Welcome to Relentless Forward Progress Coaching! 

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With Relentless Forward Progress (RFP) coaching, we’ll work toward you achieving your ultrarunning dreams through your own, personalized journey. Find your adventure and then achieve it!

RFP’s founder and head coach, Bryon Powell, has more than 20 years of experience as an ultrarunner, authored the book Relentless Forward Progress: A Guide to Running Ultramarathons, coached ultrarunners of all abilities, and been immersed in the ultrarunning world as the founder and an editor of the iconic online running publication iRunFar.com.

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Why Work with Bryon Powell?

For more than 20 years, Bryon Powell has lived ultrarunning. That history extends well past 30 years when it comes to trail running. His knowledge of the sport comes from coaching runners like you, chatting with countless runners while at the helm of the global ultrarunning website iRunFar.com, and learning from the best as well as decades of his own experience and experimentation. That knowledge led him to write the first true how-to guide to running ultramarathons, Relentless Forward Progress: A Guide to Running Ultramarathons, which has helped tens of thousands of runners find success since 2011.

Bryon’s coaching philosophy centers around customization and specialization. On the customization front, Bryon believes that each runner warrants and performs best with a training plan not just tailored to them as an individual, but to this point in their life. Regarding specificity, Bryon believes it’s crucial to focus on the specific challenges a particular runner will face in their upcoming focus event. That might be brutal heat or arduous descents, coping with an existing injury, or nailing the final runnable miles of an event.

While Bryon is eager to work with any runner in pursuit of their running goals, he’s most eager to help those where his current interests lie in outings covering 100 miles, 200 miles, and beyond, whether that’s in the form of a race or an incredible adventure.

Why Not Work with Bryon?

Different athletes connect with different coaches, and different coaches connect with different athletes. There are tons of great coaches out there and Bryon is committed to you finding the one that works best for you. Likewise, Bryon wants to work with clients who will mesh with him, his personality, and his own lifestyle. Since he wants to make the relationships with his runners count, he works with only a very small number of runners at any given time.

If you’re looking for someone to put you on the one true path to ultramarathon success, Bryon’s not your guy. For decades, he’s firmly believed that there are many paths to finding ultrarunning success, whatever that means to you. He’ll take the time to understand your goals and work with you closely to identify a route for reaching them.

If you’re looking for a data analyst, professional nutritionist, or certified personal trainer, Bryon’s not your guy. That said, Bryon takes a holistic approach to best fit training into the specifics of your life, providing ongoing analysis of you as a person and as an athlete. He’s personally found success in the busiest of times, having balanced full-time work and law school while finishing his first 100 milers, and logging most of his Hardrock finishes while working 70+ hour weeks on iRunFar. Both indulgent quantity and efficient quality can be the path to success. He also gets that the ups and downs of the various phases of life have a significant effect on you as a person and a runner.

If you’re looking for 24/7 access to a coach or coaching team, Bryon’s not your guy. Bryon loves working with his athletes, but he’s also a passionate adventurer and aims to get out into the backcountry for multiple days at a time. Often that’s only two or three days offline every few weeks, but a few times a year he might be offline for a week. That said, when Bryon’s home, he’s quite responsive and aims to get back to you within a day, often much sooner – weekends and holidays included.

If you’re looking for a non-stop adrenaline rush, Bryon’s not your guy. Yes, he’ll be absolutely psyched for you in your success and encourage you when you need it, but he’s also not a professional cheerleader. You will absolutely feel Bryon’s passion for running, for coaching, and for you as an athlete and as a person. It’ll just be in his own authentic way.

Bryon’s Credentials

Bryon Powell on his way to winning the 2024 Ultra Gobi 250 Mile. Photo: Daniel Keppler

How RFP Coaching Works

As a Relentless Forward Progress athlete, Bryon will provide you with a two-week schedule. Each schedule is specifically tailored to build on your current training block and take into account upcoming commitments and racing. Bryon is happy to answer any questions or address any concerns by email, and phone consultations are also available and encouraged when initially developing a training program, prior to a focus race or adventure, and when analyzing performance and resetting goals following a key event.

Upon enrollment, an initial phone consultation is especially important as it allows Bryon to learn more about you and your goals than an email would. During this call, you can share your running background, strengths, weaknesses, goals, time constraints, and any other information you feel would be useful in developing your training plan. Remember, this is about you, so the more he knows about you, the more he can help you.

Coaching fees are $250 per month, or $1,250 for six months when paid in advance. Separately, Bryon also offers phone consultations for $75 an hour or $110 for an hour and a half.

Please contact Bryon directly with any inquiries.

Bryon enjoying the journey during Ultra Gobi 2024.