydration, mobility, rest..... They'll naturally want to overtrain..... Just focus on alignment, technique, and recovery.

[@RunningWildSandi]

Well said! 🙌

[@ricodelavega4511]

some of the cross country middle/high school coaches i've come across in the bay area/nor cal seem to be some of the best people out there. I dont work in k-12 education, just an observation.

[@davidf2244]

Watch the shapes your hands draw. Notice one is a skinny straight vertical loop, and the other is fatter and oblong. Often assymetery reveals room for optimization.

[@RunningMan1414]

Nice rant! What are the 2-3 most prominent coaches Helen's referring to? I'm guessing Koop, Roche and the 3rd one escapes me right now

[@marlinweekley51]

Coaches are like runners, some are better than others. Some runners can only handle a couple of marathons a year, a few can double and win some of the hardest 100s within weeks of each other! Some coaches have only a handful of clients and are maxed out others have many clients, their clients are throwing down big wins and at least one is winning big himself. Everyone has different talents, if your coach isn’t providing what you need go elsewhere. Obviously not all runners need or want the “same care and attention”.

[@gojeffgo]

Ian Sharman?

[@matthewwells5026]

David's wife Megan?

[@thuggoe]

if coaches are telling you to lose muscle to get faster they are crazy

[@georgecarlin2656]

10:55 yeah, the body needs animal fats, minerals, vitamins, proteins to recover and build strength. Grapes alone, like veganism, is a starvation diet.

[@ssoarr]

Wow - so confident and so wrong. By this point there have been far too many successful plant based athletes for terrible takes like this to still be out there. Nowhere did Helen imply that the coach telling them to do without animal products was the issue. Being told to only eat grapes was the issue. It would be equally ridiculous for a coach to tell an athlete to only drink milk on their rest days or to only eat bacon.

[@georgecarlin2656]

@@ssoarr Nah, being vegan sucks big time. If it was the other way around 90% of all athletes would have been vegan.

[@Evildeadge]

Pretty weird take many great runners are vegetarian or vegan and many great runners eat animal fats and meat its not that clear cut lol.

[@Islandmidfielder]

Step back and stop being so triggered vegans… Just because you want to avoid what humans can process biologically and at optimum, does not mean trying to be a minimalist about nutrition (vegans) is to be cheered. If you think about it, it’s sick to say, I’m going to be the best by taking in the least needs (veganism). Please stop advocating hurting yourself for optimum performance. That’s eating disordered behavior. I’m personally sick of hearing vegans go to war about this. Starve yourself if you want, read your studies if you want, but stop encouraged disordered eating behavior to be a better runner. It’s unhealthy.