Hard Months, Big Rewards: This Week in Team Orange
It’s your weekly round up folks. What have the team been up to this week? I’ll start by saying sometimes running is tough, the training is hard and you feel like you are being…
Blog · Races
Beckley 10k: The Happiest Hills in Sussex
I love the Beckley 10km. It’s one of those races where I’m not sure why it happens, as it’s a challenging route, but everyone seems so happy. I think yesterday’s staging surpassed…
Never Again? Famous Last Words
I'm glad I did the Beachy Head marathon 2 years ago. Did I enjoy it? Well have you seen the video ? There was a reason Sweary Simon came out to play that day. That race chewed me…
Fireworks, 100k and a Weekend of PBs
Such are the incredible achievements of the team, it’s hard to know where to start in my weekly roundups. So it’s only fair to begin with Anna. If anyone was awake earlier than…
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…
Perfect Pacing
How do you pace a race perfectly? There are just so many factors to consider. Sunday was a prime example of that. The Romney Marsh 10k . Possibly the flattest 10k you will find…
Hilly High Fives
I feel like I’ve put a bit of pressure on myself. Committing to a weekly blog and trying to find an interesting way on reporting what the team have been up to. But then it dawned…
Highs and Lows
Much like the undulating route at Rye 10 on Sunday, there will always be highs and lows to endure. That was how my week felt, from starting off well, to feeling a little under the…
Run Faster & Shout Louder
Wow. What just happened. Mind boggling to think a human can run at that pace for 26.2 miles. It’s insane. I’m talking about the first sub 2 marathon of course. Achieved by both…
How Many Marathon PBs did you say?
What a weekend! On Saturday I logged off early, even earlier than planned in truth as Joe was 20 minutes ahead of schedule through the first two check points of the SDW50. For…
Team Orange smash HHM
5,600!! I’m going to throw a lot of numbers at you in this blog. I love stats and data. I’ve even made up my own stats to coach the Team. That’s how much I love them. 5,600??…
My Favourite Week of the Year
It feel likes I’ve been running for a long time. 10 years to be precise. So by now you might expect the annual half marathon in town to feel like a routine date in the calendar…
PBs aplenty at Paddock Wood
10 years now since I first ran the Paddock Wood Half Marathon. Almost every time I’ve made the journey back down the A21 I’ve asked the same question “It can’t get better than…
From Brighton to Rome
I’ll try, but can’t promise to post a weekly blog post here on the platform. Just to keep you up to date what the members of the Team are doing!! It’s a time of year I love as a…
The Day of the 10Ks
I’m not really sure where to start this week. Going back through the PB Runner Strava group it reminded me why I’m so tired. Let’s just say it’s been busy. I’ll take you back 5…
Roller Coaster of Emotions as a Running Coach
I’ll start this post by sharing the achievements of the team over the weekend. At Brighton Marathon on Sunday there were PBs for Jack Matthews (3:34) and Sam Evans 3:26). At the…
My Lucky Half Marathon
Is there such thing as a lucky race? Well if you refer to the famous quote from South African Golfer Gary Player, then yes. He said, “The harder I practice, the luckier I get”…
A Pouring of PBs in the Drizzle
The Barry Richards 10K has always been a favourite of mine. My times down the years have ranged from 1:04:32 (yes it was a best effort) to 40:50, so it’s been a really nice…
Race to the Stones and Beyond!!
I’ve always been open about my lack of Ultra Running experience, as a participant and a coach, but I’ve been given the opportunity by several in the team to learn new skills and…
Wrong Turn Cost Sam his 50k PB
Let’s start with Sam Davies and the Serpent Trail 50k. That’s a long way. Twice the distance some of us tackled at Bewl on Sunday and still Sam was able to produce a consistent…
Ultra Success for Determined Anna
Often as a coach I’m confident of a runner’s success heading into an event based on the training they’ve done. This weekend could not have been further from that truth. Not…
PBs Galore in Spring 5K
I’m a little speechless. Not ideal at the start of a blog post. I understand now why I was so excited about this race, I couldn’t have dreamt a better outcome for the Team. Times…
Team Orange overcame adversity to smash London Marathon
Running a marathon is tough. But I think trying to help a team of runners prepare for a marathon is possibly even more challenging. You might agree come the end of this post…
Team Orange at Hastings Half Marathon
This blog should be one of pure positivity but the last few weeks have been a grind for me personally. My refusal to rest has led to a cold developing into a sinus infection and…
Paddock Wood I love you!
Paddock Wood, I absolute love you. I had to rewrite that sentence and remove the expletive, that’s how much I love this race. My first visit came in 2016. I’d just completed the…
Round and round we go!
