Update: Coach Rich Stepping Away from a Direct Role in Endurance Nation

Team Endurance Nation

Team,

There are some important changes going on behind the scenes at Endurance Nation and we wanted to let you know directly.

After nearly 17 years of full-time triathlon coaching, I've decided to take a much less active role in Endurance Nation. Effective immediately I will be taking on a consulting role with the team and stepping away from day-to-day activities. I will be exploring other opportunities beyond triathlon.

For those of you who want to remain in touch with me, you can find me online here: cruciblerich@gmail.com, on Facebook, or on Instagram.

However, understand that nothing is changing for you inside the Team. You will still get the same quality service, support and community that you've always had.  Over the coming weeks, you will see some changes inside Endurance Nation as Patrick and the EN Team continue to move forward with our mission of making you the best possible endurance athlete.

If you have questions or concerns about this change, please feel free to reach out to Coach Patrick directly using the chat button at the bottom of the website.

Thanks for nothing short of the best, most impactful years of my life. I wish the best for you and my entire Endurance Nation family!

-- Coach Rich Strauss

Al Truscott

Rich, by founding and nourishing EN with Patrick over the years, you created a triathlon family which has enriched my life immeasurably. For that I am immensely grateful. Thank you for all you've done, for me and so many others. Godspeed and happiness in your new adventures

Brenda Ross

Although I am sad that I will no longer be working with you on a daily basis, I am excited for you and the new journey you are on. I wish you all the best and know that whatever you choose to do, you will be successful at, or... am going to get on a plane and come and kick you in the nuts.

Gordon Cherwoniak

Rich,

It's been fun virtually training and following you on your triathlon and other (mountain biking) endevours over the years. My only regret is not meeting you in person, LP 2016 or coming down to IM Wisconsin, the year of the EN pink speedo. 

Enjoy the new opportunities you find beyond triathlon.

Gordon

Patti Thompson

I feel like I know you from listening to the podcasts and videos!  Whatever you pursue you will kick ass at it! 

Francis Picard

Rich,

sad to see you go but happy that I had at least one chance to meet you in real life ! Hope the best for you in your future projects !!

Juan Vergara

Rich, I hope your new adventures take you to Brazil where you will always have a "home" waiting for you. You know I mean it ... you know how to reach me. 
Sincerely hope to remain in touch!!!

Jeff Kane

Best of luck Coach!

Josh Church

I'll miss your advice and yelling at me on the IMCHOO course this year. Your a legend to the EN community!

Julie Pfeifle

I will also miss seeing you cheering us all on in Tempe!  Best wishes in your next chapter!

Dave Tallo

Well, damn. 

I can't say I'm cheering this. Yes, I'm obligatorily happy for you and the opportunities that you have ahead, and I know the bigger picture thinking that led to this announcement is all the stuff you've preached over the years: recognizing that this is a game and not light versus dark or good versus evil.  I'm sure there was a solid, healthy perspective that underpinned this new direction.  I would be selfish not to wish you well (I do), and hope that wherever life after EN takes you, it keeps you on two wheels (and upright).  I hope we'll keep in contact.   But, damn.   You're a one of the good ones, and and have probably made the largest positive contribution to my tri life - which actually fills an outsize part of my actual life - of any one person. 

(No joke: to this day, I can still quote Mental Toughness lessons about 'the Quigley' that Rich wrote about 15 years ago, and still run scripts in my brain in races that he helped me formulate a decade ago.      I keep exactly one "active" email in my otherwise spotless personal Inbox from Rich that he wrote in 2007 (it was about getting to a sub-10 IM) like a talisman.   Hell ... I use his expressions and cliches daily, and internalized some of his thinking and innovation so long ago that they are like deep grooves in a record.   I came over to EN with him from Crucible in 2007, and I have enjoyed a 15 or so year tri relationship with the dude.    The first time I ran him down in a race, I was nearly giddy ... but also had that weird conflicted feeling that a kid gets the first time he beats his dad in a game of one-on-one.   He's got me to the finish line of a lot of tris and to the starting line of Kona four times.  He has bought me beers after shit days on the race course and successes alike.   He's also contributed 'lifetime achievement award' levels of thought, innovation and material to the general body of triathlon knowledge that floats around here, and out there in the general tri world.)

