Training for the Loch Ness Marathon, and what changed when I finally coached myself the way I coach everyone else. Here is the confession first. I coach running, strength, fat loss and wellness for a living, and for a long stretch I was quietly making one of the most common mistakes in the book. Nearly every run I did sat in the same place. Not easy, not hard. That comfortable, breathless middle ground where you feel like you are working but you are not really building anythi

When Matt first reached out, he had a problem most people face but few admit. He'd signed up for Brighton Marathon on impulse. No running background. No training plan. Just a big goal and the vague hope that somehow it would work out. Sound familiar? What happened next is worth paying attention to. Not because it was easy. But because it shows what actually works when you stop treating fitness like a crash course and start treating it like something you're building to last. T

Brighton has come and gone I crossed the finish line on April 12th with a time of 3 hours and 58 minutes. A personal best by 16 minutes. I should have been proud of that, and in some ways I was. But I walked away — barely walked, if I'm honest — knowing there was more in there. The legs went at 34km. Not dramatically. Not a collapse. Just that moment where the body sends you a message and you have no choice but to listen. I slowed down, managed it, and picked the pace back up

Monday, March 30th — 13 days until Brighton Marathon When I wrote the first blog in this series back in February, Brighton felt like a long way off. 64 days. Plenty of time. The training block was fresh, the legs were fresh, and the redemption arc was just getting started. Now there's 13 days to go. And I'm sitting here writing this feeling genuinely excited. Let me catch you up. Forest of Dean Spring Half Marathon — March 22nd This was always the tune-up race. The chance to

I spent this week on a ski trip in New Hampshire with my brother and his family. First time on skis. First time hitting the slopes. And a week where marathon training took a backseat to making memories. Here's what went down. The Plan vs. Reality Let me be honest—I knew going into this week that I wouldn't be able to stick to my training plan exactly. But sometimes you have to let life get in the way. And when that life involves watching your niece and nephew play ice hockey,

Sunday, February 15th - 57 days until Brighton Marathon 15 kilometres around Grafham Water. Cold. Wet. Miserable. This is the side of marathon training nobody posts about. No sunshine. No "feeling blessed" captions. No perfect running photos with motivational quotes. Just me, soaked through, asking myself "what the fuck am I doing this for?" The Run Physically? Felt better than expected. I'd been dealing with shin splints on my last two runs, so I went into this one cautious.

I fucked up. Not catastrophically. Not in a way that ended my race or left me injured or unable to finish. But I missed my target. December 2025. My first full marathon. Goal time: 3 hours 30 minutes. I didn't hit it. Completed in 4 hours 14 minutes . Understanding the circumstances of what I went through (preparing for strictly come dancing, suffering with a back injury). I wasn't overly disappointed I didn't hit my target. But there's something about setting a goal, trainin

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