It’s an absolute pleasure to be a Best Athletics Coach. Joining the club in 2021 was one of the best decisions of my life and it’s an honour to represent the badge that so many fantastic runners now wear. And now, as a coach, I’m here to help you make it one of the best decisions you will ever make.
Having always focused on team sports, including Rugby and Cricket, I’ve now been running for over 6 years. I was an amatuer boxer at Uni, so running was a staple part of my daily training. It wasn’t until I left boxing in 2017 that I began to find my feet as a runner, as many of the characteristics of running training and performance gave me the same fire that I found in boxing. I completed my first half marathon in 1 hour 38 minutes in 2017 and my first marathon in 3 hours 31 minutes in 2018, but it wasn’t until the solitude of lockdown where I really began to understand what my mind and body were capable of completing a 100km challenge around London in 9 hours 56 minutes.
It was at this point that I found myself hitting a plateau in my training, so I joined Best Athletics for coaching support towards my goal of a sub 3 hour marathon at Brighton in September 2021. Through a personalized, structured and professional approach to my plan provided by Coach Nick, and through training with an amazing group of people in the club I sailed comfortably to a new marathon personal best of 2 hours 55 minutes coming 42nd overall.
I’ve since pushed this more recently at the Rome Marathon coming 59th with a time of 2 hours 49 minutes, with a tidy half marathon PB to accompany it of 77 minutes at Hampton Court. The best thing for me is that I’ve never classed myself as a ‘typical’ runner. I’m not built like a runner (more like a rugby player!), and had one too many packets of prawn cocktail crisps back in the day! I’ve never been ‘naturally gifted’, the quickest, fastest or anything special. All of the above has been achieved through hard-work, commitment and self-belief that I can push myself beyond my limits. And now it’s your turn.
What I’ve achieved is more than just these good times to my name. The thing with personal bests is that there will always be more of them, and they in reality are just the end result. For me, it’s the benefits of the process of working towards these goals that is the real Nirvana of running. I believe that running is so much more than just a sport - it’s an inclusive lifestyle for absolutely anyone. Running is indiscriminate, no matter your age or ability, it’s about becoming a fitter, healthier and happier version of you.
And that's why I’m now beginning my journey into coaching. I want to help as many people as I can to reap the same rewards from running. And that is my commitment to you as a coach - to help you to thrive as a person through your running and push you to new limits. I’m not just here to help you get shiny medals or PBs, (although that is still definitely important!). I'm here to help you to become a better you; whether that’s completing your first event, running a new PB, running in memory of someone, motivation to step outside in your trainers day after day, building your knowledge of running or just to enjoy your running, whatever your aim, my job is to help you achieve it. I believe the benefits of running can filter over into other aspects of life to help you to become the best version of you (and you’re already awesome!). Together, we’ll use discipline, commitment, control, flexibility, teamwork and many more tools to help you to achieve your goals.
So whether you’re running your first 5k, or attempting your first marathon, just aiming to finish an event or aiming for a specific time, it’s my commitment to you to equip you with the right tools and knowledge to not only get you over the finish line, but to love how you got there
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