i doubt you'll find too many "xterra focused" coaches (although i am sure they are out there), you'd be best served by finding a good tri coach who understands the demands of xterra racing.

Reminds me of a conversations I had with my coach and a friend (both XTERRA racers):

Road tri coach: Bike steady and don't have spikes
XTERRA athlete: HAHAHAHAHA

XTERRA athlete: What 'keep your run pace steady' and 'target pace'?

Road tri coach: So do you do the bike part on a cross bike?

So yeah, look for a coach that (1) at minimum actually knows what an XTERRA race is; (2) mountain bikes and trail runs; and (3) hopefully has raced at least one XTERRA.

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Try not to drown / rock the bike / hobby-jog

I've seen several people using Middaugh coaching but I don't know if they are any better for Xterra or are just a name like Mark Allen is for coaching Ironman

I have personally met Josiah and Yaro and they are very nice people. If I was going to go the coaching route I would give them a strong look.

Edit: I did buy a training peaks bike plan from Fastcat coaching to work on mountain bike efforts but that's all it was. It wasn't some special plan for triathletes.

Leslie Patterson(?) and her Braveheart Coaching ? I tho m she’s big into Xterra

I think if you just took up MTB racing, that would do most of what you are looking for. Just go race as many of those as you can, and most coaches can help you with the other two events pretty easily. I have found that Xterra racing is just basically flat out, and you have to run off all those spikey efforts. So best to get in there and race a bike like they do to get used to it..

yes basically this

I came to triathlon from mountain biking. So I am decent there. Trail running is also very different than road running. The two together make Xterra so different -- hence the question.

I found myself in the same predicament. I came to triathlon from a CX and MTB background, and was using a coach that was generally specific to cycling.

Arguably, the hardest part to shake traditional triathlon coaches from is the SST mentality. Workouts should include a fair amount of variable intensity work, and include SST bursts layered on top of aerobic capacity and it's so hard to tell a coach who is used to staring at power and HR data all day that a XX TSS workout should actually be a XXX TSS workout because of the physical demand of the course. Let's face it, it's impossible to understand what the hell is going on when a HR is spiking while going downhill by just simply staring at data. Whatever coach you do find, make sure you have a good working communication loop. Be very realistic about perceived level of effort from workouts even if the TrainingPeaks data tells a different story.

Another significant challenge that XTERRA poses is that there is no standardized distance format like you see in traditional triathlon. Some races take 1:20 to complete, others take 3:30 - almost always conditional on course and weather. Often times you don't know what you're getting yourself into until the morning of the race.

Ultimately though, a triathlon coach is still the best place to start. But do try and look for someone who dabbles off road and understands the physiological demands of MTB.

Totally agree with Monty. Do as many trail runs and mtb races as you can. It is probably worth some effort to jog a mile after a mtb race just to get used to running off the mtb. I think it is harder to get a good rhythm going on a trail run after the spikey mtb than in a road tri. So I don't even try, just slog along as best you can and maybe your legs will forgive you and allow you to have a good back half of the run. Coaches are always a good idea, but the learning curve on Xterra events is pretty simple. I think you are way ahead of the game as it takes more time to learn the skill set in how to ride a mtb than a tri bike. And the trail runs keep you sharp mentally cause you have to pay attention to every step so you don't think in terms of x miles to go. It is more like if I can get to the top of this freekin hill I just maybe can catch me breath for a second.

The fundamental reasons for having a coach have to be considered: 1) being an expert and 2) being objective.

The objective part is a given for anytype of coach - single sport, on road multisport, off road multisport.

The experienced part speaks to specificity. The coaches job is to meet or exceed the demands of the event. The coach does not need to have won many EXTERRAs or even done an off road triathlon. They can still know the demands of the event.

Here's my advice from 20 years of coaching and 12 years of leading coaching education. Have an honest assessment of your own needs - maybe it's communication (you want to talk to your coach often) or face-to-face time or bike strength or nutrition or someone to hold you back cause you do too much or or someone to crack the whip as you tend to get lazy. Whatever it is, and it might be a couple of things, note that.

Then get a couple of coaches on the phone and give them a little info and then stop talking and make them fill the silence. You'll know in the first 2 min if you like the feel of their style or not. My expectation is that if they fill the void with lots of interest in you that's a good sign. If they talk about themselves endlessly that's a problem. Be sure to tell them about the outcome of your soul-searching and see how they respond to what you think your weaknesses are.

If you want some leads on PM me and we'll discuss further.

Ian

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Ian Murray
http://www.TriathlonTrainingSeries.com
I like the pursuit of mastery
Twitter - @TriCoachIan

Check out David Henkel with Speed Sherpa. Excellent tri coach with a lot of background on the mtb and xterra racing.

I know a guy... PM SENT

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2020 National Masters Champion - M40-44 - 400m IM
Canadian Record Holder 35-39M & 40-44M - 200 m Butterfly (LCM)

There is absolutely a difference between road racing and dirt tri racing. The demands of the body on the bike vary from each course, compared to road which is "set it and forget it" and these demands will then vary the run. I work with athletes making the switch from road to off-road tris. If you're interested in learning more send me a message.

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Louie Frank Cicchino
Accelero Endurance

I too would be happy to discuss with you.
Xterra experienced athlete and coach.
daved

http://www.theundergroundcoach.com