Upping the distance
When I started working with Colin in the Spring of 2023, his biggest run was 21km in the Kilpatrick Hills. But with his eye on some longer and tougher challenges in the summer, we got to work to create a training plan that would not only let him complete them, but do it injury free and with a smile on his face.
The initial work in the gym was to introduce, and get Colin’s body used to, regular strength training. Many of the exercises we incorporated into his programme mimicked the muscular movement patterns involved in running. After establishing a base we ramped up the weights, teaching his body how to recruit more muscle fibres in a given contraction. This helped him to successfully complete the arduous “Ben Deargg Up n Doon” race in June (30km/1400m elevation). After that came the Moray Way 100 mile Ultra Relay (running as part of a team of 4 over a 24 hour period).
With confidence growing, Colin to entered his first solo Ultra Marathon (Dunoon, 58km/1300m elevation). But when it got cancelled due to bad weather, he decided to turn his focus over the winter to achieving a 10k PB.
Slow and steady to short and sharp
He’d narrowly missed out on a sub-50 minute 10k before he turned 50, and with that in mind, lined up an attempt at February 24’s Glasgow Green’s Winter Warmer. This meant a change in training focus with an emphasis on developing the body’s ability to better utilise and deal with lactate. Gym sessions were tailored to help generate more power, whilst a bespoke running programme taught Colin how to run at a more intense pace than the longer ultra marathon style efforts he was accustomed to.
Aiming for a sub-50 time, Colin flew in at 48:35.
Back to what he loves
The rest of 2024 would be focussing on longer runs with Ultras planned for:
- Blair Atholl in June (60km, 2400m)
- Dunoon (50km, 1200m) in September
- Jedburgh (61km, 1400m) in October
From a training perspective, this involved a focus on hip, knee and ankle stability whilst improving Colin’s ability to control his muscles through a greater range of motion. The running this time ensured lots of exposure to off road trails and climbs.
Remaining injury free
As you can imagine. Preparing for events as arduous as these puts a considerable strain on the body. With a busy professional career and family, it was important that we made sure the training fitted around his life. Pushing too hard would be counterproductive. The impact forces created by running create a high risk for injury. Any niggles were dealt with by adjusting training loads where appropriate. This meant that minor issues didn’t turn into major ones. Another thing was to support Colin himself. The weekly hour long gym sessions were a perfect time to talk about how the running was going, to support him when it was tough, and tell him to ease back if he was pushing too hard.
To go from 21km to ultra marathon distance is one thing, but to achieve 3 in the same year is incredible! Throw in a personal best 10k and it makes it even more impressive. Colin has been a brilliant client to work with, and he shows what can be done if you follow the process and put in the hard work. I won’t give anything away here, but he’s already cooking up some even bigger plans for 2025. Watch this space!
