Coach in Running Fitness

The Coach in Running Fitness (CiRF) qualification is designed for those who want to get involved in coaching runners over the age of 12 that take part in non track based activities e.g. road, fell, cross country or multi terrain events.

The programme is primarily for those working with runners up to and including the event group development stage. All applicants must be active leaders or coaches who have completed as a minimum a Level 1, LiRF or Coaching Assistant course.

Please note that the CiRF qualification is about the broad application to non track based endurance running events and is not designed for coaches who want to work with runners taking part in track based endurance events such as 800m – 10,0000m or steeplechase. Those looking to coach these event groups should attend the Athletics Coach course.

Course Details

Duration: 4 contact days along with home study, planning and preparation for assessment. Day 1 & 2 delivered as a weekend and Day 3 is held 4-6 weeks later. There is then 10 - 12 weeks before Day 4, which is an observed practical assessment. The CiRF programme will take a minimum of five months to complete, however, once underway, applicants have up to two years to complete all elements.

Content:

A combination of classroom-based activity and practical sessions covering:

• Warm up and Skill Development

• Fundamental Running skills

• Testing and Monitoring (and their purpose)

• Introduction and development of HOW-2 skills (Observation & Analysis / Feedback & Questioning/ Safety / Organisation / Instruction & Explanation / Demonstration)

• Athlete centred coaching

• Athlete Development Pathway

• Athlete profiling and short – medium term planning

• Inclusive coaching

• Common causes of injury and using coaching observation and planning to prevent injury

• Risk assessments

• Factors affecting performance, principles of training and fitness components