Adam Frye – Seattle Running Coach
$119.00 / month and a $19.00 sign-up fee
I’ve been coaching for a living for more than a decade helping runners improve & find enjoyment in running on the track, road & trails.
Description
Seattle running coach Adam Frye has both breadth and depth in coaching all distances and terrains, having raced them himself, and specializes in preparation for “peaking” at specific races, transitioning from road to trails, injury management and return to running after a major injury.
LEVELS: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced
TYPES: Road, Trail, Track
DISTANCES: 5k/10k/Half Marathon, Marathon, Ultra
TRAINING PLATFORM: Google Docs
TRAINING PLAN: Individual, customized training plan
COMMUNICATION: Unlimited email, unlimited text, unlimited phone
RESPONSE TIME: Within 24 hours
LOCATION: Snoqualmie, WA
SPECIALTIES
I have experience racing and coaching runners of all levels on the road, track and trail. With more than a decade of college coaching experience, I’ve helped dozens of highly motivated runners improve over time and find enjoyment in running. I am excited to help runners pursue their goals, whether it’s running your first 5k, marathon or ultra or aiming for an ambitious new PR.
A few areas in which I have special experience:
- Preparing athletes to “peak” at specific races throughout the year
- Helping runners transition from road to trail running
- Injury management and return to running after major injury
PHILOSOPHY
I believe there are no secrets or shortcuts to running success – it’s about hard work and consistency over time. That said, I know the guidance of a qualified coach can have a huge impact on a runners development and performance. Communication and trust are the basis for effective coaching. I get to know my athletes – their experience, goals, strengths/weaknesses and life commitments – and use this to design a training program that fits with their life. I believe in a stamina-based approach to training; striving to increase running volume over time is important. But each runner is different and I create a plan that will give each runner a great chance to stay healthy, have fun and train consistently.
My training plans are built on periodization – emphasizing different training intensities throughout the season – and a focus on recovery. Increasing fitness is the science and art of balancing stress (training and life) and recovery. While writing a good training plan is an important first step, making adjustments along the way based on your progress, injuries or life commitments is where a personal coach can really make a difference.
COACHING EXPERIENCE
I’ve been coaching for a living for more than a decade. I am the Head Cross Country Coach at Pacific Lutheran University. I have a total of more than fourteen years of college coaching experience between PLU, Hamline University and Luther College. I coached at Sammamish High School for a year after moving to Washington. I’ve also coached and mentored a number of post-collegiate runners on the track, road and trails, including my wife, Ladia Albertson-Junkans. Ladia has represented the US in cross country, mountain running and trail running. She also earned an entry into the 2019 Western States Endurance Run by finishing runner-up at Bandera 100k and recently ran the US Olympic Marathon Trials (proud husband alert!). I’ve been a speaker at a number of coaching clinics and been invited to speak with local high school teams.
ABOUT ME
I’ve been a runner since my dad started taking me out for runs as a kid (see photo of me finishing my first road race in sweet Ghostbusters t-shirt!). Running and coaching have shaped my life journey in many ways over the last thirty years:
- I competed in cross country and track & field at Chatfield HS in Minnesota and at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa
- I completed a master’s degree in Kinesiology (emphasis in Exercise Physiology) from the University of Minnesota
- I taught Nutrition and Applied Human Anatomy while coaching at my alma mater
- I broke my tibia and fibula (ouch!) in 2009 but recovered to break previous PRs and race new distances
- I am a competitive trail runner sponsored by Brooks
- I love enjoying the outdoors in different ways (running, cycling, backcountry skiing, camping)
- I am a proud husband, dad and dog dad
I am passionate about running and coaching and love to help others reach their goals and find enjoyment in running!
BIG INFLUENCES
My biggest coaching influences have been my coaches throughout high school and college – my dad, Jeff Wettach and Steve Pasche. I also learned so much working with Paul Schmaedeke at Hamline. They’re all great coaches and even better people.
My coaches drew from Jack Daniels and Arthur Lydiard and therefore I do as well. More recently “Science of Running” by Steve Magness has helped me to refine many of my ideas around training and given me some new tools for writing training plans.
RACING HISTORY
Over the years I’ve transitioned from being an 800 runner (high school) to a steeplechaser (college) to a marathoner (post-college) to a trail/ultra runner. If you can’t run fast, run far, right?! Oh and as far as I know I still hold a couple junior high hurdle records at Chatfield Junior High (ha!).
I’ve run seven marathons (Boston x 2, California International, Chicago, Twin Cities x 2, Grandma’s) and ran my first ultramarathon in 2018. I placed top-ten in my debut 50-mile at White River 50 and won the Red Devil Challenge 50k in 2019.
