June 2023
Wow, here we are again! How lucky am I to be able to write yet another athlete of the month award! And this one is an absolute cracker! This month's award goes to the incredible Laura Farmar, who alongside winning the award for attending as many hen do’s and weddings as she does track sessions, has had an outstanding first half of 2023 in terms of her running.
I first started coaching Laura at the Run Through Running Club in Clapham, where her potential was sitting waiting to be unlocked. With the London marathon in her sights, Laura had a personal target of a Good for Age time in her sights (<3:45 hours), but after seeing her demolish the interval sessions I was setting on Monday nights, I was convinced she could do so much more. With her positive attitude and dedication to her craft, I was utterly thrilled when Laura I caught the bouquet that Laura was throwing when she made the big commitment… no not of proposing.. but of placing her London marathon training plan in my hands! I knew Laura could do great things, so I’m very grateful to her for giving me the opportunity which we clasped with both hands. After a long and hard block, Laura breezed over the line in 3 hours and 18 minutes, which was an amazing result and nearly 30 minutes faster than her original objective.
At the other end of the racing distance Laura has always had her sights set on the sub 20 minute 5km milestone. This in many ways can be a tougher race distance to crack for both male and female athletes, but can be so especially for female athletes due to the power and speed required to maintain a sub 4:00 minute kilometre pace for the entire 5km. Laura worked meticulously hard in her speed, tempo and hill sessions, where we programmed 5km specific paces to get her working at the 4:00 min per km pace and below. This meant we were regularly building the strength and endurance to be able to hold it for the entire distance. True to her Run Through roots, it was only fitting that she reached this milestone at the 5km event hosted by RT in Battersea in June, with a chip time of 19:56.
Next up, we’ve got our sights set on the Royal Parks Half and then Valencia Marathon, where I can’t wait to see what Laura can do once again. One thing is for sure, the commitment, effort and dedication will be there.
Well done Laura on being June’s Athlete of the Month!
Coach Dan
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