It is official. I am now an RRCA Certified Running Coach. As described on the website:

The Road Runners Club of America is the national association of running clubs, running events, and runners dedicated to promoting long distance running as a competitive sport and as healthful exercise. RRCA’s mission is to represent and promote the common interest of its member clubs, events, and individual runners through education, leadership, programs and other services.

My immediate plans and goals for this Summer are to assist in the coaching programs through the Maine Running Company in Portland, Maine. Once we determine what role I am going to play and how many people I will be coaching, I will decide how many private clients I can take on and will set up some online coaching options for the Summer and leading into the Autumn marathon season. If you have any interest in personal coaching from myself, then send me an email and let me know.

If you are interested in pursuing a career in coaching yourself and are interested in taking a class through the RRCA, they have released their Summer and Autumn schedule for courses. The instructors for my class were Janet Hamilton and Mike Broderick of Running Strong, and they will be offering courses in Orangeburg, South Carolina on July 19-20, in New Orleans, Louisiana on August 22-23, and in Arlington, Virginia on October 24-25. Patti and Warren Finke will also be teaching a class in Portland, Oregon on October 3-4.

The class takes 16 hours spread over 2 days. You can read more about the upcoming options in their latest press release: http://www.rrca.org/news/index.php?article=2282