Recreational Athlete Account

£65.00 per month.

The Recreational Athlete Account is not a training plan, your workouts are updated weekly based on data collected from your own wearable device. This account is suitable for athletes that want more coach interaction and feedback. It's popular with athletes that want to complete events either for fun or to be competitive.  This Account proved its worth in 2022 with multiple first-time ultra marathon finishers, and podium finishes at distances from 5k to 200 miles.

If you're not interested in competing in events, this is still a great option. It is goal driven, but you choose what that goal may be.

You will need to open a premium Training Peaks account at your own cost. This massively improves the amount of data and the quality of the Annual Training Plan (ATP). TP Premium costs $19 per month, or $9 per month if you pay annually, as of November 2022. The cost of the  Recreational Athlete Account has been discounted to allow athletes to pay the additional cost of the Premium TP account.

You need a wearable device that is compatible with Training Peaks, you can get away without using a separate chest strap heart rate monitor but the data harvest is more reliable if you have one.  

In your first week of training we will establish realistic running goals, work out how much training time you have per week and when you can train, and then we carry out a few simple tests to set your heart rate zones and get a picture of your current training status.

So what do you get?

• Assistance in planning for your goal event(s) in the form of an annual training plan (ATP) which gives you an overview of what your training focus should be during the countdown to your events. You may not wish to enter events, no problem.

• Comprehensive run workouts based on your current fitness status are updated weekly. Most runners I work with are on a four-week cycle, and the fourth week is recovery. The time between recovery weeks varies depending on your level of fitness.

• (Optional) Weekly strength and conditioning workouts, nine per month are published on your Training Peaks calendar.  Neil is currently studying for an elite S&C coaching award as part of his continued professional development.

• You are able to comment in a chat box or message on TP whenever you wish.

• Access to armchair2ultra private Facebook group where you can connect with other athletes and share your highs and lows. There will also be access to free presentations and training videos as they are added.

• Coach comments on each workout.

• Weekly training stress target.

• Fortnightly feedback report.

• Either a 20-minute phone call, Loom or Zoom once a month, booked in advance.

• The above is the minimum you can expect, but the harder you work the more feedback and help you will receive.