Coaching on Bield
Coaching on Bield is available to anyone who guides athletes — link with athletes, see their consented data, suggest pace plans, kit, fuelling and races. Core access is free; Premium adds extra visibility and reach. You don't need to be a race organiser.
Arms-length arrangement. Any coaching fees, contracts or terms are agreed directly between you and your athlete, outside Bield. Bield provides the introduction, the consented data view and the communication channel — it does not process payment between users.
Setting up as a coach
- Enable the Coach role Go to Me → Your roles and toggle Coach on. This is immediate — no vetting required.
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Complete your coach profile
From Me → Coaching, fill in your profile:
- Bio and coaching style
- Qualifications and certifications
- Specialisms: ultra, trail, mountain, road, OCR, triathlon, cycling
- Coaching since (year)
- Athlete capacity — how many athletes you're currently coaching / your limit
- Directory visibility: listed (discoverable by all runners) or private (find-by-handle only)
- Set your accepting-athletes toggle “Accepting new athletes” pauses incoming requests without removing your profile or ending existing links. Toggle it off when you're at capacity.
Connecting with athletes
There are two directions, both ending in an explicit accept:
Coach invites a runner
- Go to the Requests tab on your coach dashboard Tap Invite a runner.
- Find them by Bield handle or email You can invite non-members by email — they'll receive a join-Bield email with your invitation. When they join and link up, the connection activates automatically.
- Add an optional personal note The note appears in the invitation notification the athlete receives.
- Wait for the athlete to accept or decline You'll be notified of their decision.
Athlete requests a coach
From Me → My coach, the athlete searches for you by handle or name (if you're listed in the directory) and sends a request. You'll see it in your Requests tab and can accept or decline.
Suggested athletes
Your My Runners tab also surfaces suggested athletes — runners on races in your area whose pace profile and race history suggest they might benefit from coaching. These are shown as “Suggested” cards below your active roster. You can send them an invitation directly from the suggestion card.
Coach–athlete link states
Once a connection is made, it goes through these states:
| State | What it means | What triggers it |
|---|---|---|
| Invited | One party has sent the request; the other hasn't responded yet | Coach sends invite or athlete sends request |
| Active | Both parties accepted — link is live. A private chat thread is created. | The receiving party taps “Accept” |
| Ended | Link terminated by either party | Either side taps “End link” (with a confirm step) |
Prerequisite for suggestions: The link must be in active state before you can send any suggestions to an athlete. You can't send suggestions to a pending (invited) connection.
Either side can end a link at any time. Ending the link removes the coach's access to the athlete's data and closes the chat thread. Past suggestions remain visible to the athlete.
Consent — what a coach can see
The athlete controls exactly what each coach can see. From their “What your coach can see” settings, they toggle three scopes per link:
| Scope | What it covers | Needed for… |
|---|---|---|
| Race entries | Upcoming races the athlete has added to their Bield engagements | Sending a pace plan suggestion (requires knowing the race and checkpoints) |
| Results | Published race results the athlete is matched to | Reviewing past race performance |
| Fuelling plans | Nutrition plans the athlete has built in the pace calculator | Nutrition and hydration suggestions informed by their existing plan |
- Toggles apply immediately and can be revoked at any time.
- Different coaches on the same athlete can have different scopes.
- If an athlete hasn't shared race entries, you'll see a note saying the athlete controls this from their coach tab — you won't see which races they're entered in, and the pace plan suggestion type won't be available.
The coach dashboard
Your coach dashboard has three tabs:
| Tab | What's there |
|---|---|
| My runners | One card per active athlete. Each card shows: next race (if shared), last suggestion and its status, what they've shared. Buttons: “View & suggest” and “Message”. |
| Requests | Incoming link requests from athletes; outgoing invites you've sent and their status. |
| Profile | Your coach profile editor — bio, qualifications, specialism, capacity, directory toggle. |
Your athlete roster
The My Runners tab on your coach dashboard lists every athlete with an active link to you. You can search the list by handle or first name when you have several athletes.
| Card element | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Athlete handle & name | Their Bield username and first name (if shared) |
| Next race | Their soonest upcoming race — only visible if the athlete has granted the Race entries scope |
| Last suggestion | The most recent suggestion you sent and whether it was accepted, declined, or pending |
| Shared scopes | Icons showing which of the three data scopes (race entries, results, fuelling plans) are currently open |
Tap View & suggest on an athlete card to open their full page: a combined view of everything they’ve shared with you, plus the suggestion composer.
Viewing an athlete’s past races and results
If an athlete has granted the Results scope, you will see a list of their published race results — finish times, distances, and positions across every race they have been matched to on Bield. This gives you historical context when writing a pace plan or strategy note for an upcoming race.
If the Results scope has not been granted, the section appears with a note: “Your athlete controls this from their coach tab.” You cannot request the scope yourself — the athlete must enable it from Me → My coach → What your coach can see.
Viewing upcoming races (race entries scope)
With the Race entries scope, you see the athlete’s upcoming race calendar: race name, date, distance, and the checkpoints relevant to the pace-plan composer. Without this scope, the pace plan suggestion type is unavailable because there are no checkpoints to assign splits to.
Find-a-coach directory
Coaches who set their profile to Listed appear in the find-a-coach directory, which runners access from Me → My coach → Find a coach. Being listed is opt-in: you control it from Profile on your coach dashboard.
