Earl Zimmermann

Specialties: Road Racing, Running (all distances), Triathlon (all distances), Bike Fit

Home: Sammamish, WA (Eastside, Seattle)

Client levels accepted: Individual, SemiCustom, Custom, Consultation

Available to take on all levels of athletes both racing and non-racing

Available for seminars, camps, clinics, and team direction on a contractual basis.

Earl is a licensed Level II USA Cycling and Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) coach. As a full-time coach, he has guided athletes to a range of accomplishments, including a top-20 at Junior Cyclocross Nationals, a silver medal in the Kilo at Masters Track Nationals, an upgrade from Cat 4 to Cat 3 on the velodrome, and a personal best at the Boston Marathon.  He has contributed to the Runner’s word Q&A forum, written articles on bike fit and cadence, and is on the panel of the Cycling News Fitness Forum.

Earl has trained for and raced bicycle road races, triathlons and running races for over 14 years, including two years in Europe where he completed the 250K Amstel Gold Race tourist version, climbed Alpe d’ Huez in under 60 minutes and rode Mount Ventoux.  He understands and has experienced the challenges of preparing for and competing in stage races such as the Mt. Hood Cycling Classic and the Cascade Classic in Oregon.

In the corporate world Earl was the go-to guy for product information, where he designed and taught training programs for new hires.  He enjoyed seeing the students’ eyes light up when they began to understand the concepts being discussed.  That “ah ha” moment from others is what drives Earl to coach athletes in cycling, running, and triathlon today. 

At a young age, Earl overcame the effects of asthma by heading to the pool.  His passion for swimming continued through high school where he was a competitive distance swimmer. Earl began to race bikes in the San Francisco Bay Area where he finished consistently in the top 10 in his category.  Combining his swimming and cycling skills he began to race Olympic and sprint distance triathlons, winning his age group race at the Evanston, WY and competing at Mrs. T’s in Illinois and Boulder Peak in Colorado among other events.

Earl brings a wealth of personal competitive experience to his coaching. Earl currently resides in Western Washington State, near the Marymoor Park Velodrome in Redmond, WA with his wife and two children.  He is well versed in the challenges of incorporating training and racing into an already busy schedule and enjoys helping athletes find a balance between sports and other life goals.

To inquire about working with Earl Zimmermann please click here! >>>
 

"Earl not only coaches me well physically for on the bike strength but effectively coaches me psychologically so that I can have the mental toughness to handle any riding situation.  He has helped me remain strong while training though a knee injury."   ~ Bart, CO
                   
Working with Earl brought about a lot of relief to what had been a fairly stressful cyclocross season.  My son needed to prepare for nationals only six weeks out, we were new to cycling, and we didn't have a clue how to best support him.  Earl was very kind and engaging.  He personalized a supportive training program and taught us about nutrition, training strategies, pre- and post-race strategies, and goal-setting.  His experience was invaluable. He was always available to debrief and provide feedback, and he was present and supportive in a very personal way, beyond what we expected.  My son did great at nationals.  The decision to work with Earl was a sound investment..." ~ Sam W, WA

"...As well as going faster I feel so much stronger. I am even on track with my weight loss goals. Earl has been great at answering my questions and explaining why I should not be going faster / slower/ standing up/ sitting down/doing stomach crunches etc. He also gave me a 1 hour lesson on riding a bike around a mall parking lot where I learned more about cornering and bike handling than I have in my last 20 years. It was all simple stuff (which I did not know!) but it was great that he took time to go through it with me." ~ Michael P.

"I started working with Earl at the start of the 2007 race season. At that time, I had been battling for three years to come back to bike racing after experiencing chronic fatigue brought on by training to complete Ironman Canada in 2004 combined with overwork and stress. Progress has been slow, but steady. I found that the second season working with a coach who understands me and the issues of chronic fatigue really paid off.

During 2008 I met every one of the goals that I set, despite the setbacks of a weightroom injury and illness during the height of pre-season training. I improved my time trial times from 2007 at every distance from 200m to 40K, upgraded to Cat 3 on the track, won a Masters best all-around road rider award, and last weekend after my season had officially ended, I had the fun of finishing in first place on a triathlon relay team with my daughter.

Along the way, Earl helped with many tough decisions: to resist social temptation and not ride with the team because they rode too hard in the offseason; to delay my first race two months because my injury required a slower start; to commit to doing a first race with in a field where everyone had been racing two months; to skip some races and instead do training for more important races.

Earl has impressed me with the observations that he makes through both e-mail and in person. He sees what I don't see and offers suggestions to make adjustments in every area from my mental state, to my preparedness, to my form, and extending all the way to racing tactics. Having completed over a year working with Earl, I'm ending the season feeling strong and confident, not exhausted as in prior years. I believe the sensible training and racing will make me less prone to injury and illness and I'll be even better prepared for the next season."  ~ Michelle Gross