Escape Trails Ultramarathon Coaching

Medal Monday

Well done to coached athlete J***y, who completed the Peddars Way Ultra on Saturday 👏🏻

J***y had gotten in some great training, but then caught COVID after Christmas, meaning that he missed 2 peak weeks of training, making his finish even more of an achievement.

I had a good run at the Reedham 10, coming in pretty much bang on my predicted time. It's been nice to mix it up with something different on the roads, but focus now shifts to the Wales Ultra 50 in June.

Who raced over the weekend or got a great training run in? Let's hear those achievements in the comments

Good luck to my coached athletes and everyone else running the Peddars Way Ultra tomorrow!

This is one of my favourite races, and it's sad to see that this will be it's last year.

Hopefully it will be a bit drier than when I ran the route in October 😆

UTMB ballot results were sent out yesterday

Who got in?

** this is not my picture 😆

Who else will be dot watching?

None of my athletes are doing it, but there's several Norfolk locals tackling it.

We're loving the new t-shirts and hoodies for our coached athletes

Tees and hoodies printed up for this morning on tees made from recycled plastic bottles and hoodies made from organic cotton 🤟

Something a little bit different for today.

This morning I raced in the fantastic Wymondham NYD 10k, my first 10k road race for a couple of years.

My official 10k pb was 49:27, which I knew that unless I seriously blew up I could get well under, even after running a marathon distance 3 days ago.

Chip time 43:25 and a new shiny 6 minute pb 🥳

Next race is the Reedham 10 in a few weeks.

'Do I need to be local to have coaching'

The simple answer is 'no'. I use an online app which syncs all your workouts to your phone and watch, giving you all the details of the workout, along with distance/pace alerts during the actual workout.

Although I am a fan of face to face, if needed we can have monthly video calls to discuss how training is going, and whether we need to change anything.

With today's technology it is possible to do most things online, meaning that wherever you are I can still provide you with coaching, and I am currently working with athletes from all over Europe.

With Christmas now gone, a lot of you will be planning your running goals for 2024

These are mine -

* Run a sub 19 minute 5k (current pb 20:10)
* Run a sub 40 minute 10k (current pb 49:27)
* Finish my first 100 at the Yr Wyddfa Snowdon Ultra
* Run the Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast Path together (130 miles)

What goals are you setting yourself for 2024? Lets hear them in the comments below

Peddars Way Ultra Sat 20 January – Shoutout!
We need help at Registration, we need to cover checkpoint 1 (near Watton), we need help at the finish as well as a tail runner.
If you can help, please let me know as usual you will be well supported and will receive a race credit for your efforts.
This is a great race, be part of the team to make this another outstanding event.
At the moment we over 120 entries so there is still room for a few more runners too.
Many Thanks
Kevin

Love it or hate it, UTMB is the biggest trail running event in the world, and registrations are now open for next year's races.

Are you planning on entering any of them?

🚨 Inscriptions 2024, c'est parti !

👉 https://montblanc.utmb.world/ 🌍

Les inscriptions sont maintenant ouvertes sur le principe du premier arrivé, premier servi pour la 🟦 , la 💚 , l' 🟨 et la 💕 .

Quant aux UTMB World Series FINALS, vous avez jusqu'au 11 Janvier pour vous pré-inscrire à l'🟥 , la 🟩 , l'🟧 .

Enfin, vous pouvez également déposer votre dossier de candidature pour la 🟪 .

A vous de jouer 🙌

//

🚨 2024 registrations, let's go!

👉 https://montblanc.utmb.world/ 🌍

Registrations are now open on a first-come, first-served basis for the 🟦 , the 💚 , the 🟨 and the 💕 .

As for the UTMB World Series FINALS, you have until January, 11 to pre-register for the 🟥 , the 🟩 , the 🟧 .

Finally, you can also submit your application for the 🟪 .

It's up to you now 🙌

I currently have just one coaching slot available, once that has gone I possibly won't have any spaces until May next year.

