RunWell with Katherine

Off the back of London marathon, Lee has seen huge improvements in his parkrun times. He flew to Japan four days later…parkrun attempt number 1 came within 4s of his all time PB, attempt number 2, a 7s PB, and attempt number 3, an additional 34s improvement and best ever age grading! We still reckon there’s more in the tank but always nice to see that even if your marathon didn’t play out exactly the way you would have liked, all is not lost and all those weeks of training didn’t go to waste. By taking that improved fitness and mental resilience into the shorter distances, you are likely to see improvements, just like Lee!

On Sunday, my client Lee completed his first ever marathon ‘London 2026’ in just a touch over five hours, a massive personal achievement whilst also raising a ton of cash for his chosen charity. Lee has been the perfect client, following his training plan to the letter, and as a result not only was he able to enjoy the race from start to finish, he has also seen his times improve over all the shorter distances, as well as increasing his fitness by a whopping 569% this past year. Great work Lee, you’ve done yourself proud!

Huge improvement in parkrun (5K) PB for my client James after just over 4 weeks of working together. We’ve been incorporating weekly interval sessions, focussed on improving VO2max into James’s running schedule, which has had a huge impact on his 5K pace. Great effort James, definitely more to come!

Really pleased to finish third overall and first vet representing at the final MACCL fixture at Heaton park on Saturday. Satisfying to see that the intense interval sessions I’ve been consistently completing throughout the winter are paying off in terms of my improved strength and endurance. At 39, I’m feeling the fittest and strongest I’ve ever been. Hoping I can carry this fitness into the summer as I try to break the 17 minute barrier for 5K.

***CLIENT TESTIMONIAL ***
Lee was my guinea pig client for my coaching qualification. The goal was a sub 29 minute 5k after having been stuck at 30+ minutes for a few years. Following an 8 week plan, Lee not only achieved his goal but got close to breaking 28 mins, great effort! I’m now working with him to support him in his first marathon in London 2026. Here’s what Lee had to say…

I first used Katherine's running coach services to improve my speed work. As an avid parkrunner, I wanted to get my average time down by roughly 1 minute over the 5k distance, but the training plan put together by Katherine helped me to reduce my time by 2 minutes. I also do an annual 5 mile event and was 5 minutes faster this year than last, an improvement of 1 minute per mile with Katherine’s help. I have since gotten a place in the London Marathon! I have never run a marathon before so have employed Katherine’s services again. It is a much more complex and comprehensive plan that is needed and I would have struggled to understand what was required without someone as knowledgeable as Katherine to answer whatever questions I have (something that cannot be done by an App). Katherine’s friendly and encouraging manner has helped me to understand what I need to do to achieve my goals. Who knows what I will look to do in the future regarding my running, but whatever it is, I know who I will be calling. Thank you for everything Katherine.

On the back of completing a major running ambition and finally breaking that elusive 3 hour barrier at the Manchester marathon in 2024, I decided to complete my coaching qualifications with the aim of helping others achieve their potential and fulfil their running ambitions and goals. I can create personalised running programs tailored to your target distance and pace, as well as offering personalised running sessions to help improve form and technique.