Rich, I'm happy for whatever lies ahead, but I am legitimately mourning this, and will be for a while.  EN will go on, life will go on, but you won't be replaced.  I'll be proud to continue to call you a friend, but will sincerely miss having you as a coach and a regular presence in this game.   Thanks for everything, buddy.  You made an immeasurable difference.   But damn, you'll be missed.  

Al Truscott

@Dave Tallo (and Rich) ... ^^^ Word. My feelings, and experience, well said. I would NEVER have had a successful Ironman much less gone to Kona, had it not been for Rich's insights and succinctly worded racing strategies which I first encountered in 2005. And he, personally and directly, on the bridge in Tempe, got me over the hump to my best IM ever, AZ in 2011.

Doug Sutherland

It's a blow for sure. Big Rich was, for me, equal parts brilliant strategist and a just do it grunt. He opened my eyes to what I could do (and could not do). EN will go on, but it will not be the same. Thank you for the education and dedication.

Jacklyn Moore

I am absolutely sick. He has been a pillar in my life for the last four years. I have gone from lazy lard ass to super duper studette under his watchful eye. I was so looking forward to meeting you at Santa Rosa. I hope this new phase in your life is wonderful and colorful. Enjoy.

Derrek Sanks

Coach,

You'll be missed but your coaching, training, racing guidance/advice/quotes/expressions will be around the EN community forever (and stuck in my head)!  Thanks for all you've taught me.  I wish you all the best in your future endeavors.  

scott dinhofer

R -
Can't say this isn't a loss to the team. It certainly comes as a shock to all of us. Not only do I replay many of the comments I have seen you write or say in person over and over in my head. I've always been jealous of your ability to cut through the chafe, lay out an argument (verbally or in writing) in a well thought out, compact & articulate manner. Certainly curious to how/where you will be applying your superb skills & wish you only the best in your endeavors.

The rest of us need to also recognize that we can carry on Rich's philosophies & thoughts in supporting each other and the next generation of ENers here in the forum. We are all smarter & better triathletes today, regardless of our levels of accomplishment, because we've experienced Rich. 

tim cronk

Coach Rich , Wishing you good luck on the next chapter!   Where ya going?  What ya doing?

Phil Mills

I too was/am in shock.  While I didn't have the pleasure to meet you, heck we've only spoken on the phone 1-2 times, you have been a daily influence on my life, since starting triathlon in 2013.  Your ability to cut straight through the crap, and plethora of knowledge will be missed.  Good luck and God's speed to you in your next adventures.

Mike Roberts

Rich,

I echo a lot of the sentiments expressed above.  Like most of us who've been here a while, I have a lot of fond, positive Rich moments and memories.  After 20 years of MOP triathlon, a low-9 IM buddy said I should stop wasting my time on IM unless I learn how to really ride a bike - "go find Rich Strauss at Crucible or wherever he is now; he'll teach you how to ride."  So I did.  Arriving four years ago with monstrous 2.4 w/kg power, the first months were touch-n-go, not entirely convinced this was where I belonged.  But you convinced me to trust the plan, do the work, and HTFU.  Of course, along the way I discovered the full awesomeness of EN and I started also learning from Coach P, Tim, Al, Jenn, Dave, etc.  I found triathlon Home.  If you would have told my wife, friends, competitors or any training partners 5, 10 or 15 years ago that I now ride 4+w/kg and will be racing the second Saturday in October on a non-lotto, non-legacy ticket, there would have been laughter.  You played a huge role in that development and this new reality, and for that I'll be forever grateful.

The very best of luck and success to you in the future.  I hope it involves a lot of laughter and screaming downhills.

Gabe Peterson

Wow, this punches a giant hole in EN.  

I got introduced to EN when I attended a swim clinic in El Monte, CA by @Coach Rich back in 2013.  It came up on Active.com one day and I thought what the heck, it's local (to where I was living in Monrovia) and reasonably priced.  As the intro, he gave an overview of EN.  It was totally orthogonal to everything I was reading about triathlon which focused on huge doses of Z1.  He preached hard work.  I was curious but decided to keep going on my own...until I got crushed at St George.  Then I remembered that dude talking about hard work and signed up for EN the next day.  I lived near Coach Rich and got the chance to do a couple rides with him.  He was there at the finish line when I completed my first Ironman at Arizona in 2014 (pic below).  Without Rich, I'm not sure I would have believed I could do crazy shit like an Ironman, ultramarathon, or packing my bags next week to compete in the Leadman.

