Success Stories

Chrissie got in touch after running an 8-minute PB at the London marathon, completing it in 4:11:24, and now wanted to crack 4 hours with a 16-week training plan.

Just before we started in June, a nasty chest infection scuppered Chrissie’s training and took away the option of a test run or race to gauge her current fitness. This meant making some assumptions, but from  our consultation call, we decided on goals and how to tweak as needed.

Chrissie worked incredibly hard through her plan, including a two week family holiday to Turkey, which she was nervous about from a training perceptive. We set realistic expectations which would maintain or improve fitness whilst getting plenty of important downtime.

In the build up to Yorkshire, Chrissie wanted to do a race to gauge her fitness from the training, which I agreed was a great idea. She ran a 10 mile PB of 1:22:26, three weeks before the marathon, which now projected 3 hours and 55 minutes.

Chrissie was always pushing the envelope in training, with some of her long runs up to 20 miles at near race pace. Despite a brilliantly consistent training period and well executed race plan, it was one of those days. Chrissie didn’t quite break 4 hours, but did run a big PB by 5 minutes, to finish in 4:06:32. I know Chrissie had it in her and that her determination will see her continue to improve. I’m immensely proud of her.

Quote from Chrissie

“Kyle’s coaching is motivating whilst realistic, he is understanding and genuinely the nicest man! I am excited to stand on the start line of Yorkshire marathon on Sunday knowing that Kyle’s coaching has put me in a great position to go for the 4 hours. I feel stronger, mentally and physically and he has given me so much confidence.”

In 2022 James ran his marathon PB in Manchester in 3:30:29, off the back of some good improvements, in part due to significant changes in his nutrition, and a little work we did together in Runner’s MOTs. 

In the intervening time, James continued to progress through hard work and consistency, despite the typical issues runners face in the form of illness and injuries, including ankle pain which we worked on.

When James approached me to start training in June for the Amsterdam marathon, we set out 16 weeks of training with a holiday to America and performing music gigs to work around. Regardless of these challenges, based on recent races, his “A” goal of the sub 3 marathon was a possibility. 

We made changes to his training and race nutrition, prioritised specific strength training and working on pace control to allow his potential to be shown. On race day, James went out ahead of our new 2:55 “A” goal pace, but was holding strong. When it got tough in the final 5 miles, James was able to control the slowing in his pace and run an incredible 2:52:46. 

I was nervous when I saw how fast James had started, but impressed by his determination and bravery to go for it. He thoroughly deserved the enormous 37 minute PB he achieved.

Mark and I knew each other from coaching together at the Norfolk Gazelles at the time.

He’d had a rough time of late, with injuries hindering his training for Paris and resulting in a 5:40:52 marathon.

Mark had been helped by his friend with sports massage and exercises, as well as advice to not run for 8 weeks to rest the injury after Paris was done.

With a 12-week start date in early July to get ready for the Berlin marathon, we booked Mark’s Runner’s MOT a month before so he could build into it and I could advise his return before the plan fully kicked in.

Since the jump in training would be so large, we changed the monthly calls to fortnightly, and worked on a run:walk strategy, which would be reviewed and progressed regularly.

Mark’s an ambitious, energetic and hard working guy, and often ran faster than we planned. We kept communicating, and made sure he was in no pain, so there was a balance of caution without holding him back unnecessarily.

Throughout training Mark had no issues, partly through his friend’s continued help, as well as Mark’s unwavering consistency with what we’d agreed for strength and mobility work.

When Berlin came, Mark had an absolute corker of a race. He ran an incredible 26-minute PB, finishing in 4:50:42, improving by 50-minutes over his time from Paris just 6 months before.

I was recommended to Matt by friends and clients from my old running club. He’d just run the Manchester marathon, achieving a very respectable 3:28:13, and wanted to improve this in Berlin.

When it came to initial testing, Matt’s strength was still the shorter distances around 5k despite his recent marathon training. The slight imbalance saw Matt run 2-minutes slower for the Dereham 10 mile race than we expected, right before coaching was due to start.

With Latitude festival in the early weeks, followed swiftly by getting Covid, Matt had a bumpy start. From here though, he really got into the training, and through our weekly coaching calls I could see his confidence and seriousness grow.

