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Dan Grieves Coaching

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Dan Grieves Coaching

Cycling and running coaching services based in the North East of England.

I offer personalised coaching programmes complete with equipment, nutrition and pacing advice to help you perform at your very best.

20/08/2025

UTMB Route - Day 2 of 3

The big day, the 2nd day wasn’t the longest but we both regarded it as the hardest.

42 miles and roughly 14,400ft of ascent gave an average elevation of 340ft per mile, the biggest of any day. The elevation plays a huge part in factoring how long its going to take, I could probably cover the 42 miles comfortably in around 6 hours, but with the elevation we were looking at more like 12 hours (18 minute miles) which would be hiking the ups and running the flats and downs.

So, today we were up at 5am for a 6am start, we didn’t really have much for breakfast, opting for a flapjack each, but 6am as planned we were off and the 1st climb of the day, pretty much straight out the door was the 1286m col du bonhomme. One thing we both instantly noticed is the pain in our shoulders and backs, I had considered that this may cause pretty significant damage, I had nerve pain in my neck by this point but didn’t get any worse, I was in too deep now anyways.

One good thing from starting early was that it was alot cooler, which made the 1st climb straightforward.

On the second climb of the day, on the Col de la Seigne, we passed none other than Michel Poletti (founder of the UTMB) we chatted for a short while before continuing onto the Refuge Elisabetta for a Fanta and baguette.

We continued reasonably trouble free, swapping bonjour for ciao as we crossed the border, ticking off the miles to the descent into Courmayeur.

We weren’t sure if could actually get any hotter than it had been but it did! One thing you notice with going high and low is the temperature changes, up high it felt around high 20s, but dropping into the towns it felt like mid 30’s.

Continued in comments 👇

16/08/2025

UTMB Route - Day 1 of 3

So, arriving in Chamonix I had to buy some new Leki poles, as mine had seized, we both considered doing it without, this would have been a huge mistake and we both would have ended up sourcing some on a village on route 😂.

Once that was sorted and I was 180€ lighter, we set off on our 1st day, was looking like 20 miles to Les Contamines with 1 significant 1400m climb in the middle at Les Houches. Pretty straight forward, but it soon dawned on us there would be 2 significant aspects coming our way.

The heat - f**k me it was hot, roughly 32 degrees in Chamonix.
We both hated our packs, they felt really heavy due to carrying 3 days worth of kit.

We set off out of Chamonix, with our preferred paces being slightly different, we both had 8kg packs on and neither of us had tested 8kg out prior, they just felt enormous and bouncy. Ali set off at like 8.30 min mile pace, I think we got around 400 yards before I I come out with “mate ya gona have to cool it, I’m f**ked already” after that we settled into a low 9 minute mile pace on the trail to Les Houches.

Coming into Les Houches (a whole 5 miles in) my knee was screaming, I’ve had the same knee issue on and off for about 15 years now, my left leg is slightly longer than my right, which is un noticeable, but I think it causes the issue, anyways, it’s normally easily manageable but it felt exceptionally bad. I honestly was thinking through scenarios where I was going to have to get buses round etc. To meet Ali along the route. However, stopped for a quick stretch and voltarol application in Les Houches and it seemed to fade, a mile later into the climb (with the glutes getting a bit workout due to these massive f**king packs) and it completely subsided! Result!

— continued in the comments 👇

14/08/2025

UTMB Route in 3 Days - The Build-Up

After finishing the TDS last year and giving the bike another go (which I quickly realised I hated), I started to wonder what to do next, UTMB or CCC would have been a dream scenario, but myself and Ali Bailey were both unsuccessful in the lottery.

It might sound naff, but I think about it all the time, you only get one shot at life (as far as I know), so I try to cram in as many experiences as possible. This was one of those moments. Ali and I had been talking about running the UTMB loop for years, but we’d never actually set a date. This year, there was nothing stopping us and no excuses. A few messages and we had a rough plan:

• Three days
• 108 miles
• 9,500m elevation gain
• The full UTMB loop
• Get some Summitz content along the way

This wasn’t the sort of trip you taper for or slot neatly into a training plan. I’ve only logged 380 miles of running so far this year, and most of my focus has been on the bike, but I’ve got some big days in including some back to back BG legs, which has kept the endurance and mountain legs in decent shape.

We’d be self-supported between villages, so kit choice mattered. We both went with a RaidLight 24L pack big enough to carry everything for three days: fresh Summitz kit for each day, waterproofs, nutrition, and all the little bits incase the s**t I hit the fan.

Physically, I wasn’t heading in without concerns. My right knee has carried a persistent pain for my whole endurance life, and my left calf has a knack for tightening up right when I’m feeling good. Still, it was booked, so I figured I’d just wing it and see what happened. There was also the issue that Ali is a far superior runner than myself 😂

Our schedule looked like...
• Friday: Arrive in Chamonix mid-afternoon, run 20 miles to Les Contamines
• Saturday: 42 miles through Courmayeur to Anovouraz
• Sunday: 46 miles to close the loop back to Chamonix

Logistics meant a 2am alarm in Edinburgh for a 7am flight, so we’d be hitting the trails roughly by 2pm

It wasn’t the official UTMB, but it was the same mountains, the same route and the perfect excuse for an adventure.

