I would love to have all of those same questions answered. Obviously I am still trying figure all of this out myself. It seems it would be VERY beneficial for the coach to be close to you. Unfortunately, I have not heard of very many that are in my area. I am going to check out the ones that are near me but, ultimately, I am probably going to choose the one I feel most comfortable with (no matter where they are located).



THANKS ONE MORE TIME TO EVERYONE THAT TOOK TIME TO POST A SUGGESTION HERE!!

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"Texas is a state of mind. Texas is an obsession. Above all, Texas is a nation in every sense of the word" - John Steinbeck

Even though I think that having a coach near you can make a world of difference, I don't think those are valid reasons. Any decent coach will inquire about training routes and also ask if this or that workout is feasible in your training area.

I know I do that even with the athletes I coach over here, even though this is a small country, I don't know all of it :-)

A coach that is near you can be helpful if he/she can see you training and racing, because there's a lot a coach can pick up just by watching an athlete performing. If he/she is near but you just communicate through email, then it doesn't matter if they live near or (very) far away.

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"Yeah, no one likes a smartass, but we all like stars" - Thom Yorke


smartasscoach.tri-oeiras.com

Actually being a coach located in AZ, that is not ridiculous. As SAC said the coach should inquire about training routes, terrain etc. Personally I think riders from rolling terrain have an advantage over riders from the flat lands no matter where the race.

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Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

Another happy Michael McCormack client, a great coach (and older IM pro), especially for IM training for those strapped for time and who have a computrainer.

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FIST Certified Fitter
Salt Lake City, Utah

I saw great improvements with Rich Strauss at Crucible Fitness. The plan we developed after a couple of conversations was really good and easy to follow. He is very good at explaining not only what you are doing but why you are doing it and what you will gain by doing it.