Pick the level of accountability your race deserves.
Three remote 1:1 tiers built on the same philosophy — only the depth of contact changes. Elite is capped at 4 athletes on purpose. Plus self-guided plans for athletes who want a proven blueprint.
12×
Boston qualifier
70.3
Ironman champ
11 yrs
Coaching
Section 01
Online 1:1 Coaching
100% remote. Every plan written by hand from your data — no algorithms, no templates. Coaching in English, Portuguese, or Spanish.
01 / 03Monthly
Essential Coaching
A real coach, fully custom plan, no fluff. Built for self-driven athletes.
$250/ 4 wks
$3,250 per year
Billed every 4 weeks, so 13 payments across a year, not 12. Cancel any time.
Included
Included: Fully custom weekly plan (run, bike, swim, strength)
Included: Plan rebuilt every 4 weeks from your actual training data
Included: Weekly written check-in + workout-by-workout review
Billed every 4 weeks, so 13 payments across a year, not 12. Annual totals above are the 4-week price × 13. Cancel any time.
Qualification
Which tier are you?
Place yourself honestly. Buying above your current training load is the most common mistake on this page, and it does not make you faster.
Qualification criteria for each coaching tier: the athlete it suits, current fitness, weekly training hours, the goal that justifies it, and when to choose a different tier.
Criterion
Essential$250 / 4 wks · $3,250 per year
Performance$350 / 4 wks · $4,550 per year
Elite$750 / 4 wks · $9,750 per year
Built for
Self-driven athlete who needs the plan, not the hand-holding
Athlete with a specific time goal and a date attached to it
Podium or qualification contender — capped at 4 athletes, by application
Current fitness
Already training consistently — 3 to 5 sessions a week for the last 3 months
One or more finishes at the distance, and a PR you are actively trying to beat
Currently finishing inside roughly the top 10% of your age group
Weekly hours
5 to 8 hours a week
8 to 15 hours a week
12 or more hours a week
Goal that justifies it
A marathon, half or 70.3 you want to run well, without a hard qualifying standard attached
A Boston qualifier, a sub-3, a first IRONMAN, or a 70.3 PR
A Kona slot, an OTQ, a sub-3 Boston, or a national-level age-group result
Choose another tier if
If you want same-day answers, calls or race-day pacing, go to Performance.
If you will not use the daily messaging or the monthly call, Essential does the same programming for less.
If that target is more than a season away, Performance is the honest choice and will not hold you back.
Which of these is actually right for you?
Four ways to train with this method, from $4.99 a month to $9,750 per year. Most visitors need a cheaper option than the one they arrived to buy.
This is for you if
1:1 coaching if you have a dated goal race, at least 5 training hours a week, and want a human rebuilding the plan around your actual life — from $3,250 per year.
Apex if you want an adaptive plan that reacts when a week falls apart, and you do not need a person to answer for it — $4.99 a month.
A self-guided plan if you already know how to train, your weeks are predictable, and you want a fixed proven block you own outright — one payment, from $35.
A free strategy call first if you genuinely cannot tell which of the three you need. Twenty minutes, no pitch.
This is not for you if
Do not buy 1:1 coaching if what you actually want is the plan document. That is a self-guided plan and it costs a fraction of the price.
Do not buy Elite at $9,750 per year unless you are already within reach of a Kona slot, a sub-3 Boston or an OTQ. Performance costs $5,200 less a year and uses the same method.
Do not buy Performance at $4,550 per year if you have no intention of using the daily messaging or the monthly call. Essential is $1,300 a year cheaper for the same programming.
Do not buy anything here if you need in-person coaching, physiotherapy, or a medical opinion on a current injury.
Do not budget for 12 payments. Coaching bills every 4 weeks, which is 13 payments a year.
Side-by-side
What's included.
Feature comparison of the three 1:1 coaching tiers — Essential ($250 per 4 weeks), Performance ($350 per 4 weeks) and Elite ($750 per 4 weeks). Each row lists one feature and whether it is included in each tier.
Feature
Essential Coaching$250 / 4 wks$3,250 per year
Performance Coaching$350 / 4 wks$4,550 per year
Elite Coaching$750 / 4 wks$9,750 per year
Custom weekly programming
Included
Included
Included
Plan rebuilt every 4 weeks
Included
Included
Included
Messaging access
Email, 1 business day
Daily, 24-hour reply
Same day, 7 days a week
1:1 video calls
Not included
Monthly
Weekly
Race-day pacing & fueling
Not included
Included
Included
Strength integration
Not included
Included
Included
Video form review
Not included
Included
Included
Race-day live coaching
Not included
Not included
Included
Lab / field testing protocol
Not included
Not included
Included
Roster cap
Open
Open
4 athletes
Compare all three side by side
Apex, a one-time training plan, or full 1:1 coaching — what you get with each.
Comparison of the three ways to train with Breno Melo — the Apex app, a one-time training plan, and 1:1 coaching. Each row names a feature and states whether it is included in each option.