So if you would like some coaching for an ultra next year, now is the time to get in touch

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Medal Monday 🏅

Something a little bit different for me this weekend, with the Jingle Jangle 5k Fun Run, such a great event even in the terrible weather.

Did you race over the weekend? Let's see those medals or hear about those achievements

What are the benefits of hiring a coach over using a generic online plan?

An online plan doesn't organise training weekends in Wales for you 😎

Training weekends in Wales for all my coached athletes are coming in 2024

NB this is an old pic and unfortunately I am not currently in Wales

* Monthly Round Up *

November was a great month for our coached athletes.

Firstly Gemma finished her first ever ultra at the Off The Tarmac Brecon Beacons Ultra.

Tom continued training for the upcoming ARC 100, getting a great run in at the Holkham 5 mile beach run too.

Sara E who's just joined us but still worth a special mention, finished first lady at the John Muir Way Ultra, completing 63k in the 6 hour race.

In a world of tech where we have endless stats at our finger tips, it's easy to get overwhelmed by it all, but sometimes it's the basics that work best.

The Basis of RPE and Why Coaches Should Use It An athlete's rate of perceived exertion can be a powerful tool for coaches to connect with athletes and fine-tune training. Here's what you need to know.

Medal Monday 🏅

Well done to coached athlete Tom, who finished the Runners next the Sea 5 mile Beach Run yesterday.

Did you race over the weekend? Let's see those medals or hear about those achievements

Medal Monday 🥇

Did you race over the weekend? Or did you nail a long training run? Let's see those medals or hear about those achievements

We've had a great day giving this guy some tips to help with his trail running during our Intro To Trail Running Workshop today.

For our next workshop we'd like to do a ultrarunning specific event, so the question is, what would you like to learn or what do you feel like you need help with?

Medal Monday 🥇

No races for any of Team ESCAPE trails this weekend, but where did you run?

Let's see those medals or hear about those achievements

I'm going to be answering some of the questions I get asked the most, starting with

'Do I need to be an elite athlete to have a coach?'

No, everyone can benefit from having a coach, and arguably less experienced runners benefit more from coaching.

A running coach can provide lots of services to help improve your running including, accountability, a training plan specific to your needs and a ton of support.

I am currently coaching runners ranging from those doing their first ever 50k, up to those running UTMB races next year.

I also wrote this blog about whether you need a running coach - https://escapetrails.co.uk/2022/01/18/do-i-need-a-running-coach/

🧐

⚠️ Fewer than 50 spaces remaining ⚠️

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📸 No Limits Photography

Although it's not ultra running specific there's still plenty of topics covered during our trail running workshop that will cross over to running longer distances.

We will cover topics including technique, running over different terrain, uphill/downhill running and gear you may need.

Sign up here - https://www.letsdothis.com/gb/e/trail-running-workshop-192927

Proud coach moment.

Well done to Gemma who finished the Off The Tarmac Brecon Beacons Ultra at the weekend.

Training had been going great until an injury four weeks ago, which had meant some nervous times up to the physio giving her the all clear to race last week.

Gemma completed the 30 miles in very challenging conditions, making this her first ever ultra.

Well done Gemma 🙌

With the number of races now dropping off towards the end of the year, now is a great time to start planning for those spring ultras next year.

I love hearing what everyone has planned, it also gives me suggestions for which races to do myself.

So let me know in the comments which ultras you have signed up to for next year

Are you planning on tackling an ultramarathon next year that you'd like coaching for? Or maybe you want to tackle your first ultra, but are finding the idea of doing one a bit daunting and would like some help realising that goal?

I am a fully qualified UESCA Ultrarunning Coach (one of only a very small number here in the UK) and currently have some coaching slots available. Both face to face and online coaching is available, so it doesn't matter where in the world you are.

Follow the link for more information, and to book a free initial consultation
https://escapetrails.co.uk/coaching/