We added weekly nutrition support as Matt felt recent weight gain wasn’t helping his training and racing. Matt’s consistency and honesty was amongst the best I’ve ever seen, and rivalled anyone I’d helped during the 7 years I specialised in weight loss coaching.

Coupled with his work ethic and willingness to plan thoroughly, I knew Matt was in great shape for his PB.

In the German capital, Matt showed what he was made of and had earned, pushing on when the fatigue kicked in, to run a fantastic 3:22:10, improving his PB by 6 minutes in just 4 months of coaching.

Matt deserved every second of his progress, and I know he has big things to come.

Harry got in touch because of knee pain and swelling after running. From the consultation, there were some training factors such as weekly structure as well as Scoliosis of Harry’s spine, which a physio had helped with previously, but will always be a factor to consider.

We started with a hybrid version of a Runner’s MOT to assess his running gait as this seemed like the most likely contributor. Harry was overstriding, with a heel strike that would be loading his knee quite a lot, so we looked at drills to gradually change his leg movement in order to reduce this. Often a change in cadence is another approach, but Harry’s step rate was already very good.

The strength training from Harry’s physio was adjusted as well, with small tweaks to make it slightly more dynamic and running specific. We also added foot and ankle exercises for around 5 minutes per day with the aim of improving strength and stability in the areas, allowing better and more confident landing at a subconscious level.

Harry was really sensible and patient with progressing his run distances, and at the second session, 4 weeks later, was only experiencing mild discomfort after slightly longer runs, having stuck well to the exercises and mobility work.

After just 8 weeks and 3 treatments, Harry was back to interval running and was close to PBs in a couple of races despite taking them easier.

Jack had run a fantastic 2:47:07 in the 2022 London Marathon, but was looking to crack 2:45:00, for his return in Spring 2023, so he got in touch for a 12-week training plan.

We started with a Runner’s MOT and set up drills, mobility and strength training to compliment the running sessions we’d be setting. Jack was careful in his selection of races during the training block, keen to focus on the marathon.

With a great run at the Wymondham 20 resulting in a 12 minute PB, Jack’s hard work both before the training plan and during, really paid off. Training maxed out at 54 miles per week with a focus on quality rather than quantity of sessions. Aside from keeping training realistic for family and work life, it meant training was low-risk whilst still being productive.

In London, Jack ran with a club mate and excellently paced the marathon to finish in 2:42:52, a PB of 4 minutes and 15 seconds.

I’m confident Jack will continue to improve, breaking the 2:40 barrier in the not-too-distant future.

Having secured a charity place in the 2023 London Marathon, Melanie attended an online workshop I co-hosted and was seeking some guidance. Having run a virtual marathon in 5:02 back in 2019, this would be Melanie’s first official marathon.

We had 16 weeks to get ready, factoring in weekly hockey training and several Saturday matches as well. From Melanie’s Runner’s MOT, we added only a small amount of additional strength and mobility work to what she was doing with her physiotherapist.

Throughout the training, Melanie progressed very well, sticking to the plan and taking on board the small adjustments to nutrition. PBs over 10 miles and half marathon put her on for a cracking time and running 2:56:34 comfortably at the Wymondham 20 put Melanie on for her sub 4 hour marathon target.

In London, a combination of watch syncing issues and speeding up to catch a friend from a different wave, meant the first few miles were closer to half marathon pace, but Melanie settled this back to target pace after this and maintained sub 4 pace until mile 17. A tough end to the marathon where Melanie held on and dug in, saw her run 4:12:03. Not what we both know she’s capable of, but a huge and well deserved 50 minute PB.

I have no doubt that sub 4 is well within Melanie’s capabilities on the right day, and long term I’m sure she’ll surpass this comfortably.

Kevin was recommended to me by his physiotherapist and massage therapist, both of whom were able to get us started off on the right foot, as well as keeping Kevin moving well throughout his training.

The 2022 London marathon hadn’t gone well for Kevin, with shoe issues meaning he battled to the finish line in 6 hours 32 minutes. London in 2023 would be Kevin’s 60th marathon, and he wanted to make it a much better experience, so he opted to for the 1-2-1 coaching package which involves a weekly strength training session.

