Chaski | Philosophy

Our goal is to improve each athlete’s health, happiness, and performance by formulating an individualized, adaptive, process-oriented approach which harnesses scientific principles and human-to-human connection. As a mission-driven foundation, we believe exceptional coaching should create opportunity for all athletes while building a supportive global community.

Objectives

Our goals are for our coach-athletes to help every person we serve to:

Improve athlete health and prevent injury
Increase athlete happiness and love for the sport
Enhance athlete performance at their individual level
Deepen engagement with the endurance community
Contribute to a more inclusive and supportive athletic culture

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Values

We expect our coaches to be

Honest and transparent in all interactions
Accountable to their athletes and our mission
Motivating through authentic encouragement
Empowering athletes to reach their potential
Relentlessly positive while remaining realistic
Fostering gratitude for the opportunity to run
Open to new ideas from athletes and peers
Always learning and growing as coaches and competitors
Committed to creating opportunity for others

We expect their methodologies to be

Individualized for each athlete's unique circumstances
Adaptive to real-world challenges and changes
Process-oriented rather than outcome-obsessed
Goal-focused with clear, achievable milestones
Focused on continuous growth and development
Science-minded and evidence-based
Community-building and inclusive
Sustainable for long-term athletic development

Mission and Goals

Approach

With our values in mind, and in service of our charitable mission, we expect our coaches to:

Develop genuine personal connections with athletes—care for them as whole humans
Maintain relentless positivity while providing honest, constructive feedback
Cultivate athletes' love for the training process and sport itself
Communicate openly, honestly, and frequently
Foster community among athletes, coaches, and the broader running world
Embrace a learning mindset, growing from every athlete interaction and sporting development
Connect athletes to other professionals, events, and opportunities in the sport
Recognize that every athlete is unique, with individual needs, goals, and circumstances
Prioritize injury prevention through gradual, patient, intelligent training progression
Create individualized training plans that adapt constantly to real-life demands
Continuously study training theory while applying personal athletic experience
Model the values of our foundation through their own competitive pursuits and community engagement
Remember that their success as coaches directly supports their development as athletes and creates opportunities for others

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We start with our objectives -- what is our goal for the athlete, coach, and Collective? -- and then list the values we stand for, before finally outlining the approach we expect our coaches to follow.

— The Chaski Team

Can you sum that up?

We want our athletes to be happier, healthier, and higher-performing while contributing to a community that creates opportunity for all. We believe that there is no single methodology that's perfect for all athletes, but that training must be individualized—just as our foundation's impact must be personalized to each athlete's needs and circumstances.

We believe in training that is catered to an individual's strengths, background, and goals and is adapted to how the athlete is progressing (and other events in his or her life). Whether someone is a paying member or scholarship recipient, every athlete deserves coaching that meets them where they are and helps them grow.

We believe in focusing on developing a love for the process of self-improvement and setting process-oriented goals that extend beyond personal achievement to community contribution. When athletes fall in love with the journey, they naturally want to share that joy with others.

We believe in science and data as valuable tools (though too much data can be overwhelming and distracting). Our evidence-based approach helps us serve athletes effectively while measuring our impact on the broader running community.

And we believe in the power of personal connection between humans for motivation and inspiration—connections that create ripple effects of positive change throughout our global community. Every relationship between coach and athlete strengthens the foundation that supports developing athletes worldwide.

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