A note of thanks and a new initiative I’m proud of


Hi everyone,

First, I want to sincerely thank you for your patience and support over the past month as we rolled out the new Athletica Experience.

Our team has worked relentlessly, and we are now seeing relative stability for around 98 percent of users. We know there is still work to do, particularly around re-architecting the Workout Wizard. This is important foundational work to ensure performance and reliability as we scale, and we truly appreciate your patience as the team builds this out properly.

I wanted to take this moment to share a new 2026 initiative that I’m genuinely proud of.

It’s called the Athletica Development Athlete (ADA) Scholarship.

This initiative comes directly from my own experience as a young athlete. I trained long and hard, and while I had some success, I could never quite find the right way. Deep down, I knew there had to be something better than simply doing more. Athletica is the result of that lifelong search for a smarter, more sustainable approach to training and development.

The ADA Scholarship is a 12-month performance scholarship for competitive athletes who know they have potential and want to train smarter, not just harder. It provides full access to Athletica, including unlimited AI-Coach support, adaptive training, analytics, and education.

This is not a sponsorship or influencer program. It’s a development opportunity, and in return, athletes allow us to document their journey so others can learn from real, evidence-based stories.

I’ve written more detail about the motivation, history and philosophy behind ADA and who it’s for on my Coaching Prof Substack.

If you or an athlete you coach feel this resonates, you can apply using the button below.

Applications for the 2026 cohort close February 15th, with the program beginning March 1.

Thanks again for being part of the Athletica community. We’re building this for the long term, and I’m grateful to have you on that journey with us.

Warm regards,
Paul

Paul Laursen, PhD

Athletica AI Coach and Training Science

Smarter training starts here. Athletica’s newsletters deliver science-backed insights, expert tips, and AI-powered training updates for endurance athletes of all levels. Catch up on past editions and subscribe to stay ahead in your training journey.

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