John Tierney

We run for many reasons. Some want to improve, explore their potential or even find their limits.

You can do this with trial and error, articles, books and achieve a lot. Sometimes you may plateau, need some new ideas or simply want to learn from someone who’s been there. I did and Hywel Davies helped me get my marathon down to 2:48 and learn a hell of a lot more in the process.

In my late 20s I was an overweight smoker. In my 30’s I was a sub-3 marathoner 6 times.

I love trail and mountain running, pounding pavement is a winter thing for me. I’ve helped dozens of runners improve from 5K – ultra marathon. I can help you get a sub 30 minute 5k or a sub 20. I can help you complete your first marathon, or get that Good For Age time you’ve been getting closer to.

But if you want to reach your potential in the marathon, thats where my true passion lies.

I specialise in coaching marathon runners to achieve their potential. This involves far more than setting a bespoke training plan. It’s about helping them to actually stick to it when life happens, adjusting it when needed and to believe in their own improving abilities to toe the start line full of confidence and all important self control.

When I started coaching it was with Stroud & District Athletics Club I learned from others in the club, got my own marathon under 3 hours, and developed my own style of coaching alongside becoming a UKA Coach in Running Fitness. I found that runners often needed more help reaching their marathon potential, and I would lead a marathon specific run group during the winters. One year I helped these 4 awesome friends to their sub-3 dream (one as a V-50 and two at their first ever marathon) and my confidence in my own coaching ability grew.

I’m still a member of the club, and always recommend seeking out a local running club to see if there is the kind of support and coaching on offer that could help you. My family life means I can’t get to regular club sessions these days, so I have started working 1:1 with a small number of marathon runners (up to 12 max). I work with runners that are local to me; so we can meet once a month for a run or a coffee and build a trusting relationship.

I’ve found the kind of people I can help the best are often very succesful in other areas of their life, and are often working in demanding roles that mean they can’t follow a standard training plan, or really want to be doing the best training that they can but dont have the capacity to research what that is.

If you’re new to running, I’m not the right coach for you.

If you want to step up to run your first marathon after a few years of running and have completed a half marathon I’d love to help and have done this for lots of people. I like to learn about my runners, in order to see how they might be getting in their own way and see if together we can do a little more than “get them round” 26.2 miles.

I’ve helped runners navigate returns from injury or build up their training to navigate niggles. Its not always about that time goal, it can be about making a commitment to yourself to run more regularly, improve fitness and explore new places whilst knowing that running regularly helps reduce stress and improve mental health.

If you have completed a marathon (or several) and know you’ve got more potential to unlock and are prehaps even eyeing a Good For Age Time, sub-3 or other meaningful time goal: let’s talk. You’re probably the kind of runner I can help the most.

Monthly marathon coaching: £120

We are going to own the road on marathon day. Together.

Working 1:1 with a proven marathon coach who has delivered for clients. Whether you want a sub 3, a GFA time or a debut marathon performances of significance.

I’ve walked the walk; marathons is what I breath and love. I’ll be with you all the way. Contact me when you need me. Whatsapp, call or via the Final surge App

What’s inclued?

• Initial call or run to get to know you properly, establish our working relationship and your training background this helps us define why the goals you have are improtant to you, what an appropriate achieveable goal even is, and what the right level of training to start you at is.
• A bespoke training plan, that evolves to keep you progressing, delivered through an app week by week
• Regular contact via whatsapp as you need it to discuss any issues, ask questions, and keep you feeling supported as you push yourself in new ways.
• A monthly call to go deeper into conversation; this can be about what ever the athlete needs and can be a deep dive into nutrition, race preparation, barriers to training, recovery, race psychology, kit, niggles, strength training pointers….
• Understand your strengths and weaknesses. I believe in a holistic approach and training weaker areas to become and all round better marathon runner,
• I review the training you do / do not do and we communicate: for some this is a tick the box and move on. For others each run gets a write up and we have fuel for a discussion. It’s up to you.
• I help you understand the reasons behind the types of training and how a marathon plan comes together – so you can go on to self-coach yourself. Some customers stay for several marathon cycles and love the way they can switch off, let me do the planing (and replanning) and help hold them to account, settle nerves and perform. Others are on that one big period of sacrifice for a lifetime goal and we work together to get them under their target time in a single cycle.
• We work together to develop consitency, accountability and achieve results. Your marathon potential is reached by the time you hit the start line after months of work. We know what it is o the day because of the data and experience through training. And race day is an execution of the plan, a celbration of the work you’ve done and the new quiet confidence you’ve tapped into. You might even relax enough to high five a few kids, smile at the crowds in the last mile as you head to the finish with certainty.