Feature
Apex
Training Plan
1:1 CoachingMost effective
Custom training plan
—Not included
Templated
Included
TrainingPeaks delivery
—Not included
Included
Included
Weekly plan adjustments
—Not included
—Not included
Included
Daily coach messaging
—Not included
—Not included
Included
Video form review
—Not included
—Not included
Included
Race strategy + pacing call
—Not included
—Not included
Included
Nutrition + fuelling plan
—Not included
PDF guide
Included
Price
$4.99/month
From $65 one-time
$250 – $750 billed every 4 weeks
Section 02
Self-guided plans & consults
The same race-day frameworks used with private athletes — packaged so you can run them yourself. One-time payment, yours for good.
Cancel any time by email, with no notice period and no exit fee. Your current 4-week cycle finishes as normal and you are not billed again.
Refunds
Cycles already started are not refunded, because the plan for those weeks has already been written and delivered. If you cancel before the first session of a new cycle has been published, that cycle is refunded in full.
Pausing
You can pause for injury, illness, travel or life for up to 8 weeks a year at no cost, and your seat on the roster is held. Tell me before the next cycle bills. Beyond 8 weeks the seat goes to the waitlist and you rejoin when there is space.
Price changes
Your rate is fixed for as long as you stay coached continuously. Published prices only apply to new athletes.
Apex — refunds, cancellation and pausing
Cancelling
One click in the app, no email and no retention call. You keep access until the end of the period you have paid for.
Refunds
Cancel within 14 days of your first payment for a full refund, monthly or annual. After that, the current period is not refunded and billing simply stops.
Before you pay
The free tier covers onboarding, your first plan, one adaptive replan and three coach messages. No credit card is required to reach that point, so you can see the product before spending anything.
Your data
Export your plans and training history at any time, including after you cancel. Delete your account and the data goes with it.
Self-guided plans — refunds and cancellation
One payment
There is no subscription and no account to cancel. You pay once and the plan is yours.
Refunds
Plans are digital and delivered instantly, so sales are final once the download link is issued. If the file does not open, is not what the page described, or you bought the wrong distance, email within 14 days and it is refunded or swapped.
Pausing
Nothing to pause. The plan sits in your account and you can start it whenever you are ready.
You get an intake questionnaire by email within minutes of checkout. It covers your race calendar, training history, injury history, weekly life load, and the equipment and devices you train with. Once you send it back we schedule a 30-minute kickoff call, and your first training week is loaded into TrainingPeaks within 48 hours of that call. Nothing is templated: the first block is written by hand from your answers and your recent data.
Can I switch tiers later?
Yes, and most athletes do at least once a season. Upgrades take effect immediately and are pro-rated for the days remaining in your current 4-week cycle, so you start getting the extra calls and messaging access the same day. Downgrades take effect at your next renewal date so you keep the service level you already paid for. Just email the coaching desk and the change is made the same business day.
How do cancellations work?
Cancel any time by emailing breno@brenoamelo.com. There is no notice period, no cancellation fee, and no minimum term. You keep full access to coaching, messaging, and your plan through the end of the 4-week cycle you have already paid for, and the next payment simply does not run. Your completed training history stays in your TrainingPeaks account permanently, and you can export everything before you go.
Is a self-guided plan enough on its own?
For many athletes, yes. If you have run the distance before, have a clear goal race, no significant injury history, and you are comfortable adjusting a session when life gets in the way, a structured self-guided plan will get you a long way. Choose 1:1 coaching instead if you need the plan adapted around unpredictable work or travel, you are coming back from injury, you are chasing a specific qualifying standard, or you want someone reviewing every workout and telling you when to back off.
How does billing every 4 weeks work?
Coaching is billed on a rolling 4-week cycle rather than a calendar month, because training blocks run in 4-week cycles. That works out to 13 payments per year instead of 12. Your card is charged automatically on the same weekday every fourth week, you get a receipt by email each time, and you can cancel at any point before the next charge. Prices are in US dollars and there is no setup fee.
Do you coach athletes outside the US?
Yes. Coaching is 100% remote and the roster spans North America, Europe, and South America. Everything runs asynchronously through TrainingPeaks and messaging, so time zones are not a problem, and live calls are booked in a slot that works for you. Coaching is delivered in English, Portuguese, or Spanish, and pace, distance, and temperature targets are given in metric or imperial, whichever you use.
What platforms do you deliver plans on?
Your plan lives in TrainingPeaks, which syncs automatically to Garmin, Wahoo, Coros, Polar, Suunto, and Zwift, so structured workouts land on your watch or head unit before you leave the house. Completed sessions flow back for review. Strava sync is supported for athletes who prefer it, and any plan can also be delivered as a PDF and an .ICS calendar file. You do not need a paid TrainingPeaks account.
What happens if I get injured mid-block?
Tell me as soon as something feels wrong. Your plan is rewritten within 24 hours around what you can still do — usually cross-training, pool running, cycling, and targeted strength — so you hold fitness instead of losing the block. If you need to pause entirely, coaching can be frozen for up to 8 weeks at no charge and resumed where you left off. If a referral to a physio or sports doctor makes sense, you get one, and I coordinate the return-to-run progression with them.
