James Larnder – 3:36:34 to 3:26:45 New York City marathon

James stopped by my studio in June, after his Manchester marathon of 3:36:34 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 since a PB was unlikely.

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 treadmill running in gyms, some runs would likely 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 in-person sessions together, and in New York managed a new PB of 3:26:45. The incline of the course is 4 times that of Berlin where he set his previous PB of 3:27 in 2017, and 2 times that of Manchester in April.

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