UP Coaching Rooty Hill

03/06/2026

A cool winter morning provided perfect conditions for this morning’s UP Coaching Rooty Hill Long Intervals session.

Long intervals are one of the most effective workouts a runner can do. Sitting somewhere between shorter speed work and longer tempo efforts, they allow you to spend extended periods running at a strong, controlled intensity while still getting enough recovery to maintain quality throughout the session.

The benefits are huge:
🏃 Improve aerobic fitness and endurance
🏃 Increase your lactate threshold
🏃 Develop race pace awareness
🏃 Build mental strength and concentration
🏃 Improve running economy and efficiency when fatigue starts to set in

Whether you’re training for a 5km PB, a half marathon, a marathon, or simply looking to become a stronger runner, sessions like these help bridge the gap between speed and endurance.

Most importantly, everyone worked to their own ability, focusing on consistent effort and quality ex*****on. It’s not about keeping up with someone else—it’s about getting the most from your own training.

Another great morning of hard work, encouragement, and plenty of kilometres banked. Well done everyone!

01/06/2026

A chilly start greeted us at this morning’s UP Coaching Rooty Hill 20/20 Boomerang Tempo session, but it didn’t take long for hearts, lungs and legs to warm up as we headed out along the M7 Shared Path.

The challenge is simple: run out for 20 minutes at your prescribed tempo effort, turn around, and run back for 20 minutes, aiming to arrive back at the start as close to the 40-minute mark as possible. Sounds easy on paper, but it’s a fantastic test of pacing awareness and effort control.

Everyone worked really well this morning, settling into their rhythm and focusing on maintaining a consistent effort. A few athletes paced the session almost perfectly, none more so than Fran, who stopped her watch at an impressive 40:01. Outstanding pacing!

The 20/20 Boomerang is one of those deceptively simple sessions that delivers huge benefits. Learning how to judge and maintain pace is a critical race-day skill, helping runners avoid the all-too-common mistake of going out too hard and paying for it later. At the same time, spending sustained time at tempo effort is excellent for developing aerobic fitness, improving your body's ability to clear lactate, and building the strength needed to hold a strong pace for longer.

Great work by everyone this morning. Consistent effort, smart pacing, and plenty of quality aerobic work banked. That's a fantastic way to start the day.

28/05/2026

7 years… wow. Looking back at this post from 2019 really brings back some memories. It’s hard to believe how quickly the time has gone, but they’re right — time flies when you’re having fun, and we’ve definitely shared plenty of great moments along the way.

I’ll always be incredibly grateful for the trust Coach Brendan placed in me when he welcomed me into the UP Coaching family, and for the ongoing support from the amazing coaching team around me.

Most of all, I feel genuinely lucky to have played even a small part in helping so many incredible athletes chase big goals, break through barriers, celebrate PBs and discover what they’re capable of. Watching people grow in confidence and achieve things they once thought impossible never gets old.

Here’s to the early mornings, the hard sessions, the laughs, the race day nerves and every finish line still to come.

Onward and UPward

We are excited to welcome Tim Peatman into the Coaching team!

Tim, who has been part of the local Blue Mtns squad for years, has been an encouragement to many newer runners and has lately been helping out at our Junior Squads.

We look forward to seeing you flourish Coach Tim!

18/05/2026

🏅 MEDAL MONDAY 🏅

What. A. Weekend. 🔥

To every single UP Coaching Rooty Hill athlete who took on Ultra-Trail Australia… take a moment and really appreciate what you just accomplished. Because UTA is HARD. Brutally hard. Relentlessly hard. The kind of hard that strips things back to pure grit, stubbornness and heart.

It doesn’t matter whether you tackled the 11km, 22km, 50km, 100km or went even further… every single distance at UTA demands respect. These aren’t “just trails”. This is climbing stairs when your legs are screaming. Descending technical terrain on tired legs. Battling cold mornings, fatigue, self-doubt and the endless voice in your head telling you to stop.

And yet… you kept moving forward. 💪

You ran through ancient bushland, over cliffs, through valleys, across ridgelines and deep into the Blue Mountains in ways most people will never experience. While others spent the weekend on the couch, you were out there earning stories that will stay with you forever.

That medal around your neck? It represents:🔥 Early mornings🔥 Sacrifice🔥 Training in heat, rain and darkness🔥 Sore legs and tired bodies🔥 Courage to step into the unknown🔥 Refusing to quit when things got uncomfortable

UTA has a way of exposing people… but it also reveals something powerful. Toughness. Resilience. Character.

And this squad showed all of it in abundance this weekend. ❤️

Some chased PBs.Some conquered a distance for the very first time.Some fought through tough patches and kept going anyway.Some doubted themselves right up until the finish line appeared.

But every single one of you is now part of a very special group of people who can proudly say: “I did UTA.” 🏔️

So today we celebrate YOU. The training. The commitment. The courage. The adventure. The finish lines. The photos. The memories. The medals.

Drop your medal photos below 👇Tell us your favourite moment from the weekend 👇And let’s flood the comments with congratulations for every athlete who took on the mountains this weekend! ⛰️🔥

13/05/2026

Well in just a few hours, trail runners’ Christmas — Ultra-Trail Australia — kicks off with the UTA11! 🏔️🔥

UP Coaching Rooty Hill are incredibly proud to have athletes represented across almost every race this year, including many taking on their very first UTA experience.