We had 6 months to race day, so we set about solving some of the footwear problems, increasing fueling and focusing first on his running speed having just been through a marathon block. Within weeks Kevin was able to run a 10k test run as the same pace as his initial 5k test. We had the speed needed, so we began to work on the endurance side of Kevin’s fitness as well as his posture and movement, particularly in the weekly strength sessions.

Kevin made excellent dietary changes, seeing him lose over a stone in weight through healthy and long term sustainable habits from January to April. I really admire Kevin’s attention to detail and planning in his training, which included mapping out each week’s long run route to make these challenging but sensible.

The London marathon arrived, and our fueling strategy of gels and drinks didn’t quite pan out due to very small cups of Lucozade being supplied by the race, meaning carb intake wasn’t in our control. As a result, Kevin didn’t quite hit the sub 5 hour time we know he’s capable of. Nevertheless, he worked himself hard to finish in 5:09:26, a whopping 1 hour and 22 minutes faster than he’d run 6 months before.

We move forward now to Chester marathon, with continual improvements in strength, endurance and movement being key to Kevin’s success, as well as building upon the race day nutrition strategies to be self-reliant.

6 months before London, we began with a 12 week training plan focusing on speed. Throughout this time, Kim improved her 10k from 56:59 all the way to 52:42. This brought her projected marathon time down from 4:21 to 4:04. 

With a marathon PB of 4:59 from Amsterdam in 2019, Kim was on for a huge improvement in London.  During Kim’s second Runner’s MOT, we saw excellent changes in her running technique based on her consistent hard work doing the strength and mobility work we set. In the marathon block, there was a focus on increasing the distance of the long runs, with mid-week runs at half marathon to marathon pace, plus a couple of easy runs each week. 

Even with a business to run and family demands, Kim managed to get the vast majority of training done each week and her hard work really paid off, which showed at the Wymondham 20 where she ran 3:05:07 with a beautifully executed negative split. 

Fast forward the final 4 weeks, and in London Kim ran a brilliant 4:05:40, with a very even pace having again executed the race plan to the letter. A PB of over 53 minutes is astonishing. From switching out some exercises classes to more specific strength work, and adjusting mid-run fueling, Kim got on with it from day one, so every bit of success was deserved after her effort and commitment over the last 6 months. 

A mutual friend introduced me to Rachel, to help her prepare for her marathon debut in London in 4 months’ time. 

It would be a big jump up in both training and distance for Rachel, but from our first meeting it was clear she was very driven and willing to put in the hard graft needed. We agreed a target range of 3:45-4 hours based on her paces over shorter distances and the inevitable slowing down that a marathon brings.

On top of running her own business and family life, Rachel had an incredibly busy period during training, with extensive building works taking place meaning a lack of space hampered some of the mobility work, causing some knee pain to kick in. After an initial assessment, I referred Rachel to my sports massage therapist as I didn’t have any availability, and they worked together well to keep on top of this whilst Rachel continued training and we eased off the intensity.

Throughout the training block, we focused on tweaking nutrition and hydration for great long runs and recovery. It was impressive how Rachel got on so diligently with this and made the necessary adjustments, giving me feedback on how she found things.

The day arrived and Rachel’s knee pain wasn’t an issue, but hip soreness appeared, likely from the hard descent at mile 3 with a fast pace. Despite this, Rachel battled on and ran a fantastic time of 3:53:28 in her first ever marathon. A great result to be immensely proud of.

Switching her focus from ultra marathon running in mid-2022, to achieving a marathon PB in 2023, Claire and I set about two 12-week training blocks. The first
focused on speed, seeing Claire improve her 10k time improve from 47:04 to a 43:31 PB, and then an astonishing 1:35:02 half marathon, improving her PB by 12 minutes.

During Claire’s speed work block, her marathon projection dropped from 3:36:46 to 3:21:47. Work and family demands meant we’d have to scale back on some of the training we’d planned as she headed into the second, marathon-specific training block, so we set 3:20-3:25 as the target range for Manchester.  We’d planned in the Cambridge half marathon 6 weeks into the marathon block, to gauge Claire fitness over longer distances, and she ran another PB, improving her half marathon time from 1:44:51 to 1:35:02.

