COACHING
ONE-TO-ONE COACHING
One-to-one coaching is the center of what we do at Campfire. Camps and clinics and workouts help us reach a community of like-minded athletes, but really the company is all about coaching, and in particular one kind of coaching.
At Campfire, we believe that all athletes, regardless of whether they have just started their endurance journey or are trying to reach the highest levels of the sport, deserve robust attention from their coaches. We say it in every intake call: “A coach-athlete relationship is like every other important relationship in your life—it lives and dies in the quality of our communication.”
Communication
With that in mind, we believe that we have built a system of communication that makes it almost impossible for an athlete to fall through the cracks. Every one-to-one athlete gets:
Two 45-minute Zoom calls with their coach per month to discuss how the athlete is doing, any questions they might have about workouts, race strategy, or the annual plan at large. These conversations are crucial and coaches will proactively reach out to athletes who are not taking advantage of them, since it is the highest value thing we do: 90 minutes per month with an expert in your field! Do not miss these calls.
Daily communication through TrainingPeaks. We have a rule at Campfire that if an athlete leaves a comment, the coach replies to that comment. We hear all the time that other coaches do not respond to TrainingPeaks comments, and that will not happen at Campfire—it’s even in our Athlete Bill of Rights!
Unlimited email and text contact (but, uh, please don’t text us at one in the morning?)
Detailed race plans with pacing, nutritional, and mental skills guidelines for every major race on your calendar.
Training Program
The training program is the second pillar of what we do and how we do it. Your one-to-one training program is completely custom, built for you from the ground up. Here is how it works:
Upon signing up with us, you’ll fill out a questionnaire detailing your strengths, weaknesses, goals, fears, and season calendar.
During your first call with your coach, the coach will expand and contextualize the information you gave them, allowing them to build you…
…Your personalized training roadmap (PTR). The PTR is a great document because it allows the coach and athlete to discuss what is important and, crucially, when is important. Focusing on the wrong energy systems in your body at the wrong time will lead to stagnation (or worse). The PTR lets you know that your coach has a grand plan for you, a course to sail by, with the destination your success.
The PTR is then used to build your plan in three-week blocks. Why three-week blocks? A training season is usually about 48-weeks long with a four-week “offseason” (offseasons are rarely all “off,” but that’s for another time). Working in three week blocks only gives the coach 16 times to write an athlete’s plan, or slightly more than 6% of an athlete’s year! We have set it up this way intentionally to make the coach understand that each 3-week block has to move the needle for the athlete in some way, whether we are building towards an event or recovering from one. Three-week blocks also give YOU, the athlete, plenty of visibility of what’s coming up so you can plan your life and your training together.
Along the way, things happen: you might get sick, or tired, or have a busy period at work. You might be dealing with a physical niggle, or go through an emotional/mental rough patch. Your coach will change the plan to deal with these obstacles so that they don’t become pitfalls.
Community
We all want to be part of something, and one of the reasons we chose “Campfire” as our name is because it suggests all of the community aspects we want to promote: a warm gathering place to tell stories and be seen by each other. We have a vibrant community that shows up to events in person AND cheers each other on online. We use Discord, a messaging and community app that allows us to share images, memes, successes, difficulties, and support. We hold meetups at races and plan workouts together. Once a year we gather in the winter to celebrate the season that was.
Join Us!
If you are ready to get going, you can start today two ways: first, click the button below which will jump you down the page, you can either:
Talk with us to learn more and meet with some coaches. Our normal workflow is to talk with an athlete and then have them chat with two more coaches before they choose.
Sign up right now! Head to our shop page, find the coach you’re looking for, and get started!
Pricing
Our pricing is as follows—all plans have a four-month minimum commitment.
Chris Bagg, Head Coach, $500/month
Donna Phelan, Staff Coach, $460/month
Adam Goulet, Staff Coach, $350/month
Brenna Wrye-Simpson (cycling only), Staff Coach, $350/month
Annick Chalier (cycling only), Assistant Coach, $300/month
Emily Arcuri, Assistant Coach, $300/month
If you are an athlete in the top 20% of your age group or division and you are highly motivated to get into the top 5% of your age group (which will make qualifying for Kona/Nice, Roth, or other exclusive races possible), you should look at our Campfire Premier program.
Campfire coaches
Head Coach
Chris Bagg has been an actor, cook, teacher, freelance writer, professional triathlete, and coach. He runs Campfire Endurance Coaching, aiming to make endurance athletes everywhere faster and happier. He lives in Bend, Oregon, but he grew up in Massachusetts and went to all his schools in New York (he's a Red Sox fan, though). He played soccer in college and then taught high school English for a while before turning to the thing he discovered he loves to do: being a P.E. teacher for adults.
Chris raced as a professional triathlete for 15 years, from 2006 to 2021, and worked with coaches Cliff English and Tim Snow. He has stood on the podium at major triathlons around the world such as Ironman Canada, Challenge Penticton, Rhode Island 70.3, Lake Stevens 70.3, and others. He was 12th at the 2017 ITU Long Distance World Championships, which is probably his best day out.
As a coach, Chris combines the experience from his racing years, his time as a high school English teacher, and his hunger for life-long learning into a formidable coaching package. He has coached professional athletes to Ironman podia AND helped beginner athletes take their first steps in the sport. He really wants you to be faster, happier, and healthier, and he knows how to help you get there.
Chris’ experience as a coach is reflected in the other coaches at Campfire, as we aim to select coaches who have the same compassion for athletes and desire to learn. Although coaching styles and approaches may vary, the goal is always the same: your best result.
Staff Coaches
We choose our coaches extremely carefully, with only a select few getting the opportunity to become full Campfire Endurance Coaches. We require our coaches to abide by the Campfire Athlete Bill of Rights, which always places individual development and direct communication at the heart of what we do. Our coaches come from diverse backgrounds, but they all share the same goal, which is your goal.
Apprentice coaches
Apprentice coaches come out of the Coach Accelerator program, where new coaches work with our head coaches to level up their game. Athletes work with Apprentice Coaches, their training overseen by Chris’ expert guidance. We’re not running the coach accelerator program in 2024, but it will return in 2025! Look for applications to open in December 2024.
TESTIMONIALS
Get Coached
Want to join these athletes who have made the best move for your endurance sport? Schedule a conversation with us and get a free 45-minute consultation on how we can help you get faster, happier, and more confident. Scroll down to book a time.
Ready to go right now? You can get started right away! Head on over to our shop page, select the coach you're looking for, and get going!