“I need to tell you how impressed I am with how organized and well-run F4 is.” “You guys totally amaze me! I worked with a coach eight years ago and it was nowhere near the caliber of your group.” “Thank you for making your coaching services so valuable. I am just thrilled with you all!”

So go the accolades for one of the most popular running and triathlon training groups in the Boulder/Denver area: FastForward Sports. F4, as it’s affectionately called, is the brainchild of founder Scott Fliegelman. You may have seen his very large truck emblazoned with F4 across the side parked at different open space parking lots and race sites all around the Front Range and beyond. If you see the truck, you know he’s most likely with a group of F4 athletes out there somewhere running, cycling, or swimming.

F4 success hinges on a great concept. First, as a participant you pick the program you want to follow, whether it be aiming for a specific race or simply building overall fitness. You might choose the spring group training for the Bolder Boulder or the triathlon program training for your first-ever triathlon, or the summer program building up to the fall Marine Corps Marathon. Once you’ve signed up, you’ll receive an outstanding training program written by both Bobby McGee, a world renowned running and triathlon coach, and Fliegelman himself. You can track your training and scheduled workouts on www.trainingpeaks.com, and you’ll receive weekly emails from your individual coach. You’ll have your choice of a wide variety of weekly group workouts, whether it be 7am on Tuesday morning or 6pm on Thursday evening. Group workouts are held at different trail locations around Boulder and Denver, and each workout is led by a qualified, professionally trained coach.

I was first introduced to FastForward Sports by my parents, Wayne and Diana Bruckner. Now four-year veterans of the program, they first joined shortly after retiring and moving here from Wisconsin. My parents are quite social, and having moved out here to be closer to my brother and me, they found themselves in need of some friends. They are also quite physically active, always searching for the next run, ride, or hike. FastForward Sports was perfect for them. They’ve loved their coaches, loved the group workouts, and have made more friends than I have! They can’t stop talking about it. So once I retired from the pro cycling ranks, I became intrigued, and wanted to find out more about Fliegelman and his FastForward Sports group. And I needed friends, too.

I met with Scott one morning at Vic’s on Broadway. He’s a very likeable guy right from the start, and made me feel completely at ease. He talked about how FastForward first started as a training group focused on running races. But in 2006, he added triathlon training to the mix as well and it’s been a huge hit. Many of the athletes in the tri-group (about 50 percent) are training for their very first triathlon, which can seem quite daunting. But the training is structured so that by the time race day approaches, each athlete feels completely prepared for each leg, both physically and mentally. The results have been incredible.

Says Fliegelman, “In its first year, FastForward’s tri program aimed to bring together two key components of successful training: an expertly crafted workout schedule geared to peak for a few designated races, and group camaraderie for swimming, biking, and running, regardless of ability or experience level.

“For some it’s too much, for others too little,” he goes on, “but for most it’s just the ticket to move to the next level of triathlon while having a ton of fun along the way.”

I was hooked. I filled out a coaching application, thinking I would make a great addition to the triathlon coaching staff. Even though it’s been six years since I ran and I don’t know my mile splits anymore to save my life, I figured I could just pick up where I left off, right? Wrong. Scott hand selects each of his coaches and matches them to the appropriately-paced group. He thought it best if I was a bike guide with the triathlon program this year, sharing my bike “expertise” with Boulder’s next great triathletes. And it’s been perfect for me. Sunday mornings are the triathletes’ scheduled coached bike workouts. We meet at 9am at Colorado Multisport and divide into three to four groups based on speed and ability. Each ride is usually no longer than two hours and we spend our ride working on bike skills, time trial pacing, climbing, and chatting.

I also substitute as a running coach when needed. I coached for a friend a few weeks ago on a night where we had 6x60-second hill repeats followed by 5x30-second hill repeats. I had a group of about ten people, and they impressed me for many reasons. First, these people have so much energy and they love coming out to their weekly run workout, despite the fact that most of them just finished a long day at work. And now I’m making them do hill repeats! Second, each person has his or her own individual goals, but they were all very supportive of one another, always talking each other up and cheering words of encouragement to other groups as they ran by. I especially love attending the Tuesday 6pm run workouts in Boulder, because afterwards, there’s a large group that always goes to Murphy’s for dinner.

FastForward Sports and its coaches have helped over 1,000 runners and triathletes to their first race or their fastest, while making friends, enjoying a fitter and healthier lifestyle, and having lots of fun along the way.

“Most important,” says Fliegelman, “is the fact that our workouts are non-intimidating, welcoming, and fun.”

Kimberly Baldwin
is a real estate broker with Acquire Home in Boulder,
as well as a bike guide with FastForward Sports.
She can be reached at  
kbaldwin@insideacquire.com

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