Not all running coaches are the same and it’s important to find one that suits your ambitions and level of running. 

It’s also important to understand there isn’t necessarily a right way or a wrong way of training, just different methods and approaches to achieve similar goals.

So how do you know who is the right running coach for you? Well you need to explore their coaching philosophy and methods and ask yourself if they fit in with your own personal goals.

Generally we seek out the advice of a coach to improve and in running terms that means to get faster or run further. For me, as a coach, I believe that is a consequence of two factors. Staying injury free and enjoying your running.

Unless you’re an elite athlete do you really want to get quicker as the expense of enjoyment? Some coaches will work their runners really hard, pushing them to the edge time and time again to maximise their potential.

I prefer to focus on ensuring my runners stay injury free, enjoy the sessions I set and from there I believe improvement will follow. It might take a little longer than adopting an “All In” approach, but if you enjoy the journey then it’s a much better way of training in my opinion.

I believe it’s very important to set realistic goals and often I have runners that need to reign in their ambitions and actually train less. If you have a family and full time job, a marathon might not be for you. We don’t all have to run marathons just because other members our club are doing them.

I believe in constant feedback between myself and my runners. Without that offering from a coach you may as well grab yourself a generic plan off Runners World. Every session and run you do, if you leave feedback, I will always respond.

Some coaches will focus on setting sessions based on distance and pace, others on time and perceived effort. I’ve tried both and my conclusion is to vary it depending on the runner I’m working with.

Some runners will respond better to perceived effort whilst others need a constant reminder of how fast they are going. So to use a single approach for all runners is quite lazy in my opinion and unlikely to get the best results for everyone.

If you like the sound of my coaching philosophy and would like to discuss to possibility of a training plan then fill out the enquiry form on this page.