Can AI replace your running coach

Way back in 2009 when I first started training for races, Runner’s World had a tool called Smart Coach on its website. You could enter your goal race, a recent race time and the amount of times per week you wanted to run and it would create a training plan for you, for free.

15 years later, more people than ever are running and training for races and there are numerous training apps that do the same job as Smart Coach, but with extra bells and whistles: they will send the training plan to your phone and watch, and adjust each week based on whether you did your session or not.

I’m pro people running and I’m definitely pro people following a training plan that’s tailored to them - following a plan is going to make you less likely to get injured and more likely to reach your goals. So I’m pro these apps and the ease with which people can use them to guide your training. But can they replace a coach? You’d be right if you said I had a biased view of this, however I don’t actively train many runners now and it’s certainly not the main source of my income. So, in that respect, maybe I’m a neutral observer.

How do training apps use AI?

Apps like Runna and Coopah likely uses AI (artificial intelligence) in various ways to enhance user experience and provide more personalised and sometimes insightful feedback.