Next up: Day 1 Chamonix to Les Contamines.

05/08/2025

🚀 New Blog Post! 🚀
Finding Free Speed – Aero Testing at Silverstone Sports Engineering Hub 🧪💨

I’ve been back in the tunnel chasing watts and marginal gains. From position tweaks to kit choices, it’s all about squeezing every bit of free speed without spending extra energy.

Unfortunately I didn't test skateboard helmet, but that's in the pipeline 😅

Head over to 👉 www.dangrievescoaching.co.uk for the full breakdown and insights from the session (link in bio)

25/07/2025

Massive shoutout to two of the lads this week — two wins! 🥇🥇

took his first open victory at the Protech Velo M9 event on Sunday

came out on top at the Vags 10 club event last night (also thinking outside the box with his mental skateboard helmet 🥰)

Both work super hard, nail every session ❤️

Buzzing for you guys.

23/06/2025

Big weekend of racing for the guys! 💥

First up, huge kudos to Tim who lined up at the AG Standard Duathlon World Championships in Pontevedra, Spain 🇪🇸. Despite carrying some injury niggles into the race, he dug deep and came away with a solid 28th place finish on the world stage. Class resilience!

Back in the UK, Andy Hall, while still recovering from his 12 hour performance, had a weekend at the Emergency Services 10 Mile Trophy — not only taking the win, but also topping the vets category across the 2-day event. A proper all-round performance! 🔥

No racing for me this time, but I was lucky enough to be out supporting a record-breaking Double Bob Graham Round — an absolutely awe-inspiring effort and a reminder of what the human body and mind can achieve with the right prep and mindset 💪

Proud coach moment all round. Onwards 🚀

06/06/2025

Previous achievements and coaching qualifications

22/05/2025

Big weekend of racing — myself and took on UTMB’s UTS in Snowdonia, testing the legs (and lungs!) in some epic Welsh terrain. ⛰️

Meanwhile, was flying the flag on two wheels, smashing out a solid 19th place in the Vags M47 event. Strong riding! 💪

With the longer distances on the cards this week, the spotlight’s been on fuelling right — plenty of carbs, and yes, that includes cookies. 🍪

Let’s keep it rolling — summer season is just getting started! ☀️🔥

15/05/2025

Kit Packing Tips I’ve Learned over the years

Whether you’re heading into an ultra, long ride, or mountain mission—being organised can save your race. A few things I swear by:

1⃣ Waterproof your clothing

Bag up your kit so it’s watertight. That way you can cool off in a stream or dump water over your head without stressing about soaking your dry layers.

2⃣ Label everything

Middle of the night, cold, tired, hunting for leggings… and you’ve got 3 identical black bags. Make it easy for your future self—label or colour-code them.

3⃣ Use ripable bags

No faffing around with zips or tight seals. Use bags you can tear open easily, even with gloves on. When you need something, you need it now.

It’s not glamorous—but it makes a difference when it counts.

30/04/2025

Slight late racing weekend roundup 😅

Myself and raced the N&DCA 10 champs, with Andy winning the V40 category and 4th overall 😍

was running this weekend in the Cheviot trail events 10 mile trail run, coming home in a solid 8th 💪

Myself? I'd rather not talk about Sunday 😅

25/04/2025

Summer is on the horizon, which means hot weather racing, this is less of an issue for cycling (still an issue) but a bigger issue in running due to slower speeds and less will chill.

For the purpose of this post, it will be focused around ultra running, but most of these tips can be applied to most sports!

1. Sodium Pre-Loading
Take ~1000–1500mg supplemented sodium the day before leading up to the race this additional sodium will increase plasma volume and promotes water retention, which can delay dehydration and improve thermoregulation during early stages of the race.

2. Hydration + Electrolyte Strategy
Aim for ~400–800mg sodium/hr depending on your sweat rate and weight. Replace both fluids and electrolytes—don’t rely on water alone. Overhydration without salt risks hyponatremia. Hyponatremia is diluted sodium concentration and can lead to various symptoms, ranging from mild to severe, including muscle cramps, confusion and sickness.

3. Cooling Arm Sleeves
Soak lightweight sleeves at aid stations—they retain moisture for evaporative cooling while protecting from sun exposure. Cooling the skin reduces thermal strain and perceived effort. Pass a stream in the mountains? Put your arms under the water, your arms have a large surface area with blood supply running reasonably close to the skin.

4. Wear a hat
The head accounts for a significant proportion of total body surface area, and in direct sunlight, it’s a major point of heat absorption. A light-colored, breathable hat reflects solar radiation, reducing skin temperature and delaying heat load accumulation.

5. Wear light coloured clothing
Light-coloured clothing generally absorbs less heat than dark coloured clothing, which results in lower skin temperature.

6. Adjust Your Early Effort
In the heat, blood is diverted to skin for cooling—leaving less for working muscles. Go out conservatively to prevent cardiac drift and overheating later in the race.

7. Red Flags
Dizziness, headache, chills, or confusion? Back off and cool down. Heat stroke isn’t worth the finish line.

Top tip: Heat adaptation will help massively with any heat on race day, it’s a good idea to implement this into your training

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