@Coach Rich hope to see you at the start line for the Leadville MTB 100 or meetup in Moab one of these days for some badass MTBing.  Best of luck on your future adventures!

DANIEL MOLINA

Rich,

Your voice from countless podcasts, webcasts and videos are forever ingrained in our collective psyche.  And yes, sometimes I just wanted to finish your sentences for you, especially when hearing  the 4 Keys talk for the 400th time or the replaying of a 0th anniversary podcast.  But no, if you were to ask me if I ever wanted to stop hearing your voice, gaining from your insight or sharing any milestone!  You were a game changer for all us.  Funny thing though, is that if you were in our shoes I know what you'd be saying...Suck it up, next man up!  

EN Hall of Fame should have two inductees at present.  #1 Coach Rich  # Riley the Wonder Pup

Buena suerte amigo! 

Natalie Cayer Pilon

How very exciting to be  starting a new chapter. Good for you for embracing change and taking the leap. You will be missed but I wish you every happiness.

William Crawford

Rich,

I am very happy for you. As I am sure you know, you will be missed. Thank you for all of your help and guidance.

Paul Curtin

My first exposure to EN was watching Coach Rich on YouTube videos before I'd joined; everything he said made sense.  Of all the EN videos and podcasts, my favorite is Rich's athlete post-race interview podcasts; he has an inimitable style that made for great listening

Patrick Marsh

Coach RIch,

Thanks for helping build this big family of endurance athletes.  It is an incredible legacy that we all enjoy.  Thanks also for sharing all your knowledge through the hundreds of podcasts that I am still making my way through.

Godspeed.  I am sure you will be setting the world on fire as you turn the page to the next chapter of your life.

- PM

Tom Glynn

Rich, you will be missed!  I've been with EN from the beginning and have always been impressed with the sense of family that you two have brought to the table. Getting me to Kona was pretty awesome too  I remember when you ventured up to Northern CA many years ago to meet the growing contingency of EN members.  I opened up my house to 20 or 30 members and had to explain to my wife that I met all these people on the internet, they were really nice, Rich would be staying in the in-law suite, and what could possibly go wrong .  This picture was of you at a Danville restaurant having a heart attack paying $15 for a hamburger.  I don't remember why my son thought you were a Jeopardy contestant, but I do remember him quizzing you non-stop for the entire weekend!

All the best in your new ventures!

ironmarianne

Well... shoot!  I met Coach Rich at the Ironman Kentucky camp in the summer of 2007.  I still say "work is work" and "don't be stoopid" and "what is the dealio"?  On race day I repeat many times "slow is smooth and smooth is fast,"  "stay in my box", what is my "one thing"..I remember at the camp, in the pool, he was frankly amazed that I was going to be doing an Ironman, after seeing my swim stroke!!  and when I "fell off" my bike at a stoplight out on the course, he was still kinda scratching his head!!  , but there he was on the run course at the Ironman cheering me on and checked on me post finish.  He and Patrick put the "team" together and had a vision, and after a decade of Endurance Nation.. I bet everyone of us out on the race course will tell ourselves "don't be stoopid.."  "ride like a Granny the first hour" and "there is only one way to make the pain stop, and that is to finish".... Thanks for the frank advice..and making us feel like we were one of the "cool kids."  Take care, Marianne

Paul Hough

Wow, just back from the UK and stunned to read this.  I've always appreciated your insights and direct approach to conveying them.   Wishing you all the best and hoping you do check in with the team occasionally to keep everyone apprised.   All the best.  r/Paul 

Dawn Cass

Shock news indeed - wish you well Rich and thanks for the words of advice over the past two years - especially in my case the great insights into adapting to the changes made at IMNC last year. 

With news like this there is an opportunity to reflect and improve on how EN operates, I am excited to see what changes Patrick brings to EN as a result.

DAVID RICHMOND

well that sucks!!! wish u all the best but dayum....It sucks... 

Todd Bray

Rich,

I'll keep this simple. You've been nothing but an inspiration and excellent educator since I joined this team! Thank you for all that you've done! 

Good luck in your next adventure and if you're ever riding that motorcycle through Central Kentucky please look me up!

Todd