Why a real coach will always beat AI

Data is everywhere in running now. Heartrate, pace, cadence, calories, power, stride length, vertical ratio, vertical oscillation, ground contact time.... you get the point!

Proponents of AI will tell you that this data is too broad and too detailed for humans to consider, and that AI can process it all in seconds and know more about your running than yourself.

The problem is this data doesn't know you! It doesn't know you had a stressful work day. That you've had a sniffly nose for a few days, or that you spent five hours building a deck yesterday afternoon! AI can't know this and even if it did, it wouldn't know what to do with it. But your running coach does!

Data Accuracy

Let's go back to the start and look at the data that AI leverages to learn about you and your fitness.

Wearable technology has come a long way in recent years, with improvements in heart rate monitoring and GPS accuracy. However we've all experienced easy runs where our watch says we're in Zone 5, and factors such as watch fit, sweat, water and cold weather can influence accuracy. Not to mention if its hot outside or you had a coffee pre-run (which can elevate your heart rate for a similar effort level). Unless you're wearing a chest or arm strap and you've got a long history of training data, its highly unlikely your heart rate data is accurate enough to make meaningful training adjustments.

Furthermore, GPS watches are quoted as being ±1–2% over a run. This equates to 420 - 840m variation over a marathon. Over an ultra-marathon? That's probably kilometres of inaccuracy.

If AI is utilising this data to judge how you're responding to training, its going to be adjusting your training based on flawed data. Your running coach though will know this and take it into account, along with the feedback you provide (i.e. that pre-run coffee!) for a more wholistic picture!

Experience Counts

Experienced coaches have seen everything before and know how to respond and adapt your training. They've seen:

• overtraining before it becomes burnout.

• small injuries before they become season-ending problems.

• race-day mistakes before they happen.

• mental barriers that prevent athletes from reaching their potential.

Not only that, they've mostly likely coached an athlete in your race or even ran it themselves. And if they haven't, they know where to go and research the specifics of the race to target your training in the right places.

Relationships

The best coaches do far more than prescribe workouts and improve your fitness.

They celebrate your victories. They help you through setbacks. They challenge you when you're capable of more. They protect you from doing too much.

They also know YOU - what motivates you, what you're struggling with, what your limitations are and what's going on in your life.

No algorithm can genuinely understand the person you are and how to get the best out of yourself. And that's where real coaching makes the biggest difference.

Race Planning and Support

Getting to the start line being fit and ready is only part of the equation. A great coach will prepare you for what comes next - executing the race!

A coach can:

• ease those race day nerves by reminding you of all the training you've done and kilometres you've logged;

• advise you on effort / pace for different sections of the race and prepare you to deal with the inevitable hard parts; and

• prepare detailed nutrition strategies and aid station plans based on your training.

Coaches can't always be there to support you on race day, but some of the most memorable experiences I've had as a coach is being there to see my athletes execute races and persevere through pain and struggles.

An algorithm can't do that.

Final Thoughts

Whilst AI definitely has a place in running, it's important to realise that it should be used to complement real coaches, not to replace them. Coaching is more than just writing a training program, and includes a wholistic approach to a runners development and long-term progress and enjoyment of running.

At Endurance Blueprint, we use modern technology to inform our decisions, but every training plan is shaped by real conversations, real experience, and real relationships.

Because the goal isn't just to build a better training plan.

It's to build a better athlete.