Over the past 4 years, I’ve run 7,878.3 miles. This took me 1,140 hours and included 276,116 feet of elevation. That’s the equivalent of 300.69 marathons. But prior to Sunday I…
Canterbury Doesn’t Disappoint
6 of the team made the 47 mile trip across the county border to tackle the undulating country lanes in the Canterbury 10 miler on Sunday. My entry was heavily influenced by my…
These are NOT PB Conditions
As the week progressed and I ticked off the miles and split squats the excitement grew. The weather forecast for parkrun was at last favourable and many of the team would get…
Beckley and Beyond
It was a pretty uneventful week right? We had a few drops of rain to deal with and a couple of puddles to hurdle, but that’s all part of being a runner. I still feel like I’m…
Team Orange making your Coach Proud
To be honest, up until this weekend I’ve had doubts about whether or not this running coach venture of mine was just another pipe dream. And trust me I’ve had a few down the…
Another Week Another Marathon
From Berlin to Loch Ness, this weekend it was Sarah Marzaioli’s turn to complete a marathon. She’s long since passed the 100 tally, and she didn’t even start running until she…
Team Orange Update: Sue Conquers Berlin
There’s only one place to start with this weeks Team Orange update and that’s Berlin . Forget the World Record, we are more interested in Sue Wilkinson adding another of the World…
Rye to Hastings Coach Simon Blog
I can’t recall an occasion when I’ve crossed a finish line and wanted to find a dark corner, slump myself down and have a little cry. That would have been a tad dramatic though…
Team Orange Weekly Update
I’ll be honest, I’m glad to see the back of August. Holidays, injuries and illness have proved a bit of a headache for many of the Team in recent weeks and it’s a reminder that…
BBB10k Race Report
I’ll do a weekly round up of Team Orange in a second post but just wanted to share my own experiences of the BBB10K on Sunday morning. A race I last completed in 2019 in a time of…
BBB 10K Race Strategy
Make sure you begin any race day with your regular breakfast routine. Arrive at the Race HQ in plenty of time to get your race number and do a good warm up. For a 10K like Battle…
Kings Head Canter 2023 Race Report
It’s 7 years now since my first half marathon and my race calendar tends to have a familiar feel about it these days. So when the opportunity sprung up to run a local race I’d yet…
Barry Richards 10K Race Report
After my weekend facebook debate I think it’s important not to start this Team Orange update simply discussing times. Generally those seeking the advice of a running coach…
Barry Richards 10K Challenge
I’m tingling with excitement having just taken another look at the Bexhill weather forecast for Thursday evening. This is week 19 of my 13th training plan. Crazy to think I’ve…
The Handicappers POV
Normally our experiences of running are somewhat predictable. We might turn up at our local parkrun, knowing every inch of the route, running an almost identical time to the…
Wet in Wonderful Woodchurch!
I’ll be honest, the Woodchurch 5 Miler wasn’t on the top of my 2023 race wish list (a list which doesn’t actually exist by the way), but with a little persuasion I was encouraged…
Breeze? That Ain’t No Breeze
With my confidence knocked after last weeks disappointing tempo session I decided to mix things up. I was due to run a 10k threshold on Friday but with the weather forecast…
Smiles at Bewl
I’ve lost track when the Sunday long run started. 5 hardy souls rocked up at 8am that first morning to run for 60 minutes in one direction and 60 minutes back. In the past 8 weeks…
Pacing at Hastings Half Marathon
Pacing is tough. It’s bad enough for 5k on the perfectly flat Hastings parkrun route. Try pacing around one of the most undulating half marathons in the country. But if anyone was…
HHM Never Disappoints
The Hastings Half Marathon provided a fitting conclusion to a dozen Team Orange training plans. I guess most coaches will be judged on the performances of their runners, but I…
PBs at Paddock Wood
Ever since I completed my first training plan I couldn’t work out why every runner wasn’t using this approach? I’m still a little bewildered why more don’t spend a small amount of…
Cambridge Success for Jo
Now I’m getting excited. The races are coming! LET’S GO!! Time to put the hard work and grind over the winter months to practice and get our much deserved rewards. Whether we run…
Pier to Pier Success
Another great week. I’m actually proud of what you’ve all achieved this week. The Pier to Pier was an obvious highlight. What I would say to those not involved, who may feel like…
Parkrun PB for Sarah
Another brilliant week and I’m buzzing right now with how well you guys are doing on your training plans. Exciting times lie ahead and this week marks the start of the race…
The Races are Coming!
Is it me or there is a buzz of excitement in the air around Hastings Runners right now? I get the impression so many people are motivated and feeding off the inspiring efforts of…