Ben Lewis Run Coaching

22/09/2026

22/09/2026

Amazing performances all round from our Squad and Session Runners at Rotherham 10K last Sunday - what an event that was!

Leading the men's Squad and Hillsborough and Rivelin Running Club to the finish was Dan S (2nd in 34:41 and a 30-second improvement on last year's race). The women of both the Squad and the HRRC were led home by Sarah M (49:34 and 4th F40 - do her feet ever touch the floor...?)

Squad Runners:
(Women)
Catherine A (back after some groin issues - 50:13, Course PB and 2nd V50)
Charlie N (56:29, a 3-minute PB and 10th V50)
Shawna S (1:00.55)

(Men)
Andy K (New 10k PB of 41:06 and 3rd M55)
Christian H (41:38 and 4th M55)
Joe H (48:08)
Ben C (50:01 even allowing for a quick vomit stop after a week of illness ... a *6-minute PB*!)
Scott S (69:20 as a training run ahead of Sheff 10k)

Session Runners:
Ruth J (1:00.22)
Chris M (46:58 and 3rd M60)
Steven M (49:44 - his first sub-50 10k and a 4-min Course PB while full of cold!)

Big thanks to Brad for many of these snaps btw! :D

21/09/2026

Congrats to Coached Runner Nadine A (5:07) and Session Runner Max R (3:36) for conquering the brutal Nine Edges trail race last week - over 32km of running and almost 900 metres of elevation. Very impressive!

19/09/2026

Emma P and Kate W: Derbyshire Dales Trail Half (and bonus Abersoch Coast Trail 20k)

Lovely runs from Emma P and Kate last weekend and today - I had scheduled this post a while back but it is hard to keep up with Kate sometimes ...

Emma has been working with me for the past four months to try to get some consistency in her training following a number of niggles and injuries. I left our session the day before her race quite confident that we were getting somewhere and was delighted to see that she got through such a tough run pain-free! Amazing, Emma - all that crosstraining has paid off too eh?! ;-)

Kate W, representing Steel City Striders Public Page was just doing Kate W things really - two big trail races in less than a week, finishing in the top ten V60 at Derbyshire Dales and 1st V70 at Abersoch (one of her 'happy places'). Our session this week was a quite philosophical one and focused more on goals and motivation: she is really enjoying the shift towards some quicker work and intervals, but at the same time is currently drawn by the 'call of the wild' - longer trail and off-road running. I am fully supportive of this: probably the biggest thing I have learnt from Kate - and there have been many things - is that you must learn to 'love the work' and find innate joy in movement. As we always say to each other: if you're not enjoying it, do something else!

Well done to you both - the smiles say it all

18/09/2026

Vale of York Half/Yorkshire Vets Champs

Well done to Suzanne M and Pete K at the Vale of York Half Marathon last Sunday.

Suzanne of Pen*stone Footpath Runners finished 16th woman, 3rd V50 and 2nd in the Yorkshire Vets Champs (1:31.18). Really pleased for her because, as she put it, she 'couldn't run a bath' two months ago (a slight exaggeration, but I feel her frustration). Suzanne is an incredibly talented runner and a very good coach in her own right, overseeing the Pen*stone Juniors. She reached out to me after seeing some stagnation in her results with a view to looking for a fresh perspective on how to proceed/what to change, as well as to work on her run in more detail (see my comments yesterday re: upper hamstring pain in Master's women!). It has been very rewarding together over the past two months, Suzanne.

Pete K (1:40.51) of Hillsborough and Rivelin Running Club is one of my longest-standing runners and another competitive V50 Athlete. He used this half as a tester of Marathon race pace, kit and fuelling ahead of York Marathon in just over four weeks. Heart rate, breathing, effort and movement all seem to be in the right place and it was a nice little hit out. At today's session he told me he felt a little more tired than usual, but is otherwise feeling good. Excited for you, Pete!

It turned out that they were actually parked next to each other and so had a quick chat afterwards. Getting the Squad together is always my priority ... and we need to do it again soon when things calm down a little.

