Testimonials

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I got in touch with Dan at the beginning of 2024 with one simple goal - a sub 3 hour marathon.

We only had 10 weeks to work with but in that short time Dan put together the most consistent and educated training plan I have ever followed.

The hard work paid off and I was delighted to run 2:53:41 at Barcelona in March 2024!

Not only is Dan's training methodical and progressive, he is realistic with fitting workouts and long runs in alongside everyday work and social life. Unlike other coaches I have trained with , you can tell that Dan really cares about his runners and wants you to succeed more than anything. An all round top guy!

I am so pleased and grateful to have found a great coach and can’t wait to see what we can achieve together in the future. Bring on Berlin in September 2024! 

Joe Devine, 2:53:41, Barcelona Marathon 2024

 "Absolutely delighted with that. Run of my life where everything went to plan! Emptied the tank and managed to negative split." 

I was very pleased with Dan's training plan for my recent marathon, which resulted in an 8 minute personal best, also setting PBs at 5 mile, Half Marathon and 20 miles during the training block. 

Things got off to a bad start for me with the return of a recurring injury after only one week, through no fault of the training I must add. This caused me to miss a couple of weeks before getting back to a more condensed version of the plan which was issued weekly and adapted as necessary by Dan around races and my other commitments. 

Dan was always quick to respond to any queries and give feedback and even pandered to me by working in kilometers!

All in all, a brilliant service which I highly recommend and would use again.

Scott Love, 3:05:02, Manchester Marathon 2023

 My experience of working with Dan was very successful for many reasons. Working closely over a 2 month training block, I was able to hit my 5K target of a sub 17:30 PB having hit a dip in form and confidence prior to contact with Dan. 

After our initial meeting discussing goals, I was impressed by Dan’s drive and passion for running. Communication was always regular and any questions I had were answered very quickly with thought-out answers and feedback. In running, there can be small margins that allow the runner to get quicker. Dan has an eye for detail that procures client gains and it always looking to learn himself how to take his own coaching to the next level.

My weekly training plan was bespoke, with a purpose for every single run whether it was recovery or training. Being allocated specific paces for all runs was a game changer for me, as was learning about the benefits of proper tapering and recovery. Dan’s enthusiasm makes him easy to get along with and I felt that coach-runner relationship was strong as a result. Weaknesses that we identified through the block were addressed with positive solutions. Positive thoughts about the race outcome were subtly planted weekly as well.

Quality of the training was excellent resulting in me hitting target paces that I never felt capable of reaching previously. Gradually my fitness and confidence increased peaking with hitting my target goal without even wearing my running watch. I’m grateful to Dan for his mentoring and highly recommend him to anyone considering a coach. I believe he has a big future as a running coach and I’m looking forward to continuing working together. 

 David Henderson, 17:29, QA 5k 2023 

I reached out to Dan for a training plan to help me run the Loch Ness Marathon.

My goal was simple - to improve on my time from Edinburgh of 3:47. What I ended up achieving was this, and much much more...

With a busy home life with limited time for running, it was really important to me to maximise the effectiveness of my training and give the race my best shot.

I discussed with Dan what I could commit to, we made an outline plan covering what days I could train, and set an ambitious stretch target of 3:30.

Then the hard work began.

For me, Dan removed all the complexity of training:

- I was sent the upcoming weeks training every Sunday

- I found the instructions straightforward to understand.

- I ran the sessions as prescribed.

This worked well for me, removing any worries about how to run, and I enjoyed the variety and cadence of the different types of training.

Dan would reach out to me at the end of each week to discuss how things had gone, and was always available for ad-hoc advice, and to make any quick adjustments to the program to fit in around life.

During the block I discussed with Dan about my other goals of running 5k and 10k PBs. Dan encouraged me to work some other races into the training plan with the aim of bench marking my fitness, and to give me a shot at hitting these.

Because of Dan's help and guidance I was able run the Stirling 10k where I hit a huge PB of 39:28, far surpassing anything I had ran before.

I also achieved a time of 18:06 at Edinburgh parkrun - beating my previous best from only 15 weeks prior by over 1 minute. This really was the icing on the cake.

In the lead up to marathon Dan was always available for advice, helping me with lots of things including nutrition, race day planning, and strategy. He was also very encouraging which really gave me a real feeling of confidence going into the race.

Ultimately, I ran a 3:32 on a hot and hilly course in Loch Ness which was a fantastic result. While I narrowly missed my stretch goal, I was really proud of what I achieved, with the feeling that I left everything out there, and given it my absolute best shot.

I would highly recommend Dan as a coach. The proof of his effectiveness is in the results - 3 PBs for the price of 1!

My next challenge is to work out what goal I want to achieve next... I look forward to working with Dan on how to get me there!

Sandy Statham, 3:32:58, Loch Ness Marathon 2023