Claire does everything will full effort and commitment, and was understandably frustrated and concerned when her ankle became painful during a term of teaching netball several times per week. The impact caused significant tightness which we managed through sports massage treatments and additional mobility work for Claire to do at home, but still had to carry on with her active job role and family busy lifestyle.

Being someone who’s always on the go, it was great to see Claire follow the plan so well in the taper, so she could give her best effort in the Manchester marathon.

On race day, Claire started a little ahead of the pacing plan, holding this until mile 12 when the ankle issue began to flare up and meant the pace had to drop. Regardless, Claire dug deep, pushed on and ran a fantastic 3:23:38. This was not only a PB of over 11 minutes since London 2022, but a huge 20 minutes in a year since Manchester 2022.

Over the course of 24 weeks, Claire managed to improve her times for 10k, half marathon and the marathon, showing that hard work with a periodised approach to training really does create huge success.

I met Paul several years ago through the club I ran with at the time. In 2022, he approached me for a package of 3 Runner’s MOTs but before the first one, he sustained an injury and subsequently didn’t manage to finish the Southampton marathon. I recommended a physiotherapist and some exercises to work alongside this, and our follow-ups saw improvement for Paul. Just 4 months later he was able to run a PB at the 2022 Abingdon marathon, completing it in 3:07:51.

In December 2022, we set about breaking the 3 hour barrier. Paul was honest, letting me know he wanted to work hard, with 3 cycle sessions per week to keep his bike fitness sharp from triathlons. Paul’s work meant training had to be moved around over the 12-week plan, but he did a good job of fitting the vast majority of training in.

During our calls Paul was upbeat and confident, but never let the training success make him complacent, even after running a 9-minute PB in the Oundle 20 mile race four weeks before his target marathon. He had a score to settle with Southampton.

The course at Southampton is very challenging, with double the elevation of London and Manchester. There were 20mph+ winds on the coast for race day as we knew might be the case, but despite this and the elevation, still managed an impressive 3:00:28, improving his PB by over 7 minutes.

Paul continues to have a hunger for improvement and will be moving to a coaching package for his triathlon season and build up to Dublin marathon.

Claire was referred by a friend I’d recently helped. She’d been experiencing knee pain during a 5k race, in a knee she’d fractured and had complications with 7 years before. With several races coming up for the next few months, Claire’s goal was to be able to at least complete these, and build to the Cambridge half marathon.

After a consultation around her current training, an abbreviated gait analysis and some treatment in her first session, we agreed on 3 exercises and some mobility training to be done 3 days per week, as well as parameters for running and cycling.

We started with two further sessions a week apart, before moving to three weeks since Claire had been able to run 10k at near race pace without pain. Claire had a Runner’s MOT one month after the initial consultation so we progressed and swapped some of the exercises, and began a training plan to guide her return to harder training, pushing for a personal best of 1:45 or faster at the Cambridge half marathon in 2023.

Within 7 weeks of the first session, Claire ran a 10k PB, followed by 5 more races over the following 8 weeks, including another 10k PB of over a minute, and a 10 mile PB. These came within the first 4 weeks of a return to full training, with Claire’s commitment to the plan, paces, strength training and attention to detail being key to her success.

Fast forward to the Cambridge half marathon, and Claire had a brilliant race running, 1:40:54. A huge, 32 minute PB.

Quote from Claire

“I initially approached Kyle, for help with an injury.  After some great progress, I asked Kyle to write me a training plan for the Cambridge half marathon.  I also had a runners MOT which helped to set a baseline and understand my areas for improvement. I am now well into my training and have seen huge improvements in my strength and speed. Kyle has been supportive and his advice and expertise is helping me to grow as a runner and understand how to get the best out of myself.”

Kevin was referred to me for heel and calf pain he’d had for 3 months. He’d tried some remedies, and reduced from 60 miles per month to around 20-25 miles per month, without improvement. We did an initial assessment of Kevin’s running style, some stretches and strength tests.

