Kim Powles – 4:36:52 to 3:57:55 London marathon

Kim approached me with a well thought out series of marathon goals, not knowing quite what she’d be capable of over 6 months of working together.

Strength training and nutrition were big keys to progress that Kim had identified, and we started making changes there in the early weeks, this included factoring in her scoliosis which was aided by my personal experience of having a mild scoliosis.

From a 10 mile race PB in 1:25:47 just weeks before her coaching started, Kim showed how far she’d already come when just 3 months into coaching she ran 10 miles in 1:19:21 for a 6-minute PB. Kim prioritised quality training and selected races well. This was evident in the Wymondham 20 miler with another PB, improving by 17 minutes from the year before.

With 3 weeks to go, Kim talked with me about tapering her long runs a week early than we’d planned as aches and pains had begun to creep in after the 20 mile race. Whilst these have usually happened much earlier for her, we still needed to be sensible, especially with so much progress made, and a huge marathon PB all but guaranteed.

London was a hot race in the end, and despite excellent fuelling and hydration, some calf tightness started around 16 miles, but Kim handled it perfectly, stopping for a few seconds to stretch it before it became a problem, then carrying on again.

In a brilliantly paced marathon, Kim picked it up in the final miles, finishing in a fantastic 3:57:55, knocking a staggering 39 minutes off her PB.