Credo Tri App Brings Motivation—and the Pros—to Your Phone

Picture this: waking up next to a pro triathlete. No, not like that. Like this:

“If you are thinking of skipping your workout today, if that inner voice is telling you to sleep in, tell that inner voice ‘This is not how we win races!’” multi-time Ironman 70.3 winner Romain Guillaume exclaims via video. 

Guillaume goes on to give a tip about maintaining good run form when tired, and then the one-minute video ends. 

The Credo Tri app, which officially launched in December 2020, aims to offer a dose of motivation instead of the cacophony of blaring alarms we so often use to wake us up at dark o’clock for our daily training session. 

Founded by veteran triathlete Heath Eskalyo and sports marketer and agent Lou Cantin, Credo Tri hopes to make those early-morning and late-night workouts a bit easier to log when the only person holding you accountable is, well, you.

“When my daughters were younger they’d go to bed and after that I’d head out for a run at nine or 10 o’clock at night,” said Eskalyo. “I always thought it would be helpful to have some triathlon-specific motivation I could instantly call on that would get me out the door for my specific training discipline that day.”

Enter, Credo Tri.

The app, which users must subscribe to for $7.99/month or $74.99/year, has four main features:

• Training-specific alarm clock with motivational and training tip videos
• Personalized message from a pro
• Ask a pro
• Virtual meet-up with a pro 

Here’s how it works: 

Subscribers to Credo Tri can view up to two inspirational videos per day via the training alarm clock. App users set their alarm right in the app and choose the discipline for which they’ll be training after the alarm goes off. Then, when it’s time to roll, a notification pops up allowing triathletes to view the video of encouragement. While users don’t get to choose who their video is from, rest assured it will be from someone with a credible triathlon background and words of wisdom to share.

For the other features like “ask a pro,” or “virtual meetup with a pro,” subscribers can pay an extra fee ranging from $45 to $1,000 to ask a specific pro or inspirational triathlete a question, book a virtual ride with a pro on Zwift or Rouvy, or schedule an online Zoom meeting about topics like nutrition or motivational speaking.

Credo Tri already has an impressive roster of professional triathletes and what they call “inspirers,” who are recognizable amateur names in the sport like Chris Nikic, the first person with Down Syndrome to complete an Ironman.

Legends like Dave Scott, Leanda Cave, and Sebastian Kienle are just a few of the 30 triathlon professionals who might very well be waiting to (virtually) greet you before your next training session.

“I’ve always learned so much from other pros during my career but I had to search in so many places to listen for advice and to find tips,” said 2012 Ironman world champion and Credo Tri Athlete Leanda Cave. “This is by far the best feature of Credo Tri: all the pros offering advice and motivation in one place.”

The app is particularly good for those athletes who chart their own course without a coach, or for those who work and train at odd hours and may not have a training buddy to make sure you actually show up for that swim set on Fridays. One caveat is that this kind of motivation has to work for you. For those who enjoy the camaraderie of face-to-face communication or being held accountable to an in-person coach, an app may not be the first choice.

With hundreds of videos—and more added every few months—you don’t have to worry about getting a recycled kick-in-the-butt from your favorite professional triathlete. 

The only thing you need to be concerned about is remembering to set an alarm. And of course, getting the training done is still up to you.