In the first session, we used some advanced massage and stretching techniques. From the treatment, we agreed on a few exercises to do daily, plus some home massage work to reduce the number of sessions Kevin would need whilst ensuring faster progress.

Two weeks later, Kevin was able to run 5k in under 25 minutes for the first time in months, and was almost completely pain free. With 2 treatments over 4 weeks, Kevin was back to running without heel or calf pain and had begun increasing his weekly mileage again. During this Kevin was able to run 52:15 for the Marriott’s Way 10k, 52:04 at Run Norwich, then 50:34 at the East Coast 10k. Kevin also took 1st place in his age category at the Big Stampede 5k, running 24:42 on a twisty course.

Kevin was so pleased, that we moved on to a recurring hamstring grumble he’d had and just 2 months after treatment began for his initial pains, Kevin was up to 80 miles per month, helping him close in on PBs.

Quote from Kevin

“I’ve been amazed at just how quickly Kyle got me running again pain free. I’d never competed in Run Norwich previously and it didn’t look like I’d even make the starting line let alone finish with the time I did before we began. It’s been easy to complete my ‘homework’ consisting of a few, easy to understand exercises, to the extent that I took them with me on a recent holiday. The rewards have been fantastic with a big improvement in my 10k time and a 23.39 Parkrun last week which was over a minute ahead of my time four weeks previously. I still feel there’s ‘more in the tank’ as I slowly get back to full fitness. It also does wonders for my mental well-being – thanks Kyle.”

Jason was pointed in my direction by his brother-in-law, a friend who coaches at Wymondham AC. Having trained for triathlons, Jason was used to a lot of training. We kept weekly swim sessions, and worked on his cadence, identified from Garmin data and his Runner’s MOT. Jason was hard working and diligent in his training, paying attention to details and being open to making changes.

Through the Online Coaching PLUS package, we had a monthly workout session, allowing us to improve technique and progress the various drills, mobility work and exercises set.

Jason ran a very smart marathon, following the race plan we set out and running a fantastic 2:57:13, a 6-minute PB, 6 years on from his last marathon PB.

Quote from Jason

“I started working with Kyle 13 weeks before the race. We identified areas of my form that we could work on via strength work and drills. On race day I absolutely felt the benefits of this groundwork, I felt strong. Strength work and drills is something I’d paid lip service to previously as it’s not something you can put on Strava, and if it’s not on Strava does it count? (turns out that it absolutely does).

Kyle was there at any point if I needed any additional advice and support throughout, with really useful advice and insight to strategy on the day. I really enjoyed the sessions that were set for me and found that the “effort sessions” were always pushing me.”

Before coaching, and after just a year of training, Ashley was running 1 hour 22 for a half marathon and had his sights on running under 3 hours for his first marathon.

Ashley trained hard, but had several viruses which hampered training, a result of having had pneumonia years ago and his daughter starting nursery this year. When Ashley was running, he had great speed-endurance, and was able to run 20 miles at sub 3 hour pace. It came at a cost however, as his knee started to ache. Come race day the knee meant a 3:16:16 marathon debut which wasn’t reflective of his capability.

Fast forward a Summer of brilliantly consistent and patient training, as well as collaboration with a great physiotherapist, and Ashley went to Amsterdam for his second marathon. We set up a race plan that would leave a little in the tank and secure a  time that represented his fitness. The race would use cups, so we opted for the hydration vest as the safer option to ensure enough fluids. Ashley executed the strategy to the letter, sticking perfectly to a conservative pace for  the first 16 miles, before stepping it up to run a negative split and finish in 2:53:16, an enormous 23-minute PB.

Quote from Ashley

“Kyle’s been coaching me for about 15 months now and I can really see the benefits. I’ve had some ups and downs in fitness due to injury and illness but Kyle has been a steady rock throughout. Even when I was unable to run just 5 months ago Kyle set me versatile workouts on both the bike and cross trainer which really helped me stick to a plan and not lose much fitness even when not running.”

Jon was kindly pointed in my direction by client of mine who’s also a running coach and had helped Jon progress before.

