I met Troy Clifton through cycling and triathlon. I was just beginning triathlon and had completed a few local races. Troy gave a transition clinic to several new triathletes in the area to help us with our transition routine and speed. This was my first experience working with Troy. He did this on his own time because he simply enjoys triathlon and wants to help other people gain success and enjoyment in the sport too. As my interest in triathlon grew, so did my goals. During the last two weeks of my half Ironman training, Troy was the first person I went to when I became overwhelmed with questions. I trusted his experience and knew he could help. Troy immediately took an interest in my concerns and had answers to all of my questions. Just over a year later, I found myself 6 weeks out from Ironman Texas. The taper of my training plan did not feel right, I was sick, and my stress level was spiraling out of control. With his experience, Troy planned my last 5 weeks to accommodate my circumstances yet still get me to the starting line prepared. Not only did I have a successful race, I truly feel my recovery went so well due to the taper Troy had set up for me. Troy has a wonderful, supportive family and understands athletes who have families and schedules. He also understands that athletes have different goals and abilities and works with people based on their individuality. He is gifted with patience and is compassionate because he knows what it's like to train hard and work toward success. In a time when I needed someone dependable, someone who would answer my emails, someone who would listen...Troy was there. Most of all, I know my accomplishments are small in comparison to some, but while working with Troy he built me up to feel like a champion. I am thankful for the time Troy took to support me in meeting my goals.

I've known Troy Clifton, Coach Troy, for nearly twenty years. During that time I've never meet a more devoted athlete. He truly is one of a kind. He lives and breathes running, biking, and swimming. He's meticulous in his research and study of proper form, nutrition, and training. He's patient and studious but always the motivator. It's hard to be around Troy without wanting to accomplish the same achievements and success that he has had. Troy lives by example and inspires in much the same way. There are very few people I reach out to for advice and coaching, and of those, Troy is the first person I go to.

I have had the tremendous good fortune to work with C4 Endurance Coaching, and specifically Troy Clifton, for the past 18mos, and the results have been dramatic improvements in every aspect of my endurance racing efforts. One of the things that really sets Coach Troy apart is his attention to detail. As a for instance, not only has he worked with me on the athletic skill sets, he has helped me with the layout and order of my transition area as well specific sequencing and practices to T1 and T2. In terms of performance, technique, and planning, it's hard to articulate the confidence and comfort that comes from being thoroughly prepared. From when I first started to now, my swim stroke has been completely retooled, and I'm setting PR's nearly every week while using less energy, with emphasis on stroke mechanics and body positioning. This has been accomplished thru 1x1 instruction and drills tailored specifically for those points that I needed to improve upon. Coming from a non-swimmer background, this has easily been the most improved area not only in terms of my ability, but my comfort level in open water swims. Coach Troy is continuing to develop my endurance cycling skills,, and this include instruction on bike set up, components, and maintenance. In my biggest race last year, his guidance was invaluable in how to approach the bike leg, from how much food and water to ingest, when to ingest it, and WHAT I should be considering in terms of the brands / types of nutrition, and how to pick these items up on the bike while going thru aid stations. There was no uncertainty as I rolled thru these, and all of the preparation paid off tremendously as I comfortably completed these events. Running has been rebuilt along the lines of my swim stroke, thru instructional videos and drills focused on specific performance improvements. The focus here, for me, was on cadence, foot strike, and body positioning, with the results that I'm running faster now over longer distances than I've ever run, even as a high school track athlete. This instruction extends to race day, again with individually tailored strategies for nutrition and hydration, and how I should be working my way thru the run aid stations in the context of the larger race. Working with Coach Troy has radically altered my approach to endurance sports, my skill set and form for swimming, biking, and running, my approach to training and my thoughts during the efforts, not to mention the incredible volume of information that has been provided specific for my needs. The planning and detail are tailored for me, and the responsive individualized answers to any/every question and situation have allowed me to spend more time focusing on key elements of activities and pushing myself to become a better endurance athlete. I approach races now with more confidence and comfort based on his involvement, and this make the entire process more enjoyable.

Troy helped guide me through my entire running journey from my first 5k all the way through my full marathon. The training plans he put together for friends have always served as a guide for me. I have always appreciated that I could ask him anything from shoe problems to mileage anxieties to injury concerns and he has always given me solid, thoughtful answers. I think one of his best qualities though is his encouragement and his ability to understand the difficulty in others training and races. It meant so much that someone that has completed Ironmans would acknowledge (and truly mean it) that running a marathon was a huge accomplishment to me, and Troy's words after I finished that race really touched me. Even though I know he has done so much more, he knew that for me, that race was as difficult as it had ever gotten. I truly, truly appreciated his encouragement and positivity. And that goes from the start of my training for a 5K, all the way through the full marathon.

Growing up, I was a pretty decent athlete, playing soccer, basketball and other team sports. I didn't know anything about triathlons, marathons and other endurance sports. After watching a friend compete in a sprint-distance triathlon three and a half years ago, something intrigued me. The next year, I signed up for the Rookie Triathlon and my love for endurance sports began. I knew I had to be able to swim 300 meters, ride 11 miles, and run 2 miles but had no well thought out plan for how to get there. I made it through the race and signed up for more. A year later, with several more sprint distances and an Olympic distance triathlon under my belt, I signed up for my first Half-Ironman. I still didn't have a good plan for how to train for something that intense and I knew I needed help. I asked Troy to help me develop a training plan that would help me to “get through” the race. What he put together was more than just a plan to get me through the race, it was a total regimen of workouts, nutrition advice and which products to use to sustain me through a long race. His plan got me in the best shape of my life and gave me a base of training that can be built upon for years to come. Troy's experience and expertise helped me understand the need to train at different speeds and intensities to best utilize my body's resources for the most effective race. Five weeks before the Austin 70.3, I was experiencing a lack of power and intensity. Troy adjusted my plan and emphasized the need for complete rest days and modifying intensity during training. I felt better within a week. I completed the Austin 70.3 in 5:38, seven minutes faster than my goal time and I felt amazing when I crossed the finish line, like I could keep going. So far, in 2012, with the base and advice that Troy helped me build, my season has been fantastic. I have completed three races so far this year with 2nd, 5th and 6th place age group finishes and an Olympic and a Half Iron distance to go. Since following Troy's plan, my times have improved by at least 10% over the previous years. Troy's training plans and guidance have helped push my fitness and enjoyment of racing to another level I never thought possible. I hope to break the 2:20 mark in the Olympic distance and the 5 hour mark in the Half Iron. Thanks to Troy, I am confident that those goals are attainable.

Troy Clifton has trained me at my best and at my worst. I'm not sure if other athletes go through a “heart vs mind” power struggle like I do, but Troy has been the best influence at all times of my roller coaster ride. I have run as many as 8 half marathons and 1 full marathon in a year and as little as 2 5K's in a year, all of which Troy trained me. I have had times when running was the first and last thing I thought about during the day and was at the top of my game. I have also had times when I mentally struggled to put my shoes on because of other priorities in my life that required more of my time. Troy understands the desires to be the best and understand when sometimes your desires have to take a back seat. He has been able to adapt physical training and mental encouragement to both of those situations. Troy has been able to help me become realistic, while also striving to be more then I even thought I could be. Troy provided me with incredible amount of knowledge about shoes, hydration, nutrition, clothing and his personal training plans are by far the best to help me reach my goals, both big and small. Troy lives by example and I wish I possessed his self-discipline during my mind power struggles. The only thing that would make Troy's personal training any better would be if he lived in my house and drug me to my feet each morning.

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