HOW TO HIRE · HEALTH & WELLBEING

How to hire a running coach in the UK
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have no register for running coaches. Here are the checks and the questions to ask.

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THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring a running coach in five steps

  1. Ask for the coaching qualificationAnd who awarded it.
  2. Share your goal and historyRace, date, weekly time, injuries.
  3. Agree what the price includesSessions, plans, data review, messages.
  4. Check insurance and first aidFor coached sessions.
  5. Know when to see a physioPain that changes your stride is not for the coach.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

No register applies

No licence or statutory register applies to running coaches in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, and the title is not protected. Ask for the coaching qualification and the awarding body, and check with them.

Ask the running coach for the qualification, the awarding body and the date, then check with that body yourself.

Protected health titles

A running coach may not call themselves a physiotherapist, physical therapist, dietitian or sport and exercise psychologist unless they are on the HCPC Register — using one of those titles, or implying it, without registration is an offence under the Health Professions Order 2001.

If the running coach offers injury treatment or diet plans under one of those titles, search them on the HCPC Register. hcpc-uk.org →

Criminal record check for sessions with under-18s

Training children is regulated activity when a running coach does it on more than three days out of any thirty, or overnight; from 1 September 2026 being supervised no longer takes it outside. England and Wales: the enhanced DBS check with the children's barred list. Scotland: PVG scheme membership. Northern Ireland: an enhanced AccessNI check. No check is needed to train adults.

For a child's sessions, ask to see the certificate or PVG proof and read the issue date. gov.uk →

First aid

The 1981 first-aid regulations cover a self-employed running coach's own needs; no law makes them provide first aid for clients, but HSE strongly recommends planning for the public. Public liability insurance is the cover that pays if you are injured in a running coach's session; HSE says a business with employees will probably need employers' liability insurance too.

Ask whether the running coach holds a current first-aid certificate and what they do if someone collapses — including where the nearest defibrillator is. Ask the running coach for the insurer's name and the policy dates. hse.gov.uk →

VAT

Running coaching is exempt from VAT only when a sole trader or partner coaches in a personal capacity, in a subject schools or universities teach; coaching sold by a limited company or delivered by its employees is standard-rated at 20%. A coaching business with VAT taxable turnover over £90,000 must register for VAT and show it as its own line where it charges it.

Ask whether the running coach works for themselves or for a coaching company, and for the VAT number if VAT is added. gov.uk →

“What running coaching qualification do you hold?”

A good answer: A named award and body.

“What is included — sessions, a plan, reviews of my data?”

A good answer: A clear list from the running coach, and the price of each.

“How will you build the plan around my race?”

A good answer: A phased plan back from race day.

“What do you do if I get injured?”

A good answer: Refer you to a physiotherapist and adjust the plan.

“Do you coach children, and what check do you hold?”

A good answer: DBS, PVG or AccessNI, shown with its date.

“Are coached sessions insured?”

A good answer: Public liability, insurer named.

“How do we communicate between sessions?”

A good answer: Messages, calls or an app, and how often.

Getting the quote right

  • Who actually attends — the running coach you booked, or an employed or subcontracted coach from the club
  • Session price, or monthly plan price
  • What the plan includes — sessions, reviews, messaging
  • The VAT number if they have one, and whether the coaching is invoiced as exempt private tuition
  • Cancellation terms written down — a class or session booked for a fixed date is a leisure service, which the 14-day cancellation right does not cover (regulation 28), so the running coach's own terms decide
  • Race entries and kit excluded
  • Notice to end a monthly plan

Walk away if

  • Plans with no recovery weeks
  • Ignores injury and says run through it
  • Uses a health title without HCPC registration
  • No insurance for group sessions
  • Monthly plan with no notice terms
  • No questions about your history
LOW
£30
TYPICAL
£35
HIGH
£75

What a running coach costs: £30–£75 per session

Running coaches charge per session or by the month for a plan; reviews and messaging change the price. Running Coach price guide →

Guide prices compiled by the Locufy team from published Irish and UK provider price lists and 2026/27 cost guides. Updated 2026.

KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR? NOW FIND ONE

Running coaches near you, with the badges that matter shown

ID checked, trader status and one score from every review — on the card, before you message anyone. Nearest first. No account needed to look.

Or post the job free and let them come to you.

  1. Goal chatRace, current fitness, weekly time.
  2. AssessmentA form check or test run.
  3. PlanWeekly runs built around the goal.
  4. Coached sessionsDrills, intervals and feedback.
  5. ReviewsData and how you feel, plan adjusted.

Intervals
Hard efforts with recovery between.
Tempo run
A sustained, comfortably hard run.
Taper
Reducing training before a race.
Easy run
Conversational pace.
Gait
How you run.
Regulated activity
Frequent work with children needing a check.

AFTER

When the job is done

Keep the planAnd your training log.
Review after the raceWhat worked and what to change.
Rest properlyRecovery is part of the plan.
Share how it wentA short review of the running coach — punctuality, care, value — is what others read. Use the make-it-right step first if anything needs putting right.

STEP 1Give the running coach the chance to fix itSend a dated message describing the fault and the fix. Section 49 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 sets the standard — reasonable care and skill — for any running coach trading for money; falling short of it over the coaching lets you claim a free repeat or a reduction under section 54.
STEP 2Try the make-it-right stepUnder four stars for a booked running coach, Locufy asks whether to pass it to them first; we follow it through before the review goes up.
STEP 3Trading Standards, through the helplineNo regulator oversees a running coach, so a running coach who will not engage can be referred to Trading Standards through Citizens Advice on 0808 223 1133 in England and Wales (0808 223 1144 in Welsh), Advice Direct Scotland on 0808 800 9060, or Consumerline on 0300 123 6262 in Northern Ireland.
STEP 4Small claims as the last stepWhere the running coach still refuses, the small claims routes run to £10,000 in England and Wales, £5,000 in Scotland under simple procedure and £5,000 in Northern Ireland, with no solicitor needed.

Hiring a running coach: questions people ask

No. No licence or statutory register applies in any UK nation.

For regular coaching of under-18s: enhanced DBS in England and Wales, PVG in Scotland, enhanced AccessNI in Northern Ireland.

No — see a physiotherapist on the HCPC Register or your GP.

£30 to £75 a session, typically around £35. Plans with data reviews and messaging cost more than single sessions. The running coach price guide has the full breakdown; enter your town above for prices from running coaches near you.

Not when a running coach working for themselves coaches you personally, which counts as exempt private tuition; coaching sold by a limited company or its employees is standard-rated, and a coach under the £90,000 threshold charges none.

Raise it in writing; a coach in business owes reasonable care and skill under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

MORE GUIDES

More hiring guides in health & wellbeing

How to hire: Personal TrainerHow to hire: Strength & Conditioning CoachHow to hire: Sports MassageHow to hire: Sports PhysiotherapyHow to hire: Fitness InstructorHow to hire: Bootcamp InstructorHow to hire: Mobile Personal TrainerHow to hire: NutritionistAll 701 hiring guides →

Running coaches near you

Running coaches in LondonRunning coaches in ManchesterRunning coaches in BirminghamRunning coaches in GlasgowRunning coaches in BelfastAll running coaches on Locufy →

Sources — checked October 2026

  1. HCPC — professions and protected titles
  2. HCPC — misuse of title
  3. gov.uk (DBS) — regulated activity with children
  4. gov.uk — change to the definition of regulated activity with children from 1 September 2026
  5. mygov.scot — who needs PVG scheme membership (personal employers)
  6. nidirect — AccessNI checks for the self-employed and personal employees
  7. HSE — first aid FAQs (first aid for the public)
  8. HSE — get insurance for your business
  9. gov.uk — Sport supplies that are VAT exempt (VAT Notice 701/45)
  10. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 28 — exceptions to the right to cancel
  11. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 30 — cancellation period
  12. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 36 — services started in the cancellation period
  13. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 54 — consumer's rights for services
  14. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
  15. Education and vocational training (VAT Notice 701/30) — 6.1 The treatment of private tuition
  16. GOV.UK — VAT rates
  17. GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register