Kotcha is live: your AI running coach, built with Eliud Kipchoge

Kotcha is live. Starting today, October 23, 2025, our AI running coach is available worldwide on the App Store. It's built with Eliud Kipchoge and the NN Running Team, and it's made for runners training for anything from a 10K to a marathon. Instead of a fixed 12-week PDF, you get a plan that's rebuilt every week around how you actually trained and how you feel, plus a coach you can talk to before and after every run.

From Kaptagat to the starting line

This started in February 2025, in Kaptagat, Kenya. We met Eliud, his coach Patrick Sang and the team at their training camp. We shared the same idea of what running is about, and Eliud became our co-founder. We planted trees together at the camp to seal it.

In April, right after the London Marathon, we sat down with Eliud and Patrick again to review our first designs. Then came the private beta. Through the late summer and early fall, beta runners tested the app on their own training. They got Apple Watch workouts, a daily message from Coach K on the Home screen, and race-pace estimates when they asked questions like "how fast can I run a 10K?".

We timed the launch with Eliud's first NYC Marathon. As he puts it: "Running is a team sport." Kotcha is our way of giving every runner a team.

What your AI running coach does on day one

A plan that adapts every week. Real coaches don't write your week 9 in detail on day one, and neither do we. Every Sunday, Coach K reviews your week and plans the next one. You unlock your new week on Sunday at 6 PM local time, or earlier if you've finished all your workouts.

It starts with how you feel. When the week ends, the coach first asks how it went. That's the most important input for next week. Then you see the workouts you completed, your weekly metrics, a fitness and fatigue chart, and your plan for the week ahead. If you say you're overly tired, the coach removes at least one workout so you can recover properly.

Missed runs aren't a failure. Life happens. Missed workouts are taken into account and the next week adapts automatically.

A brief before, a debrief after. Before each session, you get a brief on what you're about to run and why. After it, the coach debriefs the run, so you know what went well and what changes next time.

Four coaches in your pocket. Your head coach works alongside a nutritionist, a data analyst and a personal trainer. Ask anything, anytime: training, recovery, pacing, fueling.

Your watch, synced both ways. Kotcha works with Garmin and Apple Watch. Your session shows up on your wrist, and your run flows back into the app automatically.

Why weekly beats fixed

Most running apps are a digital version of the old one-size-fits-all plan. They tweak your paces and that's it. Kotcha starts from how elite coaches work: a clear structure for the whole build, then each week planned in detail based on your consistency, how far your goal is and how you felt.

That's the logic Eliud has followed for years with Patrick Sang. We can't put Patrick behind every runner. But we can take the way he thinks about a week of training and make it available to anyone with an iPhone.

You can read the full story on our Our Story page.

How to get it

Download Kotcha on the App Store, pick your goal (10K, half marathon or marathon), connect your Garmin or Apple Watch, and your first week is ready. There's a free trial week, so you can try the coaching before you commit. Kotcha is on iPhone for now.

FAQ

What is an AI running coach?

It's a coach that builds and adjusts your training with AI, based on your data and what you tell it. In Kotcha, it plans each week, briefs and debriefs your runs, and answers your questions at any time.

Is Kotcha really based on Eliud Kipchoge's method?

Yes. Kotcha was built with Eliud Kipchoge and the NN Running Team, who shared their coaching methods with us. More answers on our FAQ.

Which watches work with Kotcha?

At launch, Garmin and Apple Watch. Workouts go to your watch, and completed runs come back into the app.