These are the rules for using Club Coach. We've kept them short and in plain English. By creating an account or using the site, you agree to them. Please read the health section in particular: running is good for you, but it carries real risks.
Club Coach (clubcoach.co.uk) is run by Club Coach ("we", "us"). If you have a question about these terms, email us at [CONTACT EMAIL].
You must be 16 or over to create an account. By signing up you confirm that you are. If we find an account belongs to someone under 16, we'll delete it.
Club Coach builds a training plan for a 5k, 10k, half marathon or marathon from the answers you give. It includes target paces (based on Jack Daniels' VDOT method), heart-rate zones, advice for each run, workout files for your watch and a Training Score.
All of this is general training guidance, not medical advice. It is worked out automatically and doesn't replace a doctor, physiotherapist or qualified coach who can see you in person. Paces, heart-rate zones and scores are estimates, and the plan is a suggestion: you decide what to run.
See a doctor before you start if any of these apply to you:
Stop running straight away and get medical help if you have chest pain or tightness, feel dizzy or faint, are unusually short of breath, or have a racing or irregular heartbeat. In an emergency, call 999.
You train at your own risk. Listen to your body, and don't follow any part of the plan that feels wrong for you on the day.
The plan's advice on aches and pains follows a simple rule. Rate the pain out of 10:
| Pain | What to do |
|---|---|
| 0–2 out of 10, and it fades as you warm up | Fine to run. Keep an eye on it. |
| 3–4 out of 10, or it lingers | Stop the run. Cross-train instead (cycling, swimming, walking) for 2–3 days, then try an easy run. |
| 5 or more out of 10, you're limping, or there's a tender spot on a bone | No running. See a physiotherapist or doctor before you run again. |
This is a rule of thumb, not a diagnosis. If you're in doubt, get it checked.
If you tell Club Coach you're injured, it changes your plan (easier running, cross-training or rest) and suggests rehab exercises for the area you pick. These are general guidance only, not a diagnosis or treatment. Club Coach can't examine you and doesn't know what the injury is.
See a physiotherapist or GP for any injury, and straight away for sharp pain, swelling or pain that changes how you walk. Stop any exercise that makes the pain worse, and follow your own professional's advice over anything in the app.
Club Coach is in beta. While it is, it's free. Features may change, be added or be removed, and there may be bugs or downtime. We'll do our best to keep your plan and history safe, but we can't promise the service will always be available.
We plan to offer a paid subscription in future. We'll never charge you without telling you first. Before any paid plan starts, we'll announce it in the app, explain the price and what you get, and you'll only pay if you choose to sign up.
Club Coach runs on Cloudflare, which hosts the app and its database. We plan to let you connect a Garmin account to send workouts to your watch and bring your completed runs back in. If you connect a third-party service, its own terms and privacy policy also apply to your use of it. We aren't responsible for how those services work or for them being unavailable.
The .FIT workout files we provide are designed to work with common running watches, but we can't guarantee they'll work on every device.
The Club Coach name, site, design, plans, advice and software belong to us (or the people we license them from). You're welcome to use them for your own personal training, including downloading and using your workout files. Please don't copy, resell or republish them without our permission.
The information you put in, such as your answers and completed sessions, stays yours. You give us permission to use it to run the service for you, as described in our privacy policy.
We provide Club Coach with reasonable care and skill, but because it is general guidance given free during beta, we limit our responsibility as far as UK law allows:
Nothing in these terms limits or excludes our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud, or for anything else that can't be limited or excluded under UK law. Nothing here affects your legal rights as a consumer.
We may update these terms as Club Coach develops, for example when paid plans or Garmin connection launch. We'll change the date at the top, and for significant changes we'll tell you in the app before they take effect. If you keep using Club Coach after that, the new terms apply. If you don't agree, you can delete your account.
These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales can deal with any dispute. If you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you can also bring a claim in your local courts.
How we collect, use and protect your information is explained in our privacy policy.
Club Coach gives general training guidance, not medical advice. If you have an injury or health condition, speak to a qualified professional.