Online running coaching and personalised training plans
My adventures of running, training and life.
I’m Gareth Cooke — a running coach and personal trainer from Barnsley, and a member of Barnsley Athletic Club. I took myself from a 4:04 first marathon to a 2:24:35 personal best while working full time, and I’ve run every single day since 30 November 2015. That’s 3,938 days, and counting.
I coach runners online — from first-timers working towards a 5K to club runners chasing a Good For Age. Every plan is written around your week: the days you can actually train, at paces built from your own recent times, with the reasoning behind each session explained rather than just handed to you.
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.
Want to see what I’ve been doing, check out the updates section.
Inspire, Motivate, Achieve
Day 3,938 — 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-to-1 coaching
- Training written week by week, for you
- WhatsApp access — I’m a message away
- Race planning, pacing and taper
- Premium adds form analysis and a monthly call
£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
£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£30
Strength & conditioning plan — a full progressive programme of runner-specific gym and bodyweight work to keep you injury-free and stronger over the closing miles.
Add S&CNot sure yet? Start with a free consultation — email, WhatsApp or a phone call, no obligation.
therunningmaninblue over on YouTube
In years gone by I took a proactive stance to writing up my racing and training reports with a lot of this moving over to a YouTube channel that I routinely update. If you’re interested in following and watching along check out my channel here.
I Set My 5K PB. 3 Days Later I Was Injured.
I’ve put a video up that’s been hard to make, if I’m honest. It’s about the fortnight either side of…
I Got Lost At Scunthorpe parkrun. The Lad Who Beat Me Showed Me The Way.
Episode 1 of Champion of Yorkshire is up, and it starts with a slightly awkward admission: Scunthorpe isn’t actually in…
Working Out Your Race Pace From a parkrun
Your Saturday morning 5k tells you more about your marathon than any watch prediction does. Here is how to turn…
From the athletes I coach
18:23 parkrun
Like clockwork. Whatever I set, he hits it on the nose. Training comes in peaks and troughs as it does for all of us, and he is a big confidence player, so the job is keeping the belief up when a block goes quiet. Down to 18:23 at parkrun and a few sub-40 10ks along the way.
Tom, coached athlete