Athlete Review

Who are you, what is your main goal and why did you decide to have a coach?

I'm Meg and my main aim is to achieve marathon PB and hopefully complete my first Triathlon. I decided to get an coach after years of bad coaching previously, I lost confidence in myself and running. After meeting Ali where I work, he made me start to believe in myself again so decided to trust the coaching process again and start with a coach again

What do you value about the coaching that you that you didn’t have before - and how is it going so far?

Communication between coach and client, I never really had that before, I can message/strop at Ali and he's always there to answer and is understanding

What was the most difficult thing to get used to when you started the coaching process - and how do you feel about it now?

Running slower and giving Ali feedback about my sessions, when it goes wrong or rubbish I don't want to say anything as I worry I get told off or say I wasn't working hard enough but Ali is very good at making me understand its about progress and listening to the body

How does the coaching fit in with your lifestyle – and do you have a lot to balance in your life?

It fits really well, I work in the leisure industry and like teaching fitness classes, teaching swimming and working in the gym so my training has to fit around that

What are the main things you have learnt in you time as a coached athlete with Ali?

To trust the process, run slow on easy days and run like a bitch on the hard days

Do you feel like you have developed as an athlete since starting the coaching process, if so, how?

Yes, in lockdowns (and when allowed to) me and Ali did 121s working on my running posture/technique which has made me more an effective runner, I also haven't been injured in the two years since being coached by Ali which is an extra bonus

Why did you choose Ali to be your coach and what do you think about him?

I choose Ali as I can relate to him as an person as well as a coach and he is the only one who can handle my strops