Ben Haines – November 2020
With a 2:51 marathon PB I had the goal of a sub 2:45 marathon. The challenge being my time is limited with a travelling job and young family so I have to get the most out of the training I do. I found reassurance with Wayne’s proven track record personally himself in the marathon and with other runners he’d coached at a similar level to me, so we started working together under s strong recommendation. Whilst I’ve listed below the specific benefits for me I found working with Wayne, most importantly I’ve learned a huge amount about what is needed to achieve at levels that greatly surpassed my expectations. Which in turn means as I approach the Vet 45 category shortly my competitive running days including pb’s are far from over in my mind!
- Consistency in training, I lacked this previously week in, week out and would often missed too many days, and then would try and play catch up for time missed.
- On top of the above I had no structure in my marathon training blocks, Wayne working with me created a staged plan with base conditioning, strength endurance, speed endurance and taper with real science behind each stage.
- Slowed my easy runs right down to allow much better recovery, which also allowed me to absorb 70 mile weeks. I was glad of those easy runs the more we got into things.
- Adding in shorter speed work even though it was a marathon and 6:10’s was a pace I could easily hit for shorter distances. My mile reps went from 5:30’s to 5:15’s on 50% less recovery, during heavy training. So goal MP became easier and something I could hold much longer.
- MP miles in long runs as well as steady paced ones. Whilst this obviously physically helps, mentally getting into ‘the zone’ for the last part of the marathon with real focus to got the job done helped.
- Strength and conditioning work, weight training, running drills, plyometrics all with full explanations and often video demo links.
- Hills sprints, they gave me strength and also confidence I was fit! I certainly appreciate the value of these a lot more now.
- Having a schedule set for you each week. It takes the hassle out of putting your own training in place, and you know that science is behind the plan to get the most of your training. Every run had a purpose. This is also particularly helpful when you don’t fancy a run/session say after a tough day, or rubbish weather outside. Instead of taking the easy option of not doing it which I’d soon regret I felt a sense of obligation to get the training done even when I didn’t fancy it. This of course helps with the consistency that I struggled with previously.
- Progress was reviewed regularly and adaptions made where needed, at short notice at times too! Ongoing dialogue was incredibly helpful and I would get feedback too when I was pushing training too far and heading for mistakes or possible injury.
- Race tactics given which were certainly needed for my inexperienced track races! But the main goal of the marathon was always in mind with the lead up races, so I no longer had big tapers for these, but times were still improving.
- I’ve learned working with Wayne to try and move away from the goal so much in my focus, and instead shift focus to the process. So the training blocks with all of the above, plus nutrition, sleep etc and all that goes with it to really get the most out of my time committed to running. My character of determination, discipline, grit and motivation etc helped drive me in this process, but working with Wayne this is now fully in place. All you need then is the opportunity to race and the results and PB’s will take care of themselves.
Sadly due to Covid times and a lack of races I’ve had to manufacture the opportunities through a bunch of TT’s from 3K to the marathon. Whilst none of these are official pb’s I’m absolutely delighted with my results!
PB’s, all achieved this year while being coach by Wayne; Marathon, 12 minute pb with 2:40:23. 3k 9:38(8 secs improvement), 5k 16:26(18 secs), 5M 27:01(47 secs), 10k 33:57(41 secs), HM 74:55(62 secs).
Thanks Wayne!!
Vesa Lindberg – June 2019
Wayne started coaching me in December 2018 after I had finished Amsterdam marathon with new PB 2:59. I was very pleased going sub 3 but I wanted to continue improving my marathon time and start to compete in track races. Four months later I ran new marathon PB 2:51!
Wayne has great knowledge and expertise in running and coaching which he openly shares. This has helped a lot as I’m interested to learn about training periodisation, sessions and overall development as a runner. He communicates training plans well, he listens to feedback and his weekly plan approach suits perfectly my work and travel commitments. The weekly training plan includes strength and conditioning work which has been key for running injury free.
I have always liked racing and Wayne’s ability to plan them in with marathon training has been great. I was able to compete and run PBs in indoor track (1500m & 3000m), 5k and half marathon races and improve my marathon time by 8 minutes!
I am very excited to continue training with Wayne and see what can be achieved. He is excellent coach, great runner and I highly recommend Wayne for anyone who is interested improving their running!
Tom Woolley – October 2018
Following two periods out in 2017 with stress fractures in my fourth metatarsal I was fortunate enough to be treated by Scott Newton. When I was in a position to begin running again, Scott introduced me to Wayne. When I met Wayne for the first time I told him the goals I wanted to achieve before the end of the year and what races I had booked into. I am never one for easy goals and Wayne knew he had his hands full in helping me realise my goals. Wayne and I have a great relationship, we meet up regularly for training sessions so he sees first hand the impact of a training session. We talk on the phone to discuss sessions, how they went or what is expected and every Sunday I get a buzz of what the upcoming week has install for me. Wayne was an incredibly talented runner himself, at first I thought why would he want to train someone like me, an average/good club runner. I quickly learnt that Wayne is all about the person he is coaching and he will get the best out of you. It’s all about being honest and providing the feedback, Wayne will do the rest.
After having two stress fractures in my foot I was slightly concerned about the consecutive days of running that was planned but 80% of my runs are easy runs. There are no junk sessions. Wayne meticulously plans the sessions to work around my diary and what works best for me.
When I met Wayne my PB for a half marathon was 1.25.11 in five months and after six months out laid up my PB is now 1.18.42. I thought sub 1.20 was a very ambitious target after what I had been through, that target was obliterated thanks to Wayne. I cannot rate Wayne’s skills highly enough. I can’t wait for the next block of training and making further improvements enabling me to be a very good club runner verging on Elite!
Scott Newton – October 2015
After 6 years of being stuck on a marathon PB of 2:45 my work with Wayne over a period of 16 weeks finally allowed me to improve my marathon time to 2 hours 40 minutes in Amsterdam a few weeks ago. I have no doubt that I would have been unable to achieve this without Wayne’s coaching expertise.
Wayne started the coaching process by establishing my weekly running habits, what time I had available and what time I was prepared to commit. He then set out clear weekly targets in terms of mileage, and introduced specific sessions into my weekly training, such as a hill session and tempo runs.
Progress was reviewed at weekly or fortnightly intervals, which allowed for feedback on my development and discussions on how successfully I was meeting the training targets, as well as carefully monitoring that I wasn’t overdoing things and developing overuse injuries or training too hard if I was feeling run down.
Leading up to my marathon ‘A’ race, Wayne’s attention to detail was a measured difference from my usual self-preparation. This started with a 5KM track race to provide an objective performance marker, which also allowed me an opportunity to practice race day preparation (including warming-up properly which I’ve never done before!). This was followed up by a strategically timed half marathon approximately 5 weeks before my marathon event, helping to consolidate my race day routine to ensure that I arrived at the start line in the best condition to perform.
The final couple of weeks leading up to the marathon were full of nervous excitement. Wayne’s experience as a 2 hour 16 minute marathoner shone through again at this stage, as he provided me with clear guidance around tapering, getting sufficient rest and recovery and preparing myself psychologically to race. The fact that Wayne was so approachable to answer any last minute questions by email or phone was also a huge source of support.
I am so grateful to Wayne for his expert coaching, relentless enthusiasm and his dedication to help me to succeed. I am looking forward to seeing how far I can push my running potential over the next year and I am certain that Wayne will help get the very best out of me.
Scott has since improved his marathon PB to 2:37:11!