A huge part of Jon’s motivation is his late-wife Rachel who sadly passed away in 2018, his two girls, his very supportive partner Joanne and Breast Cancer Now, the charity he was raising money for.

We had 4 months to race day, and in the first week Jon injured his groin during a hilly 10k race he’d planned for a long time. He had several other races booked, but Jon was very sensible in prioritising the marathon, so we reduced this.

Getting Covid meant another hit to training, as did a much-needed holiday after starting a new job in the first week of training, so it wasn’t the smoothest block of training. Nevertheless, Jon’s complete honesty and self-awareness was key to several good long runs, persevering through the abnormally hot and humid summer we experienced.

Jon was tough in the struggles we face in a marathon and managed to run 4:28:08, a brilliant 19-minute PB.

Quote from Jon

“Kyle proved to be a constant reassurance that things would work out. With Kyle’s help I achieved a 19 minute PB at this year’s London Marathon and if it wasn’t for cramp from mile 19 onwards it could have been so much more. Thanks to Kyle I have a new found belief in myself and looking forward to our next target . Thank you Kyle for all your help, so far.”

Amy worked hard during her training plan, but was hampered by a couple of viruses, an occupational hazard of Amy’s work with children in an outdoor nursery. This meant the longest run Amy was able to do was 17 miles, 3 weeks out from the London Marathon.

Amy run/walks, so in training we looked at finding the right speed of running and ratio of run/walk to get the best possible time. We varied this ratio across the different types of runs, and added strength training and drills to help create a more efficient running technique as well.

Foam rolling and stretching along with massages across the training block helped Amy recover well and avoid any bigger issues that can often occur in marathon training.

In the race, Amy ran brilliantly and was consistent throughout, finishing in 5:21:10, right in the middle of the time range we’d been looking at in training and achieving an incredible 34-minute PB.

Quote from Amy

“Despite missing some long runs which was really frustrating, Kyle continued to be extremely supportive and made changes to my training plan to be as effective and safe as possible. I’m thrilled with my finish time but even more so with the consistency of my pace throughout, which is a result of a great training plan and coach. I’m really looking forward to building on my London Marathon success.”

Claire got in touch two weeks after her fantastic win and course record for the Angles Way 100k, with pain and a grinding sensation in her knee which had cropped up during the event and hadn’t improved since. This was particularly concerning for Claire as she had an 18 mile trail run coming up, and the  Sandringham 24 hour event in 7 weeks, with the goal to run 100 miles.

After initial testing, there appeared to be no joint damage or injury, so we focused on improving the muscles and fascia through massage, stretching techniques and foam rolling, whilst also building endurance and strength in areas which had small weaknesses and imbalances.

I set Claire two strength exercises, as well as some daily changes to her seated positions and balance work to improve her foot and ankle strength ready for the trails. As I expected with Claire, she stuck to the guidance brilliantly and was pain free with two treatments in 4 weeks even whilst increasing her mileage for the upcoming 24 hour race. 

Fast forward to 7 weeks from her first treatment and Claire nailed the race, running 113 miles, finishing 1st female and 2nd overall, with only the aches you’d expect from such a momentous feat of endurance.

Quote from Claire

“I could barely run 5 miles without the niggle flaring up. I was recommended to Kyle by my friend for sports massage. He definitely knows his stuff and the exercises he recommended have been great. With so many events coming up I will be carrying on with the appointments and exercises as this has helped me so much.”

Amanda got in touch looking for help in preparing for the 2022 Manchester marathon. She’d previously run a couple of marathons with her PB being 4:55:38 in the 2020 Virtual London Marathon.

Better pacing was Amanda’s primary goal, so after a Runner’s MOT we set about increasing strength to maintain speed in the latter miles. Good strategy and knowing the correct paces was another key element, so we closely tracked and analysed her runs, particularly the long runs.

Amanda’s most recent long run being 10 miles, we had 9 weeks before her taper. This meant a steady build up of long runs, and two 5 mile runs mid-week working around a full-time job in the NHS and looking after her two children. 

