Thanks for visiting my website and looking things over! I’m Jim Thurman the owner of Man On A Bike Coaching.
I have been involved in bicycling, running and fitness for all of my life. My father was a dual varsity letterman in basketball and track at Peru State College many years ago and my older brother and I attended and ran track at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. I grew up with a dad that dragged me to the track in the summer to run intervals and then drove me around the country to compete in AAU Junior Olympic track meets. After college I focused mostly on my bicycle and competed in road and cyclocross for many years and later added running road races and triathlons.
My father started a bicycle and sporting goods store while I was in high school and after graduating from college and working a few odd jobs I came back and purchased the business. For over 25 years I sold cardio and weight equipment, Specialized and Trek bicycles and carried apparel and equipment for all sports.
During those early years I became involved in my community and served on the chamber and our economic development board. I also became involved in the health of my community. I built bicycle/walking trails and soccer fields, sponsored basketball and soccer tournaments and held running and triathlon races. I purchased equipment to start a youth tackle football program and donated bicycles to the police department and fitness equipment to the fire department.
And then I started coaching…. For twelve years I coached soccer and basketball on elite traveling teams. I coached baseball and I assisted with middle and high school track & field teams. I started a youth track & field program that averaged over 125 participants per year. I mentored my athletes to never skip a practice, focus on every workout and to set short and long term goals. We were the biggest, baddest youth track team and we dominated the largest meet of the year the “Roadrunner Invite”.
While I was still operating my store, I went back to school and I took classes in biology and organic chemistry. I completed coursework in physiology, anatomy and biomechanics, and I became a certified coach for USA Track & Field.
In 2019 I sold my business to focus 100% on coaching. My greatest memories from my years spent at the bike shop were working with customers that wanted to improve their health or be more competitive in a sports events. Their success of losing weight or finishing their first 5K run is what drove me to be successful with my business. The hours spent in practice, learning drills, perfecting technique and then driving to competitions and competing with my teams are some of the best hours of my life.
That is why I started Man On A Bike Coaching. I want to continue teaching and helping individuals like yourself to become better athletes and enjoy a healthy lifestyle. I have always felt that daily exercise and a competitive spirit equals success in life.
Today, I coach men’s and women’s cross country at a small college in Nebraska. I assist with several high school track & field programs and I run my business Man On A Bike Coaching working with individuals across the United States.
I have had many great coaches assist me along the way but I have always self-coached. Through the years of tweaking my workouts and testing them on my athletes and myself I have developed a system of training that will keep you involved and excited about training and racing.
Finally, I teach rather than coach. I am not the coach that gets in your face and yells, “give me five more reps!” I teach you to train smart which allows you to train less and avoid injuries. I teach you to have a better relationship with your body and how nutrition, drills, weight training and recovery make you faster and stronger more quickly. I teach you how to focus on workouts and races and prepare your mind to be more competitive. Finally, I teach you to develop the skills to train yourself and set your goals for the day that you no longer need my assistance and you can successfully train and motivate yourself.
The first step is to visit my Contact Page or Facebook page, Man On A Bike Coaching and send me an email or a message. Then we can outline your goals, build a plan and get you started on reaching those goals.
Thanks for reading and I look forward to working with you.
Jim Thurman
Comments are closed