Michael Kirby
Coach Profile
- Registered Physiotherapist
- Master of Science in Physical Therapy (MSc. PT)
- Bachelor of Kinesiology (B. Kin)
- UESCA Certified Ultrarunning Coach
- Running (marathon or shorter)
- Ultrarunning
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Expert/Advanced
- Strength and Conditioning
- Injury Prevention
- Form Analysis
10+ years
After falling in-love with trail running and ultramarathons, I returned to school for 7-years to become a physiotherapist. During my university education, I continued to compete in many of Alberta's ultramarathons including several 50k, 100k and 100-mile races. A great deal of my education was directly linkable to my life and this made it easier to learn and understand how I could apply my knowledge in a practical way. When I became a physiotherapist, I continued to focus my education in the direction of running. Running continues to be fuel that drives my personal and professional life.
I have coached runners for a long time. When I became a physiotherapist, I started being able to help my runners on a very individual level. My training programs take many variables into consideration. I like to know all the details, including my athletes' past medical history and any regular "niggles" that they might get. I always perform a physical assessment with my runners to better understand how their body moves and identify areas that we can work on to prevent future problems.
I believe that we should follow the science when there is science to guide us. There is a great deal of research out there and I make it my priority to understand as much of it as possible. In order to know where science is lacking, you need to know the science in the first place. When researching is lacking, I can provide very informed training recommendations and risk assessments to guide training.
