Q. For the monthly coaching, do I need to commit to a certain amount of time? 

Coaching is offered on a month-to-month basis, with no long-term contract required. However, meaningful endurance adaptations are built over months, not weeks. The more consistently you engage in structured, purposeful training over time, the greater and more sustainable your gains will be.

Consistency is always king. While athletes are free to start and stop coaching as needed, I recommend committing to yourself for at least six months when preparing for a single goal race in order to allow enough time for progression, adaptation, and refinement.

Q. What if I get injured? 

If an injury comes up that limits or prevents running, we’ll adjust your approach based on what’s appropriate for your situation. There are two options:

1. Modify training and continue coaching
We’ll identify what you can do without pain or further aggravation and shift your training accordingly. This may include cross-training assigned through TrainingPeaks and, when appropriate, coordination with your physical therapist or physician.

2. Pause coaching
If continuing training isn’t appropriate, you may choose to pause coaching until you’re able to resume. In this case, the pause in billing would begin the following month. 

Q. How do payments work?

I use Venmo Business to invoice athletes monthly or bi-monthly.

Q. What type of summit objectives do you train athletes for?

For summit objectives, my focus is on preparing you aerobically for the demands of the route, including sustained climbing and descending, and ensuring you are comfortable training with and carrying the gear required for your objective. I do not provide technical climbing or mountaineering instruction. However, when appropriate, I’m happy to schedule training days that align well with climbing or technical practice so your overall preparation remains cohesive.

Q. I like to cross-train, can you work that into my training? 

Absolutely. I’m happy to work with you to integrate cross-training and other sports into your training schedule in a way that supports your overall goals. This may include activities such as cycling, skiing, or other endurance-based sports.

When appropriate, I may suggest setting heart rate zones for these activities using a field test. Whether this makes sense will depend on the individual and the sport, and is always addressed on a case-by-case basis.

Q.Do you prescribe strength training? 

Yes — to a foundational, runner-focused degree. While I am not a certified strength and conditioning coach, my coaching certification allows me to prescribe basic strength training for endurance and ultrarunning athletes.

The strength work I include is individualized and focused on areas where an athlete feels strength-limited or where additional strength would better support their running. This typically includes runner-specific band work, bodyweight exercises that can be done at home or with minimal equipment, and, when appropriate and available, basic strength work with weights.

I do not provide detailed form analysis, instructional PDFs, or video-based technique review for strength exercises.

If you already follow your own strength program or work with a strength professional, I’m happy to integrate that into your training by scheduling strength sessions on days that best complement your running. Proper placement of strength work within the training week matters, and I help ensure it supports — rather than interferes with — your overall training.

Q. How extensive is the guidance you give on nutrition? 

Yes. I am a UESCA-certified Endurance Sports Nutrition Coach. While I don’t provide comprehensive daily nutrition planning, I regularly discuss pre- and post-exercise nutrition with athletes to help support training quality and recovery.

My primary focus is on fueling and hydration during running. This includes helping athletes develop practical, well-practiced strategies so nutrition supports performance and doesn’t become a limiting factor on race day. This is the area where I provide the most guidance and expertise.

Q. How do you structure your athletes' training week? 

I don’t use a fixed template. Each athlete has a different schedule, life demands, and capacity for training, and weekly structure is built around what is realistic and sustainable for them.

Some athletes run four days per week, others run six with one rest day, and some incorporate daily movement through a mix of running and cross-training. Rest is an essential part of the training process — it’s where adaptation occurs — but everyone’s life stress and recovery capacity are different.

With consistency as the priority, I work with each athlete to identify the schedule that best supports long-term adherence, recovery, and adaptation. The goal is to build a training week that fits into life and allows the hard work to actually pay off over time.

If you have a question that was not answered above, please shoot me an email at high.desert.endurance@gmail.com and I'll get back to you within 24 hours.