Teddi Franciscotti

Courtney Culligan is an absolutely amazing coach, mentor and friend. She takes the time to understand the individual athlete and their needs and personal goals. Courtney customizes a training plan that works for the athlete and still allows them to meet other commitments, like family and work responsibilities. She knows exactly when and how much to push an athlete to motivate them to stay on their training plan and achieve their ultimate goal.

I came to Courtney knowing almost nothing about triathlon. With a lot of hard work from both of us, she helped me transform from a beginner to a USAT National Qualifier. I would never have been able to achieve such a milestone without her. I did not think in a million years that I would be able to qualify to compete at Nationals, but Courtney helped me every step of the way, advocating for me and my training when I was unable to do so for myself.

I am very proud to say that I have now competed in and finished USAT Nationals two times (2021 and 2022), and I have qualified to compete in 2023 Nationals. Having had Courtney as my triathlon coach has changed my life and helped me achieve dreams that I never even imagined were possible. I cannot put into words how much this means to me and my family. Courtney continues to be an inspiration to me and many others in the Triathlon Community, and we are lucky to have her!

Courtney – Thank you for everything that you have done for me! I look forward to many more years of racing with your guidance along my journey. 

Jim VanPeursem

My goal was to finish a full distance Ironman. I’m in my 50’s and have done some endurance running and cycling in the past, but swimming was new to me, as were triathlons. I felt confident that I could train myself for either a running or cycling endurance race, but I didn’t feel confident in being able to manage the training for all three disciplines, especially for an Ironman distance.

Some people think that you can just buy a training plan online, and off you go. That can work, but what happens when you get sick or injured? What happens when things go wrong? Do you know how to adjust the plan and get back on course? Do you know how to make up for the lost time?

Three months before my Ironman race, I had a cycling accident that put me in the hospital and set back my training considerably. Courtney’s experience was worth gold here. As I was recovering, and able to start some physical activity again, she put together a plan that tested my abilities, met me where I was, and then ramped me carefully as I recovered.

Despite the setback, I made it to my race and was in great shape. I still had injuries to deal with but was confident in my fitness. Courtney prepared me well. The forecast was for 25+ mph headwinds, which concerned me, but Courtney helped me with the race strategy and final planning. I met my goal of finishing well ahead of the cutoff times and was smiling ear to ear as I crossed the finish line and heard Mike Reilly say: “Jim, you are an Ironman!”

Tracy Gilbert

I started working with Courtney only 2 ½ months prior to my first full Ironman in Lake Placid. I was nervous about my ability to even complete the race. I wasn’t performing at the level I had been hoping to that close to the event.  Courtney spent a lot of time getting to know me personally and setting up the right plan for me to be successful in a very short amount of time. She not only created a specific plan for my physical ability, but also worked with me to change my mindset for long distance events. I was incredibly impressed with the constant communication, support and knowledge Courtney shared with me. I completed my Ironman in a better time than I expected I could! I owe a lot of this to the dedication and energy Courtney invested in me. Choosing to hire Courtney as my coach was the best decision I made in my Ironman journey!

John Shaulis- Ironman Boulder 70.3 2019

Good to meet ya!

Glad that you are here on Courtney’s website!!

You have made a good first step in examining and evaluating whether or not you want to hire Courtney as your trainer. It will be a good fit, whether you are an age group top 10’r or a novice!! Whether young or older 🙂

I will tell ya what I know and what I have experienced while Courtney has been my trainer and let you decide.

Are we similar?

My last half Ironman was the Boulder 70.3, Aug 2, 2019.

I am 65. I live west of Denver, CO at about 8,000′.

I had never had a trainer before. I had gotten to know Courtney by being around the local rec center, seeing her do her fitness classes and taking some spin classes from her. So, we chatted and then I hired her…and I was thankful for that decision!! What she brought to my training:
expertise
calculated build ups in intensity and distance
empathy (yes, telling her how I was feeling and having her understand. Big deal!!)
encouragement and direction – I tended to be over doing my training a bit, thinking more miles is better (right??)
physical rehab advice, understanding – on one of my masters swim classes, after about 20 min, we were doing butterfly and I hurt my shoulder (I should have been warmed up). Courtney directed me to her PTs (I had never been to one) and she revamped my training accordingly, knowing that my shoulder would come around sooner or later…and it did).

Just a short athletic/fitness bio for ya to help you decide.

I was a HS and college tennis player. I taught tennis professionally from age 26-28. My last professional tennis job was in Keystone, CO at the Keystone Lodge. Summit County in 1982 in the mountains of CO at 9,000′ is where I first started riding my bicycle for longer rides.

I joined the Navy in 1982 and went to Pensacola, FL for my officer training/initial flight training. During my officer training there was a half ironman so I figured what the heck. I was a swimmer as a kid but I had never run more that about 7-8 miles. Yikes!! That went well.

My 20 yr Navy career saw me ride in many different countries and do some marathons and half marathons. When I got my wings of gold in 1982 I rode from Beeville, TX to Olney, TX (up north), a total of about 440 miles in 4 days. A good ride (with a bit of a tailwind).

I have done many long bike rides here in CO, such as the Triple Bypass.

My flying career was terminated by the FAA (age 65 rule) so I thought it would be great to end my flying career as I had started it – with another half ironman.

So, there ya have it. I would recommend that you have a meeting or a dialogue to sort out your questions and proceed from there.

When you hire her, you won’t regret it 🙂

Sincerely, John S.

