Gareth Cooke, online running coach, racing across a bridge at the Berlin Marathon in his Barnsley AC vest

Online running coach, Barnsley

I ran 2:24 around a full time job. I’ll show you how to fit fast running into yours.

Online coaching and personalised plans for busy runners chasing a number. Sub 3:30, sub 3, sub 90, sub 20.

See coaching Free training week

2:24:35 marathon PB
3,977 days streak
Coaching since 2010

Gareth Cooke running past Big Ben at the London Marathon — London Marathon

Gareth Cooke racing down the Mall at the London Marathon — The Mall

Gareth Cooke racing the Great North Run in the rain — Great North Run

Gareth Cooke crossing the finish line at the Beverley 10K — Beverley 10K

I’m Gareth Cooke, a running coach and personal trainer from Barnsley and a member of Barnsley Athletic Club. I went from a 4:04 first marathon to 2:24:35 while working full time, and I’ve run every single day since 30 November 2015. That’s 3,977 days and counting. When surgery came along I kept the streak going, came back, and ran 15:40 at parkrun. None of that happened because I had loads of spare time. It happened because the training fitted the life.

Most of the people I coach look a lot like I did: working, busy, already running a fair few miles a week and stuck just short of a number. Sub 3:30, sub 3, sub 90, sub 20. Every plan is written around the days you can actually train, at paces built from your own recent times. If you want the strength side covered too, Premium coaching adds a full strength programme, progressed alongside your running.

The title ‘therunningmaninblue’ came from choosing to wear the same blue top when racing before I joined a running club. I have previously run for Penistone Footpath Runners & Athletic Club; making the transfer to the blue side again in 2021.

Not sure which option fits, or want to talk something through before committing? Email me on gareth@therunningmaninblue.co.uk. I answer every message myself.

Read the latest from my own training and the runners I coach on the blog.

Day 3,977 and still running

Train with someone who hasn’t missed a day since 2015

I took myself from a 4:04 marathon to 2:24:35 while working full time. No altitude camps, no shortcuts. Whatever you’re chasing, I’ll build the training that gets you there.

2:24:35 marathon PB / Coaching & PT since 2010 / Barnsley AC / Streak since 30 Nov 2015

£80 / £120

Standard / Premium, per month

1:1 coaching

Training written week by week in TrainingPeaks, synced to your watch
WhatsApp access, so I’m only ever a message away
Race planning, pacing and taper
Premium adds form analysis and a monthly call

See the tiers

£39

One off payment

Personalised training plan

5K, 10K, half or full marathon
Paces built from your own recent PB
Every session named and explained
Delivered as a branded PDF

Build my plan

Add on

£60

Running form analysis. Send up to five twenty second clips from your phone, filmed from behind and side on. You get back what your stride is actually doing, plus the corrective strength work aimed at the faults it finds.

Analyse my form

Add on

£30

Strength & conditioning plan. A full progressive programme of gym and bodyweight work built for runners, to keep you clear of injury and stronger over the closing miles.

Add S&C

New

£29

Training audit. Upload your Strava, Garmin or TrainingPeaks export and I’ll read your recent training. You get back what is working, what is missing, your fitness profile and the three things to change first.

Audit my training

Not sure yet? Start with a free consultation by email, WhatsApp or a phone call. No obligation.

Free tool

What could you run off your current fitness?

Put in a recent race and get predicted times from 5K to marathon, plus your seven training paces from recovery to reps. Free, and it takes about a minute.

Recovery / Easy / Steady / Marathon / Threshold / Interval / Reps

Find my paces

Athletes I coach

2:52:35 marathon

Boston Marathon

Came to me in September 2024 with a marathon best of 2:58:52. Through that winter he took the half down to 79:06 at Brass Monkey and ran 36:09 for 10k at Dewsbury, then went to Boston and came home in 2:52:35. Over six minutes quicker than he had ever run. After the inevitable post-marathon flat spell he came back and took the half to 1:17:37 at Manchester.

Keiron, coached athlete

2:37:14 marathon

Riga, May 2026

Injury prone, and every block is a balance between doing enough volume and tipping him over the edge. Get that balance right and this is what happens: a half marathon best of 1:11:03, a win at the Coventry Half in early 2026, and 2:37:14 in Latvia that May.

Alex, coached athlete

3:15:47 marathon

Berlin Marathon, aged 57

A six minute marathon personal best at 57 years old, and in the best shape he has ever been in. Start to finish of that block he went from strength to strength. Most importantly he says he enjoyed the process, which is half the battle.

Neil, coached athlete

Free, no card needed

Try a week of my training before you spend a penny

A full week of real sessions, written the same way I write them for the runners I coach, with the reasoning behind every one. See how the easy days, the sessions and the long run fit together, then decide if you want more.

Send me the free week

The Valencia Project Race day 6 December 2026

Every mile of a 2:24 marathon build, filmed

On 6 December I line up in Valencia. The standard race predictors say I’m a 2:30 marathoner. My own numbers say 2:24 is still in there. The Valencia Project is the whole build on YouTube, week by week. The sessions, the mileage, the bad days and the good ones, with the reasoning behind every week so you can take it into your own training.