The Unconventional Running Coach

Coming P1 at parkrun Don't worry I know that parkrun is a run not a race and I know that it is P1 and not coming first, after all I am an Event Director and someone with over 300 volunteers. At the same time there is still something nice about coming first at parkrun. In my first 200 (or so) parkruns my best finish position was 3rd place, once, I am now just shy of 400 parkruns and have 8 first place finishes. 6 of those have been at my local, 1 in 2022, 4 in 2023 (I wasn't even that fast), 1 in 2024 and then 1 in Scotland in 2025 and now 1 in Wales in 2026. Now the parkrun I did yesterday was tough. My time trial at my local was a 17:40, that was 3 weeks ago. Now training hasn't exactly gone perfectly since then but I don't feel I have lost much fitness in that time (even if I have gained some weight). The actual run: The event itself was very quiet and hidden away in the hills of South...

  Score - 9/10 Very Dated) Coverage : Training, mental (some), strength, elites Summary : I heard about Percy Cerutty in one of my other books and he sounded like a coach with a difference and someone whose training approach was broadly similar to mine, minus the low carb bit, but then this was years ago just as fats were getting ripped to shreds and he was work with pros, and he also did more intensity than I would generally suggest. Overall though it is a really interesting, if somewhat outdated read.  Full Review:  I recently heard of the coach Percy Cerutty and after some digging ended up with one of his books, “How to become a champion”, as a present for a birthday. The book is interesting and goes into a lot of his philosophies as a coach. The book is outdated in a lot of respects however it was a really interesting read and overall I feel my approach has a lot in common with what Cerutty was doing so many years ago. The book is well worth a read for the dedicated c...

Episode 212 - Ben Livesey (British marathon debutant and prospect Ben Livesey  Here I listened to this episode of the podcast 10 years after it was released to see what training or just general information I could glean from it now that I am a more experienced runner and coach, I mean 10 years ago I was obese and eating rubbish.  Age isn't a barrier So my first observation was the longevity of some runners, they were talking about how well Galen Rupp is going and this weekend he is hoping to qualify for another Olympics. Just goes to show that age isn't a huge barrier, and for those of us that didn't run when we were younger we could still have many years of improvement and for us "high level" performance ahead.  Impact of flying / travel and recovery One of the hosts had to travel and as a result ended up with stiff legs. Just to remind everyone to be careful to their body and sometimes forgo a rigid schedule - as per Percy Cerutty " Rigid schedules… and lai...

So this weekend just gone I grabbed another PB with 17:23 at my local event, crazy I hadn't run a sub 18 in 8 months at the start of November and now I am getting towards the low 17 minutes. As someone who always struggles with their weight I am still amazed at the progress I have made and have recently started wearing extra small clothes, not bad considering I used to be XXXL.  This weekend I have the joy of pacing one of my athletes at parkrun as I am racing a 10k on the Sunday. Annoyingly the weather forecast is changing from still and cold to warmer and windy but it will be the same conditions for everyone. I set my PB on this course last year and it is quick but on the prom so the wind will determine if I get a PB or not this year, all I can do is run my best race.  I approach all races with a positive mindset and I am in such good form that I could easily bag a PB and maybe a top 10 finish. My weight is in a great place and I have been sleeping well, and my diet is the c...