The early mornings, long runs, hill repeats, tired legs and sacrifices are all behind you now. The hard work is done. All that’s left is your victory lap.

From the nerves and excitement at the start line to the highs, lows and unforgettable moments out on the trails, you’ve earned your place there.

Trust your training, soak in the atmosphere and enjoy every moment of the adventure ahead.

We’d like to say how proud we are of every single one of you. Run safe, run strong, and know we’re with you every step of the way. We can’t wait to follow your results and hear your stories afterwards. 💪

DBS.

11/05/2026

🔥 SPEED SESSION DONE & DUSTED 🔥

This morning at UP Coaching Rooty Hill it was all about one thing… SPEED. 🏃💨

We split into two groups today:
⚡ One group tackling the full session head-on
⛰️ The other taking a smarter, lighter taper session ahead of this weekend’s Ultra-Trail Australia events.

For the main group, it was short, sharp and savage. Fast running, burning lungs, heavy legs and that feeling of fighting through fatigue when every part of the body wants to back off. Exactly the kind of work that builds strength, resilience and race-day speed.

What made the session special was the way they lifted each other, pushing side-by-side, chasing reps, refusing to ease off and finishing bent over trying to catch their breath. That’s where the growth happens. 👊

Meanwhile, our UTA athletes kept things controlled and smart — easy turnover, relaxed speed and fresh legs ready for the mountains this weekend. Sometimes the hardest thing for runners to do is hold back, but they nailed it perfectly today. ✅

Perfect conditions, big energy and another session where the work got DONE before most people had even hit snooze. 🌅

Great effort by everyone this morning!

Who else loves that feeling after a hard speed session when the lungs are cooked but you know you got better? 😅👇

04/05/2026

This morning’s Long Hill Repeats session at Rooty Hill delivered one of those moments you can’t quite replicate… a sky lit up in incredible colours as the sun rose, the kind that makes you pause for a second before getting to work. And we did just that — session done and dusted before the rain even had a chance to make an appearance.

Honestly… where else would you rather be?

Hill repeats might not always be the session people circle on the calendar, but they’re the ones that quietly do the heavy lifting. Every climb builds strength through the glutes, hamstrings and calves — the engine room that keeps you moving strong late in races. They also sharpen running economy and stamina, teaching your body to handle effort under fatigue and recover quickly on the way back down.

And then there’s durability. Hills are one of the best ways to build resilience and reduce injury risk. The controlled effort, shorter stride, and improved form all help reinforce good mechanics while strengthening the body in ways flat running just can’t match.

Sessions like this don’t just make you fitter — they make everything else feel easier.

A cracking morning, a great crew, and one of those sessions that leaves you feeling like you’ve really banked something valuable.

10/11/2025

UP Coaching Rooty Hill – Progressive Run Session 🏃‍♂️🐕🐕‍🦺🐾

This morning’s session was all about progression — and not just in pace! We hit the Bungarribee Trail for an out-and-back progressive run, gradually building the tempo as the morning light crept across the parklands.

Joining the crew today were our four-legged legends Zeus and Coco, who decided Darryl needed a little extra resistance training (nothing like a bit of canine cross-fit to fire up those quads 🐶💪). Every time the pace lifted, so did their enthusiasm — and we’re pretty sure the local mob of kangaroos were just as impressed, watching on from the sidelines like a fuzzy cheer squad. 🦘👏

Progressive runs are such a great way to tune into your pacing, feel your effort evolve naturally, and finish strong — both physically and mentally.

💭 How do you like to structure your progressive runs — by distance, time, or feel?
🐕 Do you have a running buddy (human or otherwise) who keeps you honest on pace?
🦘 And who’s got the best wildlife encounter story from a run?

04/11/2025

This morning’s UP Coaching Rooty Hill session was all about grit, rhythm, and resilience 💪

We took on the Gerschler Fartlek x 2 — a session that sounds deceptively easy at first glance. Each hard effort lasts just 30 seconds, but here’s the catch… the “easy” recoveries start at 2 minutes and drop by 15 seconds each round 😳

By the end, those recovery windows are practically gone, and it’s all about holding your form, your focus, and your fight. A brilliant workout for aerobic development — but even more so for mental toughness.

The Rooty Hill crew dug deep today, finding that balance between control and chaos on the track. Every rep counts, and every round builds a stronger, more determined runner. 👟🔥

29/10/2025

UP Coaching Rooty Hill – Long Intervals with Form Focus 🏃‍♀️💨

This morning’s session wasn’t just about speed — it was about how we run. Our Long Intervals with Form Focus gave the squad the chance to strip things back and tune in to the finer details that make a big difference on race day.

While perfect running form isn’t the be-all and end-all, practicing and refining good form helps improve efficiency, boost endurance, and reduce the risk of injury. When performance gains can come down to just a few seconds, getting those 1% details right can make all the difference.

We broke the session down and focused on one area of technique at a time — posture, cadence, arm drive, and foot placement — before bringing it all together in the final intervals.

Change doesn’t happen overnight, and that’s why consistency in training is key. It’s in sessions like these, not on race day, where small, deliberate improvements turn into big results over time.

👏 Great work this morning team — every stride a little smoother, every interval a little stronger!