There has never been a time where runners have had more options available to them when it comes to getting help with their training. You can download an app, ask ChatGPT to write you a training programme in about 30 seconds, buy a ready to go plan, join a group programme, or engage a real life 1:1 Run Coach to work with you. There really is something for everyone, at pretty much every price point!

The lines between these different options are becoming increasingly blurred though, especially with many products now using words like ‘coaching’, ‘personalised’ and ‘AI powered’. As a runner it can be pretty hard to actually understand what you are getting, and more importantly, what level of help is going to be best for YOU and where you are currently at in your running journey.

I’ve spent quite a bit of time thinking about this over the past few years, especially as a Run Coach and business owner watching AI and running apps grow rapidly in popularity. What I’ve come to realise is that I don’t think this needs to be an Apps vs Coaches, or AI vs Humans argument at all. All of these options have their place, and if something is helping a runner get out the door, train consistently and achieve their goals then I think that is brilliant!

The more important question for me is: What do you actually need?

Someone training for their first 10k or half marathon and simply wanting some structure might need something completely different from the athlete chasing a sub 3 hour marathon, trying to nail their first 100 miler, or the runner who keeps finding themselves injured every time they build up their training.

In this article I want to look at what I believe the real differences are between following a running app, AI or ready to go training plan, and working with a 1:1 Run Coach — and most importantly, help you work out which one might be the best fit for you and your running right now.

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If you prefer listening over reading, Join myself and Coach Char as we unpack this topic and help you better understand the difference behind running apps, AI and 1:1 Run Coaching, and whats best for you where you're currently at in your running.

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So what are we talking about when we say Training Apps & 1:1 Run Coaching?

For context I want to outline what we are talking about when use terminology like apps, AI prescribed training, and 1:1 Run Coaching:

Running apps is products in the market place such as Runna, Garmin Coach (cleverly named using the word coach), Coopah, TrainAsONE… I would also include in this comparison to the 1:1 Coaching discussion- static ready to go plans that you can buy, AI/ChatGPT prescribed training, and other cheap watered down versions of ‘’coaching’’ that are little more than a ready to go plan with an ‘ask in the Facebook group’ or ‘email me if you get stuck’ level of support. These above options all totally have their place by the way, I'm not here to run them down. One thing I will say though that is problematic for the industry is when runners are lead to believe through clever marketing that they are receiving coaching from a coach for $15-30 per week, when all that’s really happening is that the athlete is following a systemised broad stroke ‘ready to go’ plan approach- essentially fitting the athlete to the event or distance regardless of where they are at, vs coaching, which is more about aligning the training to best fit the athlete’s physiology and whats best going to provide stimulus and adaptation to that individual.. Very different offerings in the spectrum, so I think it deserves to be well separated from any discussion and comparison from real 1:1 Run Coaching, and included as something more akin to training app/AI assisted level of help.

1:1 Run Coaching is when a Coach works one on one (in person and/or remotely) with an individual who is wanting to improve all aspects of their running. Today, we use tools such as Training Peaks and Final Surge for training prescription, which seamlessly syncs both ways with tech such as Garmin and Coros watches. This means your coach, sometimes using sport science principles, can see the completed runs, and in conjunction with regular athlete contact and feedback- can make adjustments or enhancements to the training schedule, so the athlete gets the right amount of training stimulus to meet their situation. The athlete in turn gets maximum training adaptation.

Outside of training prescription, the goal of a Coach is to then coach the runner or athlete through the training as varying daily life scenarios present themselves. Interventions outside of running itself are suggested or prescribed to the athlete in order to give them the maximum probability of achieving the set training. Example: Functional strength protocols for runners that might have a particular niggle, nutrition and fuelling cues at the right time to avail the athlete more energy to move through the training and improve recovery. The list goes on and on- could even be providing mindfulness recommendations in order to help sleep quality. Coach is either trying to help the athlete with these interventions in order to meet the training prescription with the goal to lift the ceiling, or in an example of life variables not going to plan- coach will adjust/de-load training preferably before things hit a wall in order for the athlete to side step potential issues before they arise.

Bespoke training prescription, strong 2 way feedback loops, journeying together to improve running outcomes and performance. This is 1:1 Run Coaching!

Who Is Best Suited to a Running App?

Let’s be honest, 1:1 Run Coaching, especially from a quality experienced Coach that offers high levels of contact and bespoke training prescription is on the more expensive side- its an investment in yourself. This is a factor. Not all of us are willing/able to invest in this level of help for our running, so accessibility is a strong positive here when it comes to choosing an app vs a 1:1 Run Coach.

Also on the accessibility front is that app training is instant! You can decide at 9pm on a Tuesday night that you want to knock off a sub 3hr or 3:30hr marathon, and within 10 minutes you’ll have a plan on your phone that syncs with your watch with workouts and training geared towards that sub 3 or 3:30hr marathon goal, whereas with engaging and communicating with a Coach- there is a degree of waiting for responses or the next time that you meet.

