Stephanie has been great to work with me on an individual running plan. I have had to work on recovery from an injury and build up for a coming race at the same time and she has made that possible.

Matthew and I have been working together since Spring of 2017.

The carefully planned workouts are at the core of what I have gotten from Matthew. But honestly, sometimes his comments and phone calls have been even more important. He has been steady when I have been working hard toward an event, and when I have been allergic to my bike after months of training. He has been there when I was trying to make sense of a power meter for the first time, and when I had to take a long break to recover from a non-bike injury.

He has become ever more attuned to my need for rest. Pouring on hard workouts is EASY. Balancing hard workouts with adequate rest (especially as I get older) is much more challenging. Often he detects my need for more rest BEFORE I DO!

Our pre-event planning phone calls have been GOLD. Going into events with a clear plan and a back-up plan has been tremendously helpful. Of course, being able to de-brief my big events with Matthew is equally valuable.

Thank you, Matthew!

Coach Sarah has tremendously helped me improve my fitness and running. She is amazing to work with and focuses on her athletes and not just the next progression in the training block. 100% give this woman a raise lol!

Clayton is a patient teacher while excellent at challenging you to exceed your own expectations.

He has been there when I needed to know if what I was experiencing was expected. I think that I am a bit of an anomaly as I assume not many 85 year old biker are trying to maintain some semblance of prior fitness. I would be pleased to find that this assumption is in error. I bike mainly because I enjoy the activity and I wish to be able to continue at a level that is enjoyable. I have a heart rate that seems to be a bit fickle in that load and heart rate does not always keep up. Max has been able to guide me through the problems this has caused. To better monitor my progress might be switch to watts vs heart rate, but I haven’t opted for the cost of watts meters. That may come.
Max has been good at explaining what I need to do next and keeping me on track. There are days that getting on the bike is not my first priority, but I get on the bike or trainer and attempt to make the time spent productive.

I have become much more knowledgeable regarding how to train correctly. I am more disciplined and structured with my training. I have seen consistent power, maintained and improved my FTP. I enjoy have a structured training plan and a schedule weekly and monthly. Maddison keeps me focused on the goals.

He is an inspiration. He will be back on his bike soon just needs to get better.

I wasn’t sure about how a coach would help me at first. I’m not an elite runner and I don’t train full-time. However, I do enjoy running/racing and while my training had some structure, I guessed it could be better. Hiring Sarah took things to a much better place. Taking out the randomness of my running program and having a professional coach listen to my goals and then tailor a training plan to not only suit those goals, but also work with my specific capabilities has been remarkable. Sarah’s positive attitude, attention to detail, thorough commentary to all my questions, inquisitive and thoughtful questions of me, and just her constant support of my goals has been remarkable. She is easy to talk to, quick to respond, usually has an idea or two in her pocket, but is also willing to research the answer if oddball questions come up. The quality of my training has improved dramatically and having Sarah on my team has already proven race beneficial as well.

The accountability has really helped, in addition to his wealth of knowledge. He’s very motivating and super helpful when we need to adapt.

I picked up running a bit late in life at the age of 39. I began running 100 milers a few years later with mixed results. I eventually realized that I had no idea what I was doing. My training for that distance was random guesswork and my motivation was waning.

Searching for answers, I took an interest in Jason Koop’s podcasts/book/coaching. I decided to contact CTS, and found Stephanie. She’s been a breath of fresh air for me and my motivation. She has a wealth of experience and knowledge of training, nutrition, racing, mindset and balance. She’s obviously an elite athlete, but that wasn’t of particular importance to me. From my perspective, we’ve worked together to develop training plans both long-term and short-term that push me hard enough to improve my fitness and ability to meet my goals, but not so much that I’m either injured or burned-out. She listens and gives me the feedback that I often need to hear whether positive or negative. There’s a sense of accountability that I wouldn’t have on my own. So, yeah, she’s pretty great.