In the final weeks Amanda ran 19 and 20 miles at sub 10:40/mile. We set a realisitic target for pace in Manchester and after the finish Amanda said she had more left, having saved energy for the final 10k which were some of her fastest miles. Despite this, Amanda ran 4:48:34, a PB of over 7 minutes and with great pacing meaning that just 33 seconds covered all but the two hilliest miles.

Quote from Amanda

“I highly recommend Kyle to all runners – the happy plodder and the elites. His service is unique to anything else I’ve seen and his commitment to his clients is incredible.”

Justine had run one marathon when she asked me to help her train to support a friend on her first marathon in Manchester. Justine’s main goal was to avoid injury from Chronic Exertional Compartment Syndrome. 

We focused on how Justine ran and moved, with corrective exercises, drills, stretching and foam rolling. She worked hard in our weekly strength sessions and outside of these, with only the occasional missed workout or easy run when work demands took over.

In the final weeks before Manchester, Justine received an unexpected place in the London marathon. We discussed the challenge of two marathons in a week and she went for it, run/walking London with a friend and soaking up the atmosphere.

One week later, after some stretching, rolling and easy runs, Justine was on the streets of Manchester supporting her friend. Their target time was 5-5.5 hours and they ran the whole way, completing a much tougher than promoted new course in 4 hours 55 minutes.

Next, Justine’s taking on a marathon in Spring 2022 with the target of reducing her PB from 4 hours 35 minutes, a goal I have no doubt she’ll work hard for and achieve. I can’t wait to see her success.

I met Hilary through the running club we were members at. She’d run her first marathon in 2019 in 4 hours and 1 minute, so when we began in August 2020, she was looking to run faster for her next race which didn’t have a set date due to Covid-19.

Nevertheless we tested Hilary’s current 10k fitness, and agreed on target times for a Spring 2021 marathon, with the ultimate goal being to run sub 3:45. Through each week of training she followed the plans to the letter, and engaged with the coaching to give me useful feedback so we could optimise the sessions.

The race date was pushed back meaning it would fall just 2 days after a road trip from Norwich to Edinburgh and back which we knew wouldn’t be ideal. There was heat, wind and a lack of crowds on most of the route making conditions tough, but Hilary battled it out on the day running 3:44:35, earning Good For Age entry to the London Marathon. She did it!

Quote from Hilary

“I have really enjoyed the structure and organisation Kyle has brought to my running. He has been a huge source of support and encouragement and I’m delighted with the time from Boston. Kyle is absolutely committed to doing his best for his clients and is just great to work with.”

Kate had run a marathon personal best of 3:43:58 in October, but felt she needed more structure to reach her marathon goals. When we started working together in December, we set sub 3:30 and sub 3:35 as her goals.

Kate needed more speed over shorter distances, so we focused on 10k work, before moving on to half marathon training, ahead of the marathon block. Through test runs, we saw Kate run unofficial personal bests over 10k, 10 miles and half marathon.

In the middle of the marathon block, the race date was shifted back from April to the end of May. Despite the challenges of a hot and windy day, Kate ran 3:33:28, a PB of over 10 minutes, a well earned result for her hard work and dedication in the previous 6 months of training.

Quote from Kate

“Kyle’s motivation, knowledge and dedication has helped to give me the support and structure to achieve my running goals this year. Kyle works really hard for his clients to help them achieve their potential and genuinely cares about those he’s working with. He’s a great coach and a lovely guy and he’s in-depth knowledge of his sport is hugely impressive.”

I’d known Kevin for 4 years before I began coaching him, and in this time he’d had a series of injuries that had stopped him reaching the heights he was capable of. Through a Runner’s MOT, we identified adjustments to avoid the issues whilst still allowing for effective training.

Having started with an initial 10 mile test run of 1:00:08, we agreed on sub 2:45 as a target, with flexibility in moving it forwards as he became fitter. Kevin followed the weekly plans perfectly, remaining injury free by adding strength training, technique drills and mobility, alongside a reduction in mileage and an increase in specificity of running sessions.

Prior to coaching, Kevin’s marathon PB was 2:55:08 from 2017. Despite hot and windy conditions in Boston, he ran 2:35:47, claiming 12th place, 1st in the 45-49 age category and a club record for the distance. It was an incredible achievement in just 4 months and proof of his consistent efforts.

