Goals don’t get any more epic than London Marathon. I helped several runners complete their first ever marathon at London this year. It was a challenge at times, but that’s what makes it exciting. I think based on the information you’ve given me to date you are well placed to certainly achieve this fantastic goal.

It’s really a case of being consistent over a sustained period of time. To begin with I have created a 16 week training plan from now until the end of this year. I think it would be a good idea to try and find a race to finish this plan and the obvious one was the Staplehurst 10 Miler. Close to home and in the final weekend of the plan. But entirely up to you if you did want to take on that challenge. I know a few of my team who did that race last year and enjoyed the route.

Hopefully as we build your endurance and include some variety in your training, the enjoyment for running will return and with that your confidence too.

I’ve scheduled 3 runs per week during this original plan, which combined with your 2 boot camps is a really good routine. If you wanted to add in an extra run in a few months, that is something we can discuss.

I find training plans often change dramatically due to a number of factors, such as injuries, unplanned commitments or simply quicker progress. It’s not uncommon for me to completely rewrite a plan halfway through for any of these reasons. That’s the beauty of working with a coach rather than a generic plan, it adds so much more flexibility and if you fall behind or progress quicker, then I can adapt the training.

In time hopefully we can build your confidence that you might like to consider joining a local club. Mote Runners looks of particular interest due to their location. But perhaps something we can revisit in a few months time.

I’m very excited to have you on the team and working towards this amazing goal. I’m far more driven to help runners enjoy this hobby and build their confidence than actually achieve PBs. That’s just the icing on the cake.