
Membership: 1 to 1 Online Coaching
Name: Rory Steel
From: Norwich, England
Age: 23
Goals: Run my first marathon as a Sub-3
Coach: Tommy
Over the past 4 years or so I’ve been a fair-weather runner, with some periods of consistent running but interspersed with many breaks, sometimes of up to a couple of months, where I’d find myself never quite managing to get out of the door. I’d registered for the London Marathon in the hopes that it’d provide me with some much-needed motivation to hit some serious and regular training so that I could really improve on my speed and overall fitness. This worked for a time; however, I’d often find it a bit too overwhelming trying to think of 4 or 5 different runs to do in a week. By July I was only running once or twice a week and I was getting really nervous about the impending marathon in 2 month’s time.
Queue Tommy’s entry on to the scene. We met through a mutual friend and got chatting running. He instantly calmed my nerves and over the course of the conversation, he dropped in that with the right training over the next couple of months he thought I’d be able to get around the course in under 3 hours. That was all I needed to hear, and I took him on as coach. One of my favourite things about the coaching is how incredibly relaxing it is to know that someone else is doing all the thinking about your training and all you must do is turn up and run the prescribed session each day and you will progress. Another important aspect of the coaching for me personally was the accountability it inspires. Before getting coached, I found it incredibly easy to rationalise not going out on a run, but when it’s not just yourself you’re letting down that rationalisation is a lot harder to make. A further brilliant aspect of a personalised coaching program is the adaptability that came with it. If I ever felt a slight tweak and was worried about aggravating it or even if an event cropped up at short notice, Tommy would be hand to respond to and adapt that week’s training schedule to suit how I was feeling.
One of the biggest benefits that I’ve taken away from getting coached is the injury-prevention aspect of Tommy’s program. Previously, one of the main reasons that I’d stop running for a while is because I’d often get bad knee pain after a month or so of running. However, in the 2 months leading up to the marathon under Tommy’s tutelage, my knees didn’t bother me once (despite doing the highest milage they’d ever done), which has been such a huge QoL improvement and the first time in my running career where this hasn’t been an issue for me.
Finally, as well as being a skilled and knowledgeable coach, Tommy is also just a really sound guy and a pleasure to talk to. A massive thank you for getting me over the line in under 3 hours (2:56) !
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