I started using Tracer in February 2026 at the beginning of my race season. Before that, I had been self-coaching using generic training plans, books, podcasts, and various AI tools. I’m a recreational mountain and OCR athlete and a full-time working mom with two kids, and I was spending way too much of my limited time planning and worrying about training instead of actually training.

I wanted help figuring out how to build and peak for several races, recover well, and balance running with strength and obstacle training. Tracer ended up being pretty much exactly what I was looking for.

I talk to the AI proxy coach almost daily. One of my favorite parts is being able to plan the bigger progression of my season—the build, when to get more race-specific, and when to back off. Tracer isn’t specifically programmed for OCR, but it still helped me figure out where those workouts fit into my week and how to progress them. I also love looking back at key workouts and races and picking apart my pacing, heart rate, and execution. I’ve learned a lot about pacing this year because of Tracer.

In the end I really couldn’t have asked for a better season. I had major PRs at several races and finished 3rd in the Elite division at the Spartan Killington Beast, ~14 miles with nearly 7,000 feet of climbing at 40% grades. Even more impressive has been how durable I feel. I’ve recovered much faster from races this year, and getting through a heavy mountain season at 40 without injury feels like an accomplishment of its own. I want to keep doing this for a very long time!

For me, Tracer has taken a huge amount of the mental load off my plate while still letting me be very involved in my own training. Overall, I think it makes high-level coaching much more accessible for recreational athletes like me, and I definitely plan to keep using it.

Photo by Chris Arson