Quote from Kevin 

“I have been running competitively for many years, but at this point (45) I feel as fit, fast and strong as I ever have.  This is 100% down to the professionalism of Kyle, the effort he puts in, the consistency of his training methods and support.”

Suzanne approached me after a Runner’s MOT to help her. She had recently run 4 hours 32 minutes for the Loch Ness marathon and wanted to run her next marathon in close to 4 hours.

A fall in the early weeks of coaching led to 4 weeks out, then Covid-19 hit and all of Suzanne’s races were pushed back. We kept to a maintainable training load, ready for Paris in October… then that was cancelled.

After a week or two of easier training, it was time to increase mileage ready to give it her best shot at a virtual marathon in November.

When the day for her marathon arrived, Suzanne did a great job, breaking a 6 year stalemate with the marathon by finishing in 4:08:09. A 4 minute PB and 24 minute improvement over her last marathon despite a tougher course and non-racing conditions.

Suzanne plans to continue improving her times from this solid foundation.

Michelle had never run a marathon before October 2020, and although the London Marathon being virtual wasn’t what we’d hoped for, Michelle worked hard regardless.

We’d worked together through Runner’s MOTs every 8 weeks from late 2018 to mid 2019 when Michelle took a break due to a change in her personal circumstance. Throughout this break though, Michelle continued following the advice I’d given her. During our previous work we’d taken her half marathon and 10 miles times down by several minutes each, but when I asked Michelle to run a 10k test run in June, I was astonished at her progress to be able to now run 47:05.

In October, Michelle ran the Virtual London Marathon on a tough route with challenging weather in 3:45:51. I was so pleased for her and impressed by her work throughout training.

We’ve since set a new target of 3 hours 35 minutes for London 2021.

“…Kyle is always there for advice and is the most friendly, supportive coach I have ever had the pleasure to work with!”.

James stopped by my studio in June, after his Manchester marathon in April. We started working together in August but training had reduced due to work demands, so we set a target of 3:36 for New York in November.

We started with a Runner’s MOT to look at how James ran, his strength and flexibility, then set a plan to improve these factors. Training wouldn’t be ideal as James travels with work, meaning some runs would be missed and jet lag would have an impact too.

Over the next 2 months however, James did a great job with his training and our sessions together, and in New York managed a new PB of 3:26:45. The incline of the course is 7 times that of Berlin where he set his previous PB in 2017, and 5 times that of Manchester where he ran 3:36 in April.

To say I was proud of James for all he achieved in this time would be an understatement.

Daniel approached me in May to get him ready for the Robin Hood 100 mile ultramarathon in just 4 months. It was a tall order as his A goal was sub 21hrs with the B goal of sub 24hrs, and it would be his first ultra.

Daniel worked incredibly hard, and was 100% committed, not missing a single run. On the big day he did amazingly well, finishing in 20hrs 51mins, placing 8th out of 150. He’s an absolute inspiration and proves what can be done with hard work and commitment.

“I went to see Kyle with the thought process of taking some of the pain away while running stupid distances. Building ankle and foot strength with form correction and suitably hard training plans all came together and I couldn’t recommend Kyle enough”.

Rachel contacted me to alleviate the recurring injuries that were stopping her progress. From her first MOT at the end of September, with a half marathon PB of 2:25 from 7 years before, Rachel wanted to reach 2:15 in the Lowestoft half in October, and sub 2 hours over time.

We set her up with exercises, stretches and drills which would improve her arm and upper body movement to make her more efficient.

When I saw Rachel again in December, she’d achieved 2:11 at Lowestoft and ran 2:03 in November. By sticking to her exercises and drills, Rachel was running better and had improved both flexibility and lower body power.

Afterwards Rachel joined one of my Run Faster courses and we’re working together to complete her first marathon at Loch Ness in 2021.

“Brilliant second MOT with Kyle this morning. Amazed at the progress I’ve made in the past ten weeks and the work we did today on my heel lift really made me look like a proper runner! My times have reduced amazingly with Kyle’s help and he’s really making me believe those long-dreamed of goals are achievable – thank you!“