During my time working with Thia I gained a much better understanding of how to structure my training and a better ‘feel’ for my body. Previously I’d relied too much on my Garmin to monitor speed and effort. I was encouraged and learned how to judge the effort on how I felt. I also found the Lydriad approach was helpful – building an aerobic base was beneficial for running and cycling and learning to run for longer periods at reduced pace helped improve my fitness.

Trail running on the wonderful coastline of Gower was fabulous, never to forget experience. It was fabulous to get to know you and learn from your experience and knowledge of running and how the body works and recovers. This was especially useful when I was struggling with injury and fatigue.

Another benefit from training through the winter is that I’ve attained my best ever fitness level. When I got back on the bike following the marathon I’ve been consistently setting PB’s on many rides and climbs, felt more powerful especially on the climbs and less fatigued on longer rides.

I am a working mum with two children. I have always had a goal to complete a marathon and after losing a close friend, 2024 felt the right year to attempt this for charity. I didn’t feel I had much time or interest in researching training approaches, so it had been on my mind to get a coach to help with this!

When I met Thia, she made me feel inspired, excited and grateful to be able to attempt this challenge. I love her approach to running that it should never be a chore and encouraged trying new routes, terrain and not to just run along the prom! (of which I am not a fan!)

I really enjoyed Thia’s approach which was personal to me. I don’t love technology or gadgets and despite me getting a garmin watch to help record my runs, Thia could tell that I wasn’t that interested in my watch! She tailored everything on how I felt, rather simply than what the watch said!

Thia is an experienced runner and she would share very useful nuggets of advice along our journey. She also was generous with her time and joined me for some of my runs which was always appreciated.

She has an inspiring passion for life and is definitely an energiser! I found the level of contact suited me perfectly, she was always there if I had a question, but the interaction level was just right and didn’t take over or feel overwhelming.

I felt motivated and dedicated to my training, I have always enjoyed running but had never ran this far so having someone to be accountable to on my long (very wet) runs I found useful and helped me get through them.

Overall I completely trusted Thia and her guidance, the marathon feels like a bit of a dream, but something I am very proud of. The training paid off and I found the whole thing much more manageable than I ever thought I would. I would highly recommend Thia to anyone considering getting a coach and I hope to use Thia in the future, when I decide what my next challenge will be.

I had always been a casual runner, training for occasional events, such as a half marathon or triathlon. I struggle to keep and training plans and have never really achieved the sort of times and performances I was happy with.

When I signed up for the London marathon, I decided I need to be more disciplined if I was going to achieve my goal, so I decided to hire a coach.

Working with my coach Thia was a game-changer. She created a personalized training plan that was challenging but achievable, and she held me accountable every step of the way. Her support and encouragement were invaluable, especially during the tough training weeks in the depths of winter.

What I loved most about working with Thia was her focus on smart training. She taught me how to train more efficiently, not just harder. She also helped me change my mindset about running. I learned to enjoy the process of training, not just focus on the finish line. She had an innate ability to notice if I was having a good or bad week, checking in with support and motivation when I needed it most.

Thanks to Thia’s coaching, I was able to achieve my goal of running the London Marathon in a time of 4:28. But more importantly, I learned to love running again. I would highly recommend Thia to any runner who is looking to take their training to the next level.