Michelle Waller- Strength and Conditioning Client

Courtney is the best! She truly cares about her clients and goes the extra mile to ensure each person is getting a workout that is customized to fit their needs, goals and injuries. She somehow manages to lovingly push me to improve my fitness level while never making me feel guilty for not maximizing my physical potential.

David Young- Ironman Louisville 2018

“I hired Courtney through a mutual friend because I had thoughts of completing a full Ironman. In several years previous I had signed up and completed 2 half Ironmen, and found them to be each so debilitating that I had no confidence in figuring out how I was going to pull this off (or why I would sign up). What I find is having a coach forces me to be true to myself and holds me accountable in a way that I wouldn’t be otherwise. Would I get up at 4;30 in the morning to go drive down to a lake and swim for 75 minutes? Would I choose to run 10-15 miles on a weekend day, then ride/swim after? Having a coach, and having one that you have confidence in makes all the difference and Courtney was that coach for me. In fact (and I don’t think she knows this), I would ride some decent miles (but not what she had in the plan), and would save/download the file, and then, say within 10 minutes, I would get a call and she would say that isn’t good enough. Why didn’t I do what was asked? So I dutifully went back out and finished. No way would that have happened had I not had a coach and not had Courtney. I paid her to be a pain in my rear and she motivated me to accomplish this goal. The reason I am an Ironman is because of her”

Dave Young

Kevin Grieve- Xterra Beaver Creek 2017

Courtney did an outstanding job getting me ready, from ground zero, for two very disparate primary events:  an Xterra sprint distance on a mountain course at 7400 feet elevation and a multi-day long distance bike tour in the Midwest.  She developed a customized plan and was very responsive to adjusting plan based upon interactive and on-going feedback.  She was knowledgeable and provided motivational and seasoned advice for training sessions and race day strategy.  She created camaraderie amongst her athletes with an early season post race BBQ and offered many opportunities for group training.  I set several PRs and remained injury free with Courtney’s incremental, yet challenging, training plan and coaching.

Kevin Grieve- 2017 Season Overview

Courtney

Just wanted to reflect on our training.  Even though I was disappointed with results of my xTerra race, I wanted to highlight everything you helped me accomplish during this training season while working…in the words: take a step back to look at the big picture vs a single race:

– fixed a multi-year hip flexor injury that no longer bothers me (and is stronger)

– fixed bones and tendons in feet that were starting to hurt me when I ran which no longer occurs

– my recovery times are much faster (I feel good today one day after xTerra when it was at least 3 days last time)

– Posted the best time I have had in at least a decade in Evergreen 5k and ran entire race without walking which rarely happened

– was never red-faced at end of any race

– the swim was my best event of race (relatively) which before I would have to stop during race to catch my breath which never happened and I felt confident in the water. Remember that I hated swim workouts when we started and I thought they were torture.  I now really enjoy swimming.

– never had a set back injury due to the incremental training plan you put together

– jump started my physical activity to be a lifestyle change to kick off retirement (the original and primary goal)

– Lost 10+ pounds

– blood pressure went from 140 over 90 to 112 over 70

– resting HR is 48-55

– rediscovered disciplined training

I would call that a very successful partnership.  Thanks again for a great season and best of luck on your upcoming races.

Kevin

Rick Stockreef- Ironman Costa Rica 70.3

It’s my pleasure to provide this recommendation for Courtney Culligan as a triathlon coach.  I’ve worked with Courtney for over a year and she has been my coach for the past 7 months. She helped me improve my athletic performance and exceed my goals for Sprint, Olympic and Ironman 70.3 races.

Courtney is knowledgable in all phases of triathlon preparation, but what stands out most to me is her dedication to her athletes.  Her availability, responsiveness, communication and continuous improvement to the training plan exceeded my expectations.  As an older athlete (47), Courtney’s knowledge about injury prevention and recovery was particularly key to my success. She had me spend more time recovering from injuries than I was comfortable with and I raced better because of her guidance.

I achieved Ironman 70.3 All World Athlete (Silver) status without coaching, so initially I wondered if coaching would make much difference.  Courtney’s program and coaching helped me shatter my prior 70.3 record by over 27 minutes to achieve a 5:07:31 at Ironman 70.3 Costa Rica, which included PR’s for all three sports.

Again, its my pleasure to recommend Courtney Culligan as a triathlon coach. She cares about the people she trains and she has the knowledge and desire to make her athletes better.

Deb O’Connell- Ironman Arizona 70.3

I wanted to drop a quick note about the support and outstanding coaching I received, from Court, during my IM yesterday in Tempe.

As you may know, I was nursing a broken clavicle back to health all summer and was unable to train as I normally would.  During the entire summer Court provided coaching plans that were adapted to my situation.  She provided emotional, and mental support to me when I was really discouraged and questioned my ability to jump back in on time for Tempe.

As you are aware, we raced Tempe together.  I doubted my ability to finish but ended up with finish times close to my last race 2 years ago. This is entirely due to Court’s encouragement and her thorough preparation, of me, for race day.  I followed her race strategy without diversion.  I followed her nutrition and hydration  plan for race day to a Tee.  I implemented her plan for the bike, run, and swim sections of the course without question.  When I finished the race I felt great and so very accomplished.

You have a great coach in Courtney and I’m so very glad to be continuing with her, as my coach, for the 2016-2017 season.  She has a lot of heart and more than that has become a very knowledge coach over the years.  Because she works well with others she has a great sense of how best to support each athlete individually.

I have so appreciated her and look forward to a great upcoming season!

Deb O’Connell- October 17,2016