17/09/2026

Big shout-out to Clare T and Karen S at the Richmond Marathon Festival last Sunday after a pretty solid block of training and some good build-up races (see previous posts). From our phone calls the night before, it was clear that the conditions (18 degrees and *90% humidity*) were going to force them to adapt their approach and goals slightly.

Clare finished in 3:44 (4th in the V45 category) which will hopefully be enough for her to get a Good for Age Qualifier for the London Marathon, with the qualifying time of 3:45. Our major focus over the past few months has been relieving her glute/upper hamstring issues that are very common in many of my Masters Women runners. (Why is another matter for another day).

Karen, who also had the A Goal of a V50 London Qualifier, was broadly on pace for that, but unfortunately had to pull out at around 32k with a flare-up of her asthma symptoms, which have continued over the past few days - coughing and chest pain. Definitely the right call, Karen! Her progress this year has been excellent and soon she will catch a marathon break!

Very proud of them both and lucky to be able to work with them. What is more, the amount of messages I get that read 'I'm having issues with my running and Clare/Karen/Sandi/another Smiley Paces Runner recommended that you have a look at me' is really touching. I am now also working with Clare's sister Kim (remotely, so we are trying a few things out!) and just hope that they can both run together in London next Spring.

Rest up!

16/09/2026

Great North Run 2026

Well done to my coached and session runners who completed the iconic GNR last Sunday. It was warm and it was busy and a lot of fun was had.

Squad Runners:

Christian H (1:50)
Berni E (2:17)
Scott S (2:34)
Andy K (1:50 and 10-minute Course PB on a Steady Run)
Josh R (1:29.17)
Baraa W (1:30.09 and 4-minute Half PB)

Session Runners:
Danny M: 2:00
Karen C: 2:02 - first back after a nasty hip injury we have been getting after
Andy H of Steel City Striders Public Page finding some good form again under the tutelage of Cara Hanson Knead To Run's programming: 1:39

15/09/2026

As a South Walian, there is only one way to pronounce 'BARRADELL' and this is it!

Lovely scenes at the end of the Dragon's Tail Ultra Race, where Vicky (Victoria BARRADELL) and Fran actually ended up winning joint first place - 'great idea being in a race with only 3 female finishers', as Vicky put it :D - after over *25 hours* of running across two days, from Camarthenshire to Cardiff.

Vicky says that she got through the last six miles 'thinking about my hamstrings and listening to Fran's dodgy running playlists!) Whatever works, I suppose?

Maybe somebody else should break it to her that we might just be doing a similar stretch on the bike for our Squad Training Camp next year ...? :D

Well done to you both and enjoy some time off!

14/09/2026

Big congrats to John N (pictured in black with the white hat and exhibiting nice shapes) of Steel City Striders Public Page for his brilliant performance at the England Athletics Masters Qualifier Half Marathon in Worcester yesterday.

He finished in 1:50.09 and was 4th in the V70 Category, missing out on an England vest by just *18 seconds*. A 'bitter sweet' day, as he put it, but one he should be proud of. He wrote after that he 'couldn't have done any more' - and that is all a coach can ask of their athletes, and all an athlete can ask of themselves.

I am fortunate to work with some of the best Masters Runners in the region and the country, and John - who is not far from moving up to the V75 Category - is certainly among them. He will keep chipping away and, as I always say to him, my main job is to ensure that he 'keeps on keeping on'.

John is a great guy to coach and the fluidity and strength of his stride have won him many favourable comments ... and me quite a few runners too :D Appreciate you, John!

We continue.

13/09/2026

Aloha Tri Mondseeland in Austria - paradise on earth?

Shout-out to one of my Squad Coached Athletes Dave K, who took part in the 70.3 in the wonderful surroundings of the Austrian countryside last weekend. Dave is coming back from some health issues over the past year and reached out to work with me on his run, but also to think about how to change his training to build back to his best.

In the end he decided to skip the run leg because he had 'nothing left' after the challenging bike ride (2:47) and the swim, but says that he had a 'brilliant time' in an 'incredible place' - not quite Hillsborough Park, but we'll take it I suppose! :D

Well done, Dave. Very excited to be working together.