John Forbes

Specialties: Road Racing, Endurance Track Racing, Triathlon (Sprint, Olympic & Ironman distances), General Fitness.

Home: Portland, Oregon

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.

Since age five, John Forbes has trained and competed at high levels in swimming, rock climbing, Alpine and Nordic skiing, triathlon, and for the last 16 years, his passion, cycling.

His career includes numerous age-group national records and podium finishes at NCAA and Elite swimming championships as well as the completion of 11 Ironman-distance triathlons, during which he reduced his finishing time from 14:46 to 10:38. In cycling, John has more than 20 first place finishes in master’s competition in Oregon’s extremely competitive racing scene and has placed in the top 8 in all but one of the US Master’s Cycling championship he’s attended, with four podium finishes.

John is a professional bike fitter, with 16 years expertise in optimizing riding positions and solving such issues as knee, hip and foot pain utilizing bike fit systems such as WobbleNaught, Specialized and his own observations. He has also has spent many seasons as a working athlete, planning workouts so they best fit with the work day, taking advantage of limited time available -- a practice that requires balance, discipline, dedication and flexibility, and a practice that he helps his clients to achieve. 

John's comprehensive knowledge of training for success in sports is collected from numerous coaches, books, articles, formal classes, seminars, and interaction with other athletes over his long career. That knowledge isn’t just about the physical aspects of training, but includes the many factors needed for realization of one’s full athletic potential. He believes there are three basic principles for a successful athlete:

1. A structured physical training program incorporating specific active work in the sport, core and strength, and a disciplined stretching program.

2. Proper attention to nutrition and rest. Here, he includes pre-race, event and recovery nutrition as well as day-to-day diet. He believes athletes must reach and maintain a healthy weight and will suggest dietary means to that end. In short, John believes a competent coach has as much responsibility for telling you what not to do as what to do.

3. Finally, a successful athlete maintains his/her equipment. No matter how well trained you are, if your equipment fails due to improper care, you will not reach your goals.

In addition to his experience in endurance sports, John has a PhD in Literature from UC Berkeley and earned a BA in History at UCLA, where he was a top swimmer. He lives in Portland with his partner Linore and their four cats. If you are ready for the next step in your athletic development contact John Forbes, a Wenzel coach.

To inquire about working with John please click here! >>>