You have strong motivation, you don’t need coach accountability, and yes you do want to improve in your running- but we’re not sharpening the pointy end of the sword so to speak, maybe you’re happy to nail 50-75% of your training plan. Perhaps you’re in your earlier 1-2 years of running, and you’ve been making those incremental gains, you don’t suffer from niggles or sickness. Or you have a sense of intuition about yourself and how to navigate training. EG- you might feel a little fatigued due to poor sleep because your young one is currently sick, so you happily make the decision (without second guessing yourself) to swap out that run workout for an easy run.

The underlying theme here is: Possibly you don’t take your running too much on the serious side, or you do- and are an experienced runner who’s comfortable self navigating the app prescription as situations arise. Maybe you’re not super worried about improving heaps and dialling everything, but you like the stricture of following a plan, and it adds some fun to your running without costing an arm and a leg. An app style of training is great for you!

Who Is Best Suited to 1:1 Run Coaching?

Coming from my Run Coach lens this is simple: A runner or athlete (at any level) who is competitive with themselves and their peers. Who wants to level up their running, who wants to invest in themselves and their running outcomes, and someone who wants a coach in their corner with them on that journey to success. That’s the broad version!

The types of runners who engage us a lot for coaching at CMF Running are runners who have done all the apps, done all the low cost entry level options, and done all the self prescribing they can handle! They’ve watched all the YouTube, read all the blogs, asked all the ChatGPTs, listened to their mate on the group run. They are DONE! They’ve had enough of second guessing what they are doing, and they are at a place in their running where they are more serious about improving. They want to get that sharp time like the aforementioned sub 3, 3:30, or 4 hour marathon, they want to nail that 100k/100 mile Ultra Marathon, or go as far as they can in a Backyard Ultra. These runners are definitely suited to engaging a 1:1 Run Coach.

Another runner type suited to 1:1 Run Coaching is the individual that just can’t run consistently without getting injured or sick regularly. This is heartbreaking for these runner types, and I know exactly how this feels having my own autoimmune health story in my past. There’s often a mis-conception that you have to be un-injured to engage a coach. At least in myself and my teams experience this couldn’t be further from the truth. We work a lot with runners who are wanting to rehab from injury, return to running and build up safely with a coach’s support, knowledge and often integrated approach with another health professional. We need that mental and moral support from a coach when we are going through injury and rehab, to know that we are on the right track even if on the day we don’t feel like we are.

So you’re a competitive runner, or aspiring sub elite/elite athlete, you value human help, you don’t want to put any thought on what you’re doing for training tomorrow and whether it is the right thing for you or not. Or, do you relate to the above 2 paragraphs? Take a look at 1:1 Run Coaching, it might just be your time!

What Is Best for You?

At the end of the day I don’t think there is one universally ‘best’ option here. There is just the best option for YOU, and where you are currently at in your running journey.

If you’re using a running app or following a ready to go programme, you’re enjoying your running, staying consistent and getting the results you want, then brilliant! Keep doing it. You don’t need to engage a 1:1 Run Coach just because coaching exists, and for many runners an app or ready to go programme might be all the structure and guidance they need.

But I also think there comes a point in many runners' journeys where they start wanting more. Your goals might be getting bigger, you might be chasing those smaller percentage improvements, you might be sick of constantly second guessing whether you’re doing the right training, or perhaps you just can’t seem to put together consistent blocks of running without getting injured or sick.

This is where I believe the value of real 1:1 Run Coaching starts to become much greater. A training plan can tell you what to do. A Coach helps you navigate what happens when real life meets that plan.

Because the reality is that training rarely goes perfectly. We get sick, we get niggles, work gets busy, kids keep us awake, motivation comes and goes, and sometimes our bodies simply don’t respond to training in the way we expected them to. Having someone in your corner who knows you, understands your goals, sees the bigger picture and can help make those decisions with you is, in my opinion, where real 1:1 Run Coaching comes into its own.

So rather than asking whether a running app or a 1:1 Run Coach is better, maybe the better question to ask yourself is: What do I actually need from my training right now?

And if you’ve reached the point where you’re ready to stop second guessing, invest in yourself and see what you’re really capable of with a Coach in your corner, then maybe it’s time to take that next step and level up your running.

Chris Lucas

About the Author

Chris Lucas coaches runners and athletes who are serious about levelling up their running. He also develops and mentors the CMF Coaching team, helping shape the coaching philosophy behind CMF Running. He's the host of the NZ Nomad Runner Podcast and is passionate about helping runners better understand the why behind their training.

Keep Learning

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🎙️Podcast: Training Apps vs 1:1 Run Coaching- Whats right for you?

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