CERTIFICATIONS
- USATF Level One Coaching School – 2008
- Mental Health First Aid USA – 2018
- USTFCCCA Track & Field Academy:
- Track & Field Program Management Certification
- Injury Management for the T&F Coach
- Sports Psychology for the T&F Coach
PRs
- 5000m: 16:07.24 (03/22/14) Ross and Sharon Irwin Meet
- 10 Mile: 55:14 (10/4/15) Medtronic TC 10 Mile
- Half Marathon: 1:15:00 (6/21/14) Gary Bjorklund Half Marathon
- Marathon: 2:35:47 (12/6/15) California International Marathon
- 50k: 5:04:30 (5/19/18) Sun Mountain 50k
- 50 Mile: 8:01:54 (7/28/18) White River 50
- 100k: 11:13:31 (7/10/21) Siskiyou Out Back
AWARDS & ACCOLADES
- Northwest Conference Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year – 2018
CONTACT ADAM
Finding a coach who is a great fit for you is really important. We encourage you to email your coach prior to signing up so you can connect, communicate, and ensure a good athlete/coach fit.
PUBLICATIONS
- Coaching Conversation with local HS Coach and Teacher
- Bone geometry and lower extremity bone stress injuries in male runners (master’s thesis data)
SOCIAL
petersonadale –
I’m lucky enough to live about a mile from Adam, so I get the opportunity to run and chat with him frequently. Adam is an amazing and supportive coach. He listens very well and does a great job of balancing encouragement and pushing me to get the most out of my running. He is great at pivoting when needed, due to injury or life changes. I really like that he can get super technical about things, or (more often for me) dumb it down a bit so I understand. I’m looking forward to what the future holds for Adam, as a coach and athlete.
Jillian Majewski –
I had not run in 6 years due to a chronic hamstring injury that would flare up each time I attempted to start up running again on my own-definitely due to improper progression. With Adam’s guidance and realistic/ safe training plan I was able to safely build on his weekly plans and after 8 weeks I ran 60 minutes consecutively and covered nearly 7 miles in that time! I am happy with the results I’ve experienced so far with Adam. He’s contributed as an accountability measure as well as a subject matter expert. Highly recommend him as a coach.
Shane Wesley –
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pshin8670 –
Can’t say enough about Adam the coach and more importantly, Adam the person.
I was connected to Adam through his lovely wife, Ladia, and it couldn’t have come at a better time in my running life. I was in a state of flux trying to decide where to go with my running as a cancer surviving liver transplant recipient. I had just completed running the 2020 LA Marathon just 6 months after my liver transplant and really wanted to pursue some renewed goals and explore different facets of running, specifically getting into trail running and ultra marathoning.
Through Ladia, I was able to have a conversation with Adam and we spoke at great lengths about my own personal goals and the desire to transition to the trails yet maintain my goals on the road. Adam patiently took all the details of that conversation and constructed a training plan that introduced me to trail running while still prescribing solid road workouts.
Through our bi-weekly check-ins via FaceTime, we were able to collaborate on my progress and recalibrate the training plan according not only based on the Strava data, but on how I was feeling mentally. Before I know it, I was doing close to 20 miles of trail running per week and at the same time getting faster than I was prior to my liver transplant.
On August 13, only 11 months after my liver transplant, I ran a 5K time trial and beat my PR by 1 second. I couldn’t have done this without the guidance of Adam. He masterfully balanced my training by maintaining a good balance of easy to moderate efforts along with a solid injection of speed and tempo workouts. Without even realizing it, I was getting faster and stronger.
I look forward to continuing on with Adam as we move forward with our pursuit of race goals when they finally happen again. With his help, I was also able to transform my apprehension and uncertainty of trail running into joy and excitement of getting dirty in the mountains. I’m already scoping out 50 milers for my first trail race!
I’ve been so grateful for these past 3 months with Adam and looking forward to many more.
Brett Fritze –
Adam is the best. Extremely genuine, passionate, and responsive. He’s the ultimate runner’s coach and just wants to help you meet your goals. When I started with Adam I had a foot injury and he provided considerable support to help me get back on my feet. Thanks, Adam!
Rebekah Schulz –
Adam has been excellent!! He was one of my coaches when I ran at Luther College and it has been so sweet to reconnect with him over this platform! I had seen him talking about coaching via Team Run Run on his instagram and reached out to him. He’s been so supportive and knowledgeable and has always provided timely and informed feedback. It’s been sweet to have history with him as my coach and to continue this relationship in a totally different season of life. I had to take some time off of running after college, so it’s been sweet to have his support and direction as I try to rebuild my base and determine what goals I want to pursue. If you’re looking for a coach who is kind, compassionate, knowledgeable, and supportive, Adam is amazing!
Mollie Runs PDX –
I have really enjoyed working with Adam! He is very responsive and thorough, and yet more than flexible with my goals, time available for training, and scheduling runs based off of my weekly obligations. I started training under Adam after an injury and successfully got back into the groove of running and shortly after ran my fastest 10K to date! Looking forward to continued progress and building my mileage with his help. Can’t recommend enough the help and support he has provided.