Hart Strength and Endurance coaching was founded in 2017 by husband and wife team, Geoff and Heather Hart (that’s me!). Between us, we have nearly a dozen certifications ranging from ACSM exercise physiologist, to RRCA running, UESCA ultramarathon & triathlon coaching, NASM personal training, and more. We’ve been running ultramarathons ourselves for over 6 years (with running, triathlon, OCR, and cycling going back much further!). We believe that ordinary people are capable of extraordinary feats, and that living an active lifestyle can transform your life in more ways than one. We also believe that these goals can be accomplished while balancing the real world, family, and work life.
Hart Strength and Endurance Coaching is looking to bring another coach onto our team, specifically focusing on beginner to intermediate ultramarathon runners. Currently, we are looking to start this coach with 1-5 clients. We can discuss the total number of clients you are comfortable with, and increase over time, if that is something you are interested in.
What We Are Looking For
Ideally, we are looking for a candidate who meets the following criteria:
Ultramarathon experience
We’re looking for someone who has either 100 mile ultramarathon experience (as in, you’ve completed one yourself), or an overnight ultra experience. The majority of our clients are beginner ultra runners with their sights set on completing a 100 mile distance race, and thus, this is where we’re needing to expand our coaching roster.
Yes, I absolutely realize it’s possible to coach athletes for distances you have not completed yourself, and I know there are plenty of great coaches out there in this scenario. However, we feel having the first hand experience of what it’s like to have been there – to have suffered somewhere around mile 95, or at 5 am when you are begging the sun to finally rise, or cried on the side of the trail because your pacer gave you the wrong flavor GU, etc. – is something we want our potential coach to be able to bring to the table, as it helps in connecting with and guiding clients who are about to experience the same thing, most likely for the first time.
Finishing time doesn’t matter to us. You do not have to be fast to be a successful coach. We are simply looking for that ultra experience.
Certifications
We are looking for someone who is currently run coach certified *OR IS WILLING* to become certified ASAP (and we are happy to point you in the right direction as far as certification recommendations). You do not necessarily have to have experience coaching, as we are willing to train and mentor you. (I’m very picky with my coaching style, so I’m more than happy to teach you the HSEC way) .
But, you do need to have a working knowledge of human anatomy, exercise physiology, and how to properly design training plans in order to help clients reach their goal while keeping them safe, so a run specific coaching certification is a must.
A Desire to Never Stop Learning
We are huge proponents of continuing education, and expect our coaches to do the same. Science is ever changing, and more specifically, the science and research behind ultramarathon running is still growing as the sport becomes more popular. Our coaches must be open minded to always learning new evidence based strategies to help best serve our clients.
A Positive and Compassionate Personality.
Our clients are not elite runners. They are moms, dads, nurses, students – busy people who have huge running goals…but also have other responsibilities. You must be able to know when to give “tough love” as a coach and keep your client focused on their end goal, but also know when to recognize that running is not our clients #1 priority, and they are only human.
Availability and Prompt Response Time
The ability to respond to client emails or workout comments within a 24 hour period on weekdays (and weekends when possible). Our clients are offered unlimited communication. This is an important part of our coaching style. We do not program clients for a month and forget about them – their training is fluid, and you must have the time to respond to, and adjust training plans, as needed. For some clients, you will only be checking in with them once a week, as this is what they are comfortable with and need from a coach. Others may email daily at times.
A Sense of Humor.
You’ll be working with Geoffrey Hart – that’s probably all I need to say about that. We take our coaching VERY seriously, but we also pride ourselves on never losing the joy of running.
What We Can Provide For You
- Final Surge Coaching Account for you to program and interact with clients
- Clients / Client intake. We handle incoming clients to ensure they will be a great match for our program. We will then assign the client to the coach we feel will be the best match. (Of course, you are always welcome to recruit your own clients – and we will help you with that process).
- Administration. All client paperwork, billing, etc. will be covered, so you can focus on coaching.
- Advertising/Promotion. We take care of promoting the business so you can focus on taking care of your clients.
- Mentorship. Geoff and I have a combined 25+ years experience in the fitness industry training and teaching clients, and have successfully coached well over 100 Hart Strength and Endurance Coaching clients since 2017. We are more than happy to provide guidance and mentorship to a newer coach who is looking to expand their knowledge and gain experience working with clients.
How to Apply
If you are interested in beginning a conversation to see if you might be a good fit, please send us an email to h[email protected], and answer the following questions:
- Why are you interested in this coaching position?
- What is your current coaching experience, if any?
- What is your ultramarathon running experience?
- Where do you picture yourself as a running coach a year from now? Five years from now?
- Tell us a little bit about your coaching philosophy.
- What is your desired client demographic?
Run coaching – especially ultramarathon athletes – is a labor of love, and an incredibly rewarding job. Geoff and I absolutely LOVE what we do, and look forward to expanding the HSEC community to help even more runners achieve incredible feats.