Below are seven new online courses. Registration for these online courses will close one week before the course takes place to allow for shipping of course books to participants.

March 27-28, 2021 – Walla Walla, WAONLINE – Pacific Time NEW!
April 10-11, 2021 – New York, NY ONLINE – Eastern Time NEW!
May 1-2, 2021 – Tallahassee, FL ONLINE – Eastern Time NEW!
May 8-9, 2021 – Fontana, CA ONLINE – Pacific Time NEW!
May 15-16, 2021 – Pawnee, IN ONLINE – Central Time NEW!
May 22-23, 2021 – Santa Fe, NM ONLINE – Mountain Time NEW!
May 29-30, 2021 – Middletown, CT ONLINE – Eastern Time NEW!

As a reminder, these courses will take place entirely ONLINE, and participants need not live near or travel to the courses’ cities to participate. We continue to use the "City, State" naming convention for our record-keeping purposes.

All upcoming Level I course locations and dates, including those that are sold out, are listed on our website here.

There are instructions below for adding your name to the waiting list for a sold-out course. Please no phone calls or emails about sold-out courses. We are currently planning courses for spring 2021 and beyond. See below for an opportunity to host a course online or in your area.

• Multiple RRCA instructors will lead the course, using the RRCA private license to teach in the private interactive online Zoom environment.
• We will use an updated version of our standard slideshow, with plenty of opportunity for both written and spoken Q&A, plus the group work on program development that has been so successful in our regular in-person classes.
• We’re planning on holding the online course from 8am – 5pm in the time zone indicated. Attendance is required throughout both days. Attendance will be taken throughout each day, including by using a screen-grab of the Zoom video.
• FedEx will ship the hard-copy coursebook directly to the mailing address you include in your registration. *Please be sure that your course registration information includes your FedEx shipping address.* There will be an additional fee for all international shipments.
• As part of the certification process, prospective RRCA coaches must have current CPR and First Aid certifications; in light of the pandemic, the RRCA is accepting CPR and First Aid certifications that are completed online.
• The post-class exam will follow the standard online exam protocols, in which participants are required to take the exam on their own without working with any others on the course material.

Testimonials about the online course:
"Thank you very much for a wonderful class and weekend. It has been a great learning experience for me, and I am sure everybody else. You guys did a great job. As a college professor that was forced to transition to distance learning format in 4 days, I did struggle (and still do) with this modality for which I was not prepared… You know, you are doing a great job. I cannot thank you enough." – RL

"Thanks for a great weekend! It was one of those courses where I was surprised by how much I didn’t know, and then surprised by how much I learned. I especially appreciated the chance to apply things immediately. The carryover to my day to day will be immediate, and my confidence and skill in responding to my clients’ needs has increased." – AW

Historically the RRCA has worked with official representatives from member running clubs, events, running stores, and corporate clients to host in-person Level I Coaching Certification courses. All courses are financially self-supporting (meaning there is no cost to you), and the RRCA handles all elements of the registration process including refunds for attendee cancellations. We also provide a participant stipend, paid to the host organization, to assist with food and beverage costs. The RRCA has a waiting list procedure for sold-out courses to ensure full participation at each course, and each course host will receive one complimentary entry for their course to use at their discretion. Learn more about hosting in-person courses here.

Due to the pandemic we are working with virtual hosts to help promote our online Level I courses within their local running communities. No logistical planning is required, other than working with the RRCA to decide on the course dates.

We are currently scheduling online courses for Spring 2021 and beyond, with the hope that we will return to offering in-person courses in late 2021. Please email our Director of Coaching Education, Randy Accetta, at coachingdir if you are interested in hosting an online or in-person Level I course.

The two-day course includes 16 hours of in-person coursework followed by an online, multiple-choice exam with immediate results. The curriculum includes lecture, group work, and interactive exercises, including working in teams to build training programs for novice and experienced runners.

The cost for the two-day certification class is $325*. Courses are limited to 35 participants. Classes tend to fill quickly, so register as soon as possible.

*Fees for courses held at the RRCA National Convention are higher as additional meals and activities are included.

Course Transfers and Refund Policy
coaching. If you cancel your registration at least two weeks before the course date you will receive a refund of $275.00 ($325-$50 fee) via the RunSignUp registration platform. RunSignUp processing fees will not be refunded. If you cancel within two weeks of the course date NO refund will be issued. No exceptions. No phone calls, please.

Course Waiting Lists
We use an automated waiting list tool through the RunSignUp registration platform. If you are interested in attending a sold-out course posted on the website, please follow the link to the RunSignUp page for the desired course and register for that course’s waiting list.

If and when a course fills, RunSignUp’s waiting list feature will be enabled. Interested individuals may then add their names to the waiting list. If a course participant chooses to withdraw before the course takes place, RunSignUp will automatically contact the first person on the waiting list via email and offer the opportunity to register for the course within 24 hours. If that person foregoes the seat RunSignUp will then contact the next person on the list, and so on, until the seat is filled.

The RRCA reserves the right to use the chronological waiting list feature or any other means to fill open seats in a course, including but not limited to first-come, first-served email appeals to all members of a course’s waiting list.

Due to our small staff size, we do not take phone calls or emails about waiting list status. If a spot becomes available, waiting list members will be contacted directly. Waiting list members may check their place in line by logging into RunSignUp and viewing the waiting list for a particular course.

Click here to review our Level I Coaching Certification FAQ

Continuing Education Credits
The American Council on Exercise certifies that the Level I Coaching Certification course equates to 1.6 CEU for ACE Continuing Education Credit. The American College of Sports Medicine’s Professional Education Committee certifies that this offering meets the criteria for 16.0 credit hours of ACSM Continuing Education Credit. Upon completion of the RRCA Coaching Certification requirements, you must email coaching to obtain CEC codes or certificates for ACE and/or ACSM credits.