Would y'all take a survey for me?

[katinthehat]

And help my husband out?

He's trying to get into an RRCA coaching session in the next few months and start run/tri/lifestyle coaching as a side business and we're trying to figure out how best to market him.

It's only ten short questions and if you have any other feedback or comments, I'd love it hear them here.  Thanks ladies!

www.surveymonkey.com/s/STDRPJN

Also, I ran out of free questions on survey monkey so if you wouldn't mind replying here, how important is it to you that your coach be certified?  Or would you care more about their running record vs any certification?  Do you care about any specific certification or does it just make you feel better to see some sort of certification after their name?

[pamela]

If I'm going to pay somebody, I'd want them to have some sort of certification or training. Basically, someone may be able to survive running on their own methods, but I want to make sure they have some education in how to help other people and keep them from getting hurt and different methods for getting max progress.

[kams]

I wouldn't necessarily not use someone because they weren't certified, especially if they have a great track record or I know people they coach. BUT, it's limiting to not have one. Many people will go to someone certified instead, so I think it's worth it to appeal to the max amount of people.

Off to answer the survey...

[joenali]

I would want experience and certification. One of our team coaches used to race ITU professionally but is coaching and training people for ironman. He's never done one. How can you take him seriously if he's never raced one? If I wanted to do an Olympic distance he'd be the first person I would call.

[ebeth]

tip on surveys: you're more likely to get an answer if you give people ranges to choose from rather than just leave something blank for them to answer.

if I was hiring a coach I really wouldn't care about their running reputation. you don't have to be a good runner to coach someone to be a good runner.just because you can run a 1:30 half doesn't mean you're going to be any good at training me to run a 1:30 half. I would want someone who has had some background/training in coaching, nutrition, physiology,etc.. enough that they understand why you are supposed to be doing each workout.

[kams]

Mar 18, 2013 9:31:35 GMT -5 ebeth said:

tip on surveys: you're more likely to get an answer if you give people ranges to choose from rather than just leave something blank for them to answer.

Yeah - since I've never even looked in to private coaching, I had no idea what to put. I just put what I thought sounded reasonable but it may be way off. 

My DH is a coach for a living and I don't even know, lol. That may be more of a "me" problem than a "survey" problem, ha!

[shelbyann]

Mar 18, 2013 9:14:23 GMT -5 kams said:

I wouldn't necessarily not use someone because they weren't certified, especially if they have a great track record or I know people they coach. BUT, it's limiting to not have one. Many people will go to someone certified instead, so I think it's worth it to appeal to the max amount of people.

Off to answer the survey...

I think I am here as well. Honestly certification on its own wouldn't mean much to me. I have lots of running friends who have coaching certs but I consider them my peers and while I value their thoughts and input, I wouldn't necessarily pay them to coach me. If I were to hire a coach, on paper I'd want them to have lots of experience and excellent references/record of results. But I've been running for a long time, so maybe I'm just picky, LOL.

(But if I were hiring, for example, a swimming coach (a sport I know next to nothing about) I think I would be more likely to just look for someone who has relevant training/certification and whose prices were reasonable. But my goals would be different there, too.)

[clseale]

Mar 18, 2013 9:25:10 GMT -5 Mrs.flang said:

Mar 18, 2013 9:14:23 GMT -5 kams said:

I wouldn't necessarily not use someone because they weren't certified, especially if they have a great track record or I know people they coach. BUT, it's limiting to not have one. Many people will go to someone certified instead, so I think it's worth it to appeal to the max amount of people.

Off to answer the survey...

I agree with this.  I know nothing about the types of certifications that are even available.

I agree with this. Maybe it's because I've worked with certified people who didn't seem to know crap, but I actually put a lot of weight into history and experience. I would much rather be coached by someone who has been an athlete their entire life (collegiate and professional,) trained tons of people, and runs a sub 2:30 marathon than I would by someone who can just say they're certified. 

ETA: Those specifics are of someone I know here locally who I am getting ready to work with on training plans for Chicago. It never even crossed my mind to see if he's certified, his experience & history of coaching others is enough for me.

[Brit]

I could go either way with the certification thing. If I were blindly hiring someone, then yes, that would be important. It is more likely that I would hire someone through a word of mouth recommendation though. In that case, I would care more about their experience coaching and track record with athletes at my level than any certification.

Also, I answered the survey with prices that may not even be in the right ballpark. I have no idea what a coach *should* cost, but I do know what I would be willing (and could talk my H into budgeting) to pay.

[katinthehat]

Thank you so much for the feedback so far! I purposely left the money stuff blank because I don't even know what I'd pay!

The thing with the certification is that unless we can get him into a RRCA one in Houston, it's almost $1K plus time off of work to get it. So obviously an investment for our whole family. A USATF certification is a lot easier to get, but it's more like a high school track (he'd get lessons on shotput for example) certification.

Would you care about that difference?

[Deleted]

I'd want certification, and honestly, I wouldn't know the difference. I said $200/month, but I would expect that to include at least 4 in-person sessions. And I tried to do the based on COL where you are and you're DH experience level. In LA I would probably pay more as trainers normally charge $80/session and I would assume that's what a running coach would charge, though obviously discounted here based on inexperience.