The Magnificent Seven
Seven runners, seven PBs. The Magnificent Seven. That’s what the team pulled off this weekend, across four different half marathons spread over the South of England, the Great Eastern Run in Peterborough, Hampton Court and Royal Parks in London, and the Bournemouth Half. Every single one of them crossed the line with a brand new personal best.
If that is not evidence my training plans work, I don’t know what is. Time to give myself a pat on the back, I think.
In all seriousness though, I am so proud. Proud of myself for what I’ve built, the hard work that has gone into my own running, my coaching journey and this platform.
I’m proud of the dedication of the 7 runners who gave up so much of their time to train hard, believe in my methods and give it their best effort yesterday morning.
And proud of how well they executed their races. I think a few of them are probably sick to death of me talking about pacing and how important the early kilometres were. But you know what, it was worth it, as some of the splits from the races were a thing of beauty.
Enough about me, what about the Magnificent Seven. Where do I start? Peterborough and the Great Eastern Run. Laura, who some of you may not know, is a fantastic runner, decent on the fairways too, but has been struggling with a sore tendon.
Luckily it seems to be behaving now, but patience has been key in Laura’s training for a few months now, and for her to run a personal best, sub 1:40 (1:39:40) as well, when I know so many other runners who would have quit the plan, is just superb. I don’t think I have a superlative apt enough to describe this achievement.
On the South Coast, at the Bournemouth Half Marathon, Mark was aiming for a new PB. Somewhere around 1:44 was the target, and again I had bored him to tears with my pacing advice. His splits though, gorgeous, what a race. The last 3km in particular, when he hit his fastest speed of the race, was just a sight for sore eyes, eventually crossing the line in 1:41:18, a big personal best.
Mark himself, like Laura, had a pause in the plan where he took a nasty fall and needed 2 weeks to recover. Again we were smart and eased back on the training, but the result wasn’t affected, such a great time by Mark.
Hampton Court next. 3 of the team were in action. Martin sprang this on me a few weeks ago. He’s not been training for a half, but fancied having a crack. Early in the spring the sub 2 milestone eluded Martin at both Paddock Wood and Hastings.
The fact we were even discussing 1:50, less than 6 months later, shows how much Martin has improved on the plan. In the end that target wasn’t quite achieved, purely because the current plan hasn’t been half marathon focused, but even so, a huge PB of 1:53:10. Superb.
Carl is another on a similar journey. His first plan was a huge success, with parkrun PBs at Bedgebury and Hastings. He concluded with a big half marathon personal best, over 5 minutes off his previous time over 13.1 miles, finishing Hampton Court in 2:06:47.
Good friend Lucy, who has been on the team for nearly a year now I believe, and kindly recommended me to Carl, broke her half marathon PB as well, finishing in 2:25:50. I’m delighted both Carl and Lucy are staying on plan for the foreseeable future. They are a pleasure to work with.
A few miles east, even more central in London, was the Royal Parks Half Marathon. Abbi has been building towards this all summer. It was her one focus and to come away with a new personal best of 2:46:14 was fantastic.
Abbi has to juggle her young family and career, but found the time to clock the miles needed to get herself into shape to run a half marathon again. Well done Abbi. I’m sure your kids are very proud of what their mum has achieved.
That leaves Michelle. What can I say about Michelle. Since day 1 of having her on the team she’s been brilliant. Almost like a star pupil. Inquisitive, keen to learn, dedicated to her training and the results have followed.
Michelle would be the first to admit there was some anxiety about doing a big race like Royal Parks, but any of those doubts are now lifetime memories of running her fastest ever half marathon (1:55:03) with her family there to support her.
I really hope Michelle knows what an inspiration she is to others, and it shows what is possible if you just make some time for your fitness and wellbeing.
I’ve had some good weekends as a coach, but I’m not sure this will ever be beaten. I’m keen to help more and more runners experience a similar journey to the Seven mentioned today. So get in touch, make yourself and your family proud.
