Run Long Run Healthy The Future of Endurance and AI's role in coaching with Dirk Friel
Dec 11, 2025
Dirk Friel, founder of TrainingPeaks and former pro cyclist, discusses the future of endurance coaching. He dives into how technology, especially AI, is shaping training but emphasizes that human coaches remain irreplaceable for personalized guidance. Dirk shares insights on new metrics like durability and shoe tracking, the importance of historical training data, and the integration of sleep and nutrition into training plans. He also highlights upcoming features in TrainingPeaks that will enhance community and coach-led virtual workouts.
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Running And Coaching In His DNA
- Dirk Friel grew up immersed in endurance sport through his parents, a running store and coaching family businesses.
- He raced professionally for 12 years and continued coaching, which seeded the idea for TrainingPeaks.
How TrainingPeaks Was Born
- TrainingPeaks began in 1999 to solve the chaos of faxed plans and multiple device files for coaches and athletes.
- Dirk and a web developer friend hacked the first web app to share schedules and render workout files in a browser.
Post-Workout Data Holds Real Value
- Most value from athlete data arrives after the workout when trends and comparisons emerge over months and years.
- A year's worth of data reveals where you succeeded, got sick, or were injured and helps spot causal patterns.