The running coach

Elias Kiptoo

AI running coach

Polarized training, cardiac drift, and an AI running coach who actually thinks in blocks.

Elias Kiptoo is the AI running coach in Wellness Project. He coaches road and trail running from couch-to-5K through Boston qualifier, with 80/20 polarized training, pace-vs-HR reads, race-time predictions, and recovery-aware sessions, and the app has Free Basic, with Founder Pro at $4.99/month through October 15. He talks in zones, RPE, and weekly volume, never gimmicks: he’ll push back when your easy runs are too hard and your hard runs are too soft, and he’ll catch volume ramps before they become injuries.

Download foriPhoneDownload forAndroidLog in in browser instead

Download foriPhone Download forAndroid

Free Basic · Founder Pro $4.99/month through October 15 · Activate Elias in Settings → Specialists

What Elias actually does

Specialist depth, not chatbot generic.

Effort-aware coaching

Each run captures pace and average HR; Elias reads the pattern week to week, pushes back when easy runs creep too hot, and reminds you of the polarized 80/20 target.

Pace-vs-HR feedback

Pace at the same average HR is the cleanest aerobic-base signal we capture today. Elias tracks it run-over-run in conversation and flags when your drift is moving the wrong way.

Race time predictions

A Race Predictor card models your goal-distance time (1mi through 50K) from your recent run history and flags confidence. Goal-race plans, volume ramps, and recovery weeks are talked through in chat with Elias.

Block-based thinking

Build → stress → recover → sharpen. Elias talks through which block you’re in and what the next session needs, and flags week-over-week mileage jumps that look like injury risk when he reads your training log.

Recovery-aware sessions

Low HRV days bump easy runs; truly bad days hold key sessions. Elias reads the same data Max reads.

Race-week taper

Elias walks you through taper week (volume drops, sharpening intervals stay, race-day pacing prep) based on what your training block looked like. The conversation does the work.

Sample replies

How Elias actually talks

Real exchange shape from the ai running coach. Tone is consistent — direct, specific, grounded in your data.

Did 5 miles at 8:30 pace today, easy run.

Logged. 8:30 pace at HR 158 puts you in Z3, and that's not easy, that's marathon effort. For real recovery, your Tuesday tempo this week needs to actually be tempo (sub-7:30 / Z4) or you're just running everything at one moderate pace. Tomorrow: 4 miles at 9:15 or slower; HR cap 145.

I want to qualify for Boston.

Current marathon time: 3:42 from your last race. BQ for your age group: 3:10. Gap is 32 minutes, bridgeable in 18-24 weeks if we build smart. Phase 1 (8 weeks): aerobic base, peak weekly volume 50mi, 80% easy. Phase 2 (8 weeks): tempo and threshold work, peak 55mi. Phase 3 (4 weeks): goal-pace marathon-specific work. Phase 4 (3 weeks): taper. Want me to lay out week 1?

My cardiac drift on long runs is getting worse.

Last 4 long runs: drift went from +3.2% to +5.8% over 12 miles. Wrong direction. Two likely causes: weekly volume jumped 18% to 22% in that span (above the safe ACWR), and your easy days have crept faster. Cut volume 15% next week and slow easy runs by 30 sec/mile. We'll re-test drift in 2 weeks.

In the app

Elias lives in the running module.

From the blog

FAQ

Does Elias work with Strava / Garmin?

Garmin Connect and Coros write to Apple Health on iPhone, so their runs flow in automatically. Strava does not push to HealthKit today, so Strava runs are logged in chat.

Trail running too?

Yes. Trail runs log distance, duration, pace, and average HR with surface tagged "trail". Elias coaches by HR/effort rather than pace on trails where pace alone is misleading.

Can Elias plan my marathon?

Elias talks through a block-based 16 to 20 week approach in chat (volume ramp, weekly key sessions, recovery weeks, taper) and adjusts as your data comes in.

What about ultras?

Up to 50 miles is well-covered. For 100+ mile ultras, Elias can advise but you’ll want a human coach who specializes, since variability is too high for AI to be the only voice.

More specialists

Feature

Workout analysis

Analyze imported workouts with duration, distance, pace or speed, heart-rate traces, zones, effort, load, recovery, and device context when available.

Learn

Running Heart Rate: Target Zones

Running heart rate only makes sense relative to your own maximum or threshold, the purpose of the run, and the conditions. An easy run should not have the same heart-rate profile as a tempo session, hill workout, or race.

Learn

Running Cadence: What Is a Good SPM?

Cadence is how many steps you take per minute while running. It changes naturally with pace, body size, terrain, grade, fatigue, and running style, so the useful number is usually your own cadence at a comparable pace rather than a universal target.

Learn

Training Load

Runs contribute to Training Load, then sit beside HRV, heart-rate recovery, sleep, and other recovery signals so a hard week has context.

Feature

Running tracker

The data layer Elias reads from.

Heart

HRV & RHR

Drives Elias’s recovery-aware decisions.

Use case

For runners

How to use Wellness Project as your running operating system.

Talk to Elias today.

Free Basic · Founder Pro $4.99/month through October 15

Download foriPhoneDownload forAndroidLog in in browser instead

Download foriPhone Download forAndroid

Wellness Project is informational software, not a medical product. AI advisors do not diagnose, treat, or prescribe; for anything clinical, consult a qualified clinician.

Don't take our word for it

See why AI recommends Wellness Project

Claude ChatGPT Perplexity Gemini Grok

The running coach

Elias Kiptoo

AI running coach

Polarized training, cardiac drift, and an AI running coach who actually thinks in blocks.

Download foriPhoneDownload forAndroidLog in in browser instead

Download foriPhone Download forAndroid

Free Basic · Founder Pro $4.99/month through October 15 · Activate Elias in Settings → Specialists

What Elias actually does