What runners see in the directory
- Your name, handle, and profile photo
- Coaching bio and style
- Qualifications and certifications you have listed
- Specialisms: ultra, trail, mountain, road, OCR, triathlon, cycling
- Years coaching
- Whether you are currently accepting new athletes
- Athlete capacity indication (how full your roster is)
Runners can send you a request directly from the directory. You’ll receive a notification and the request appears in your Requests tab.
Directory vs private. Setting your profile to Private (find by handle only) means you do not appear in search results. Runners must know your exact Bield handle to send you an invite. This is useful if you only work with athletes you already know personally.
Sending suggestions
Prerequisite: The coach–athlete link must be active. For pace plan suggestions, the athlete must also have shared the “Race entries” scope.
From an athlete's page, tap Add suggestion. There are six suggestion kinds:
| Kind | What it carries | Data scope needed |
|---|---|---|
| Pace plan | Target elapsed time at each checkpoint of an upcoming race | Race entries scope required |
| Nutrition | Free-text advice on food, drink and fuelling strategy | None (fuelling scope helps inform it) |
| Kit to carry | A list of items beyond the race's mandatory kit | None |
| Shoes | Free-text advice on footwear for the terrain | None |
| Strategy | Free-text race strategy, pacing notes, mental-skills tips | None |
| Race recommendation | A specific race from the Bield catalogue, with a “why this race?” note | None |
Suggestion lifecycle
After you send a suggestion, it moves through these states:
| State | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Proposed | You've sent the suggestion; the athlete hasn't opened it yet |
| Seen | The athlete has opened the suggestion |
| Accepted | Athlete accepted the suggestion (and can add a short note) |
| Declined | Athlete declined (and can add a short note) |
You can withdraw a suggestion before the athlete has responded (while it's in proposed or seen state). Once accepted or declined, it's locked.
The athlete's view
Athletes see suggestions at Me → My coach, grouped by race. Each suggestion shows your name, the type, the content, and the respond buttons. They can accept or decline individually and add a short note back to you with each response.
Coaching chat
Each active coach–athlete link has a private message thread, created automatically when the link activates. Access it from your athlete's card on the dashboard or from the athlete's Me → My coach tab. Messages are encrypted at rest.
Training-plan builder
The training-plan builder lets you create a structured multi-week training schedule for an athlete, anchored to a target race date.
Prerequisite. An active coach–athlete link with the Race entries scope shared, so the builder can read the target race's date, distance, and profile.
Building a plan
- From your athlete's page, tap “Build training plan” The builder opens with the athlete's next race pre-selected (you can change it).
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Set the plan parameters
- Plan start date and number of weeks
- Peak weekly volume (km or miles — follows the athlete's unit preference)
- Periodisation template: Base-build-peak-taper, Reverse periodisation, or Custom
- Training days per week
- Customise week-by-week (optional) The builder generates a week-by-week volume curve. You can drag individual weeks up or down, and add session notes to specific days (long run guidance, race-pace workouts, recovery notes).
- Send to athlete Tap Send plan. The athlete receives it as a suggestion of type “Training plan” — it follows the same accept / decline lifecycle as other suggestions. Once accepted, the plan appears in their Me → My coach → Training plan tab with a week-by-week view.
Revising a plan
You can send a revised plan at any time. The athlete sees both the current accepted plan and the new proposal; they accept or decline the revision independently. The old plan stays active until the revision is accepted.
Coach reports
The reports studio gives you a data-driven view of how your roster is performing across races. Access it from the Reports tab when you're in the Coach persona.
Access: /reports (Coach persona tab)
Available reports
| Report | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Athlete performance summaries | Per-athlete finish times, distances, and trends across their race history you have access to |
| Roster activity | Which athletes are actively entering races and which have gone quiet |
| Prediction accuracy | How your pace plan suggestions compared to athletes' actual finish splits |
| Fuelling adherence | Where athletes deviated from fuelling plans across the roster (requires fuelling scope) |
Reports only reflect data for athletes who have granted you the relevant consent scope. Athletes without the results scope will not appear in performance reports.
Common questions
Do I need to be a qualified coach to use the Coach role?
No — the Coach role is free and open to toggle on for any Bield user. Your profile lets you list qualifications and experience, which athletes can see when deciding whether to link with you. Bield doesn't verify qualifications listed on the coach profile; verified items live in your trust score.
Can I coach someone who isn't on Bield yet?
Yes. Invite them by email from the Requests tab — they'll receive a join-Bield invitation with your name on it. When they sign up and accept, the link activates automatically.
An athlete isn't sharing their race entries. Can I still send suggestions?
Yes — five of the six suggestion types (nutrition, kit, shoes, strategy, race recommendation) don't need the race-entries scope. Only pace plans require it, because they need the race and checkpoint details.
Can an athlete have more than one coach?
Yes — athletes can have multiple active coach links, each with its own consent scope. The athlete controls what each coach sees independently.
Do I charge for coaching through Bield?
Any fees or terms are between you and your athlete, outside of Bield. Bield provides the communication and data layer; it doesn't process payment between users.
Can I see an athlete's Strava activities?
No — Bield's consent model covers race entries, published results, and fuelling plans. Strava activities are not part of the coach data scope. You see what the athlete shares within those three scopes.
How many athletes can I coach at once?
There is no hard limit on Bield. Set your athlete capacity in your profile to signal to runners how full your roster is. When you toggle off “Accepting new athletes”, incoming requests are paused but all existing links stay active.
What analytics do I get about my roster?
The Reports tab (Coach persona) shows: roster activity summary, prediction accuracy (your pace plans vs actual finishes), fuelling adherence across athletes, and individual athlete performance trends. Access it at /reports when in the Coach persona.