It has been interesting so far, building the coach/athlete relationship. It is all new for me. While I committed to listening and learning before I started, part of me pushes back on certain aspects of the training that are so very different from what I have been doing up until this point (and doing relatively well). I wanted to get better faster and be able to do all of this for as long as possible. I cannot tell you how much I have learned from Fitzy. The more we communicate the more the relationship is being understood, on my end at least. Recovery and the importance of it has been the biggest learning situation so far, but the different training blocks are also exciting and new to me. Can’t wait to see where it goes.

Extraordinary and very professional and knowleadble . Very happy working with her.

In many ways:
Building up to my first 50 miler
Building to my first 50 KM
Many consultations
Great feedback
Awesome and creative programs

Working with Coach Shute has helped me better understand the full realm of what it means to live an active/athletic life.

I came into the CTS program as a beginning marathon/ultra marathon runner. I am somewhat of a mid-pack runner and have really looked at taking that next step in my training to progress in the sport and stay healthy during the process. Coach has helped me embrace all parts of the training process including hydration, fueling, recovery, and amazing training plans. We have really started working to cross functionalize in cycling as well as adding varied gym and cardio work. I feel like I’ve progressed significantly over the last 6 months under his guidance completing both a PR 100k in 11.5 hours along with a PR Half marathon in 1:34:XX.

Along with the cardio and strength training that comes with our coach/athlete relationship, I’ve learned that calmness of mind and balance of spirit are essential to adapting to the training stimuli. I know I’ll never be the FASTEST guy at the local 5k, half marathon, or Ultramarathons, but I’ve learned that being the best version of myself for those around me is all we can really search for in this life. Amazing life lessons that I’ve picked up through my time with Coach Shute.

Working with Coach Feldman has helped me achieve my athletic goals. I continue to move forward in increasing my strength and endurance despite the pandemic, extreme weather and what ever life is throwing at me. Training with Coach Feldman keeps me motivated to continue training to reach my goals which are important to me. I know he may work with athletes that have more aggressive trainings schedules, but he works with my abilities to bring out the best in my performance.

I wish I had known about CTS years ago.

Max helps on several levels: First by creating a training plan based on my fitness level and goals, then by constantly tweaking it based on my progress and life realities. Secondly, he gets the mental/emotional/intangible aspects and is a very steady hand and good listener as I roller coaster a bit mentally and emotionally. He is patient and positive, but also persistent. The end result is I have what I would call positive accountability. I have achieved the overall fitness level I wanted and can easily ride with the strongest riders in my two groups. My climbing is way better and I can put the hammer down to close gaps or drag everyone along at a brisk pace for long stretches. I now have the confidence that I can take it to the next level because sticking with it has shown that it really does work. I am very grateful that Max is there for me.

Jane turned me from a strong 12 hour rider to someone who managed to finish RAW solo. I’m 57 and I’ve never been faster on a bike. I couldn’t do it without her

Understanding my limits and pushing me towards them and understands how to get me there! Truly understand how to train a cyclist!

Charlie and I have been working together for nearly a year. Charlie is very professional and has helped me a lot. I look forward to continuing my progress and hopefully climbing in Europe next summer.

Wow… what I can say. With Chantelle coming into my life as a coach it has made a huge impact on my achievements.
Of note were the following that was made possible by the precise programming; HK4TUC, Chang Rai, Dragons Back Race, and last man standing in Singapore.

Stephanie has been very helpful:

– Emphasizing the importance of leg treatment, specifically stretching and massage. I had a knee issue for months, and after some ideas and encouragement from her, my knee is as healthy as it’s been in awhile.
– She keeps me accountable – without a coach, I wouldn’t be getting out the door day-in, day-out. That’s been one of the primary reasons for my improvement.
– I was winging it with training plans previously – the plan she’s developed for me is more focused on data-driven results.

Two areas where I’d like to continue improving:
– Understanding the “why” and the science behind the training plan. We’ve talked about doing a phone call as she designs 2-3 weeks of a training plan so I can understand why she prescribes what distances and at what intensity. I haven’t had a chance to advocate more for this. I’d like to learn more.
– I want to take advantage of the nutrition consultation that is part of the level of coaching I signed up for.

Overall, I’ve enjoyed working with Coach Stephanie immensely!