The Process

How the Race Mentor Role Works

A structured, template-led workflow

From athlete intake to plan personalisation to ongoing adjustment. This is where your race experience shapes better decisions.

Athlete Completes Intake

The athlete answers a detailed questionnaire about their race choice, fitness, goals, schedule, constraints, and preferences.

•Their target race and why it matters to them

•Current fitness level and endurance background

•Specific goal: finish, place, personal record

•Work and family commitments

•Available training hours per week

•Any injuries or physical constraints

•What training they enjoy (and don't)

•Complete assessment of race-specific readiness

Athlete Is Matched to You

The athlete is matched to a mentor who has completed their target race. This is the critical step: race match, not coach match.

You Review the Athlete's Situation

You receive the athlete's intake and have time to review their circumstances. This is your preparation phase.

•Read through their complete intake

•Identify their key constraints and goals

•Note anything about their fitness level or background that matters

•Think about what personalisation might look like

•Flag any concerns that need discussion

You Start From a Proven Template

You don't build a plan from scratch. You access the race-specific template we have built for their event.

•Access the baseline race-specific training template

•Review the structure, duration, and key training blocks

•Understand the progression and intensity recommendations

•See what we already know about preparing for this race

You Personalise the Plan

Based on the athlete's intake and your race experience, you adapt the template to their circumstances.

•Adjust training volume based on their available hours

•Modify intensity for their fitness level

•Suggest training that fits their constraints (terrain, equipment, timing)

•Add race-specific focus based on your experience

•Ensure the plan is realistic for their life

•Make it clear why you've made these changes

You Review the Plan With the Athlete

You present the personalised plan and ensure it works for their situation.

•Explain why you made specific adjustments

•Share what you learned from your own race experience

•Discuss any concerns or questions

•Get agreement on the overall approach

•Set expectations for the mentoring relationship

Athlete Executes Training

The athlete starts their training. You keep an eye on progress and notice when things change.

•Review their progress reports at agreed intervals

•Notice how they're responding to the plan

•Provide feedback and encouragement

•Answer questions about the training

•Flag issues that need adjustment

You Adjust When Circumstances Change

When injury, illness, work changes, or other disruption occurs, you adjust the plan.

•Assess the situation based on their input

•Adjust the plan to accommodate the change

•Maintain race readiness despite the disruption

•Use your experience: "I had a similar setback. Here's what worked for me."

•Keep the athlete focused and confident

Race Week & Beyond

As race day approaches, you support final preparations and race execution.

•Final check-in on fitness and readiness

•Race-week adjustments to the plan

•Race-day communication and support

•Post-race debrief and learning

•Assessment of what went well and what to improve

What Information You Will Review

About the Athlete:

•Their race choice and timeline
•Current fitness level and running background
•Work and family commitments
•Available training hours
•Training preferences and constraints
•Injury history
•Specific goal for the race

What Decisions You Make:

•Which parts of the template fit them
•What needs personalisation
•Training volume and intensity for their level
•Race-specific focus based on their gaps
•Adjustments when circumstances change
•When to scale up or hold back
•Communication approach and check-in frequency

Communication & Time Expectation

This is not daily coaching. It is not frequent Zoom calls. It is structured, asynchronous mentoring.

Typical communication pattern:

Initial plan personalisation:2–3 hours
Plan review & discussion with athlete:1 call or async review
Ongoing check-ins:Bi-weekly or monthly, depending on agreement
Progress feedback & adjustments:Async messages or brief calls as needed
Plan adjustments (if circumstances change):1–2 hours per adjustment
Race-week support:2–3 hours

Total time commitment: Typically 4–8 hours per athlete across a full training cycle (3–6 months). This can vary based on the athlete's circumstances and how often adjustments are needed.

You decide:

•How often you want to check in
•Whether you prefer async (email/platform) or calls
•Your response timeline (e.g., "I reply within 48 hours")
•How many athletes you can mentor at once

What Good Mentoring Looks Like

You: "Based on your intake, you're working 50+ hours a week and have young kids. The standard template assumes 10 hours of training per week. I'm going to dial it to 7–8 hours, but we'll focus heavily on back-to-back running—that's where most athletes underprepare. I know from my own race that the multi-day fatigue was the limiting factor, not pure fitness."

You: "You got injured last month. Here's the adjusted plan: we'll scale back volume for two weeks, keep intensity where it matters, and rebuild gradually. I had a similar setback and thought my race was done. We brought it back. You have time, and the plan is flexible enough to accommodate this."

You: "Your long runs are solid, but we need more back-to-back day training. Most first-timers skip this because it feels redundant. Trust me: your body needs to know what running tired feels like. I did one long back-to-back run in my prep and regretted it. Let's make it a pillar of your training."

These are mentor moments: decisions made based on templates, personalisation, and your lived experience of the race.

Understand why race finishers matter

We only work with people who have completed the race themselves. Here's why.

Why We Only Work With Race Finishers