Manchester Marathon 2026 smashed 11mins off his previous best and 14mins of the course record, running 3hrs 28mins at the age of 46! Here is what he says about working with Dave “If you want an easy life (or easy race) you need to learn to do difficult things! The best way to judge “difficult” is under the guidance of a coach who measures your fitness and builds a plan for your lifestyle (not theirs).”
When I met with Dave for my Lactate Threshold test at the beginning of the year I never thought I would be running a sub 3hr 30min Marathon!
A data driven plan, based on me, was absolutely key to my success, the Lactate threshold with Dave’s experience showed me the huge potential I had as a runner.
Training like for many people preparing for a Spring Marathon was tough. Lots of cold dark (5am) mornings, frozen hands and soaked to the skin with a combination of sweat and rain.
I have a stressful job, and a long commute on top with between 15 – 20hrs a week in the car, 60 -70hrs total. However, Dave worked with my schedule and pushed me incrementally harder on my usual routine.
The first 4 weeks were the hardest getting used to my new “race pace” on my “easy runs”. But finally I got in the groove and my fitness rocketed as Dave (and his graph ) predicted.
The Retford Half was a major milestone in confidence and pace, I started to believe and things started to click, running a 1hr 38min PB.
Race conditions for Manchester were perfect and felt physically strong going into the race. I struggled not to race off at the beginning especially at the supporter sections with music and crowd, I picked up speed and started cruising at tempo pace. The long road up to Altrincham levelled me out and I got back to my target pace again.
I started to lose the spring in my step around halfway but seemed to be running easier than a lot of my fellow runners who I continued to pass.
Similar to my training it was my mental battles and barriers that held me back when I hit the 20mile mark. I didn’t execute my race plan perfectly and was disappointed I couldn’t hold my pace with 3km to go.
However, despite my self-limiting beliefs and demons I did enough, for long enough and smashed 11mins off my previous best and 14mins of my course record, running 3hrs 28mins at the age of 46!
If you want an easy life (or easy race) you need to learn to do difficult things! The best way to judge “difficult” is under the guidance of a coach who measures your fitness and builds a plan for your lifestyle (not theirs).
I have 2 friends running the London Marathon, neither got a proper coach and both have got injured in the process.
With Dave and his Data I’ve exceeded my expectations as a runner and as a person!
Garmin doesn’t lie and according to Garmin I’m “productive” & “whatever you’re doing keep doing it” ….I guess I will keep working with Dave !
