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Running Training Testimonials

Sarah Urwin

"With the help of Andy over the last 2 years I have achieved my goal of running under 3 hours for the London Marathon. After having my child I wasn’t sure if I would get back o where I was before. In 2008 I did a personal best for 10 km’s, 10 miles and the Marathon (2 hours 58). Thank you."

Steve Evans

“Completing a half marathon was just a fantastic sensation. It was one of the greatest achievements of my life. It was also one of the most difficult things that I have ever done. I am very grateful towards Chris and his team for helping and encouraging me. I could not have done it without them”.

Ioannis

“Running the Bristol half marathon was such a hard thing to do. I almost cried at the end it was that hard. I pushed myself, and achieved something I’d only dreamed of, a sub 2hr half marathon. After completing the half marathon I wanted another, yet different challenge. So I climbed Kilimanjaro. This took 4 days. I am waiting to decide what my next challenge shall be”.

Leon Rudge

“I came to train with Chris to improve my fell running and trail running. My fitness and strength has greatly improved since I started training and I look forward to the next seasons racing. Thank you Chris for all your help, my first victory is for you.”

frank smithFrank Smith | Marathon des Sables

I’ve taken part in competitive biathlon, triathlon and various endurance races such as the Three-Peaks Yacht Race and Karrimor Mountain Marathons for the last 35 years, but when my entry for the 2010 Marathon des Sables was accepted, I decided that I needed specialist help to prepare.  

This was the 25th anniversary of this classic race and the longest course put together so far. The press have dubbed this “the toughest foot race on earth”. It takes place over 6 days, in stages of various lengths, (the longest 82.2 km, run through day and night), across 250 km of the South Moroccan Sahara, in temperatures of between 40? and 50?C. Competitors have to carry all the gear necessary to survive for 7 days in the desert including food (minimum of 2000 kcal per day), cooking and sleeping gear and survival and navigation equipment. Only water is provided at check points because it would be impossible to carry enough water to survive for the week. Terrain consists of the largest sand dunes in the Sahara (ergs), dry salt lakes, mountain (jebel) climbs, ridge running and uneven trails across plains strewn with sharp volcanic-type rocks. 

With 3 months left until the race, I turned to Andy Wadsworth at MyLife, on the advice of other athletes with whom he’s worked, to help with final training. Over a couple of initial sessions we worked out a schedule concentrating on several different aspects of preparation. After paring gear and kit to a minimum, I still had a rucksack which, with sufficient dehydrated food, salt and electrolyte tablets, 3 water bottles, sleeping bag, 7g titanium stove, cooking pot, spare pair of socks, shorts and shirt, survival kit and compulsory emergency flare (1kg) would weigh approximately 12kg, without water. It seemed sensible to try and negate this load, so Andy worked out a balanced diet to help me lose as much weight as possible. By the time of the race I had managed to shed 15kg.  

Andy prepared a physical training schedule to which I managed to adhere to (loosely), consisting of biking (combined triathlon training and non-weight bearing exercise to reduce risk of training injury), and progressively increasing amounts of running, building to approximately 60-70 miles per week in the final preparation stages. In the 4 weeks before the race we included 2 three-day endurance sessions in the Brecon Beacons and on Dartmoor. In weekly early morning sessions at My Life, Andy concentrated on core exercises, completely unfamiliar to me, which would help reduce risk of injury during periods of fatigue in the race. Since this sort of event is run in your head first and then in your legs, we also concentrated on psychological preparation, on race nutrition and in the last 2 weeks, heat training to suppress the sweat reflex, enhancing preservation of electrolyte balance. 

The race was a great experience. My main aim had been merely to complete. In the event I finished about three quarters of the way down the 1000 strong entry, with best placings around 640 on the 82.2 km stage and around 360 on the final day stage in the Merzouga Dunes. Ten percent of competitors failed to complete or withdrew on medical grounds. Approximately 70% of competitors needed some sort of medical care, usually for blistered feet or dehydration. James Cracknell (Olympic rowing gold medallist), closely shadowed by his Discovery Channel film crew, did the 250 strong British contingent proud, by coming in 12th overall, the highest placing ever achieved by a British athlete in this race.  

Without Andy Wadsworth’s help and the sessions at MyLife, preparation and training would have been much less focussed and I would have been far less likely to have completed this demanding event.  

There is always a sense of anticlimax in having completed a challenge and the benefits of training can be lost at this stage. So, after a short layoff, Andy is now working with me to help me to achieve another goal, to improve my personal best time to a sub-12 hours in the Florida Ironman Triathlon, in November later this year. My thanks are due to Andy and the staff at MyLife. 

Frank Smith

Consultant Vascular Surgeon

Bristol Royal Infirmary