Runfast coaching

Jordan Hilton with his training partner

7 weeks ago he decided he wanted to run the London Marathon.
No perfect build up.
No 16 week plan.
No ideal conditions.
Just a lad with a busy life, two kids, work, responsibilities… and a willingness to throw himself into something difficult.
He got the charity place sorted, raised the money and committed to it.
Then a week before the race he got ill.
Most people would’ve panicked. Some would’ve pulled out. Others would’ve used it as the excuse to mentally check out before the race had even started.
Jordan still turned up and surprised himself with a great run.
And honestly? There’s loads more in there. I genuinely believe he’s capable of going at least 5 minutes faster right now and eventually 10+. But that’s not the point of this post.
The point is the type of person he is.
He’s not someone who grew up as a runner. He wasn’t smashing miles as a kid or living the classic “born to run” story. He was a footballer. A normal lad who’s had to learn this stuff later in life whilst juggling adult responsibilities.
And weirdly… I think those people often make the best coaches.
The people who have to fight for progress.
The people who can’t just rely on talent.
The people who have to think, adapt, learn and problem solve.
I’ve always related to that myself.
Most runners at my level were racing at 60-64kg. I raced Seville at 74kg. I’ve always had to be absolutely meticulous with training because things didn’t just naturally fall into place for me.
When progress isn’t handed to you, you develop empathy. You understand frustration. You understand inconsistency, setbacks, fatigue, life stress and self doubt.
That’s why lads like Jordan will always help people.
Because they get it.
And that matters more than people think.
This marathon isn’t the end point for him. It’s probably the start of something much bigger.

Most runners only want the result.

Very few want to understand what it actually takes to get there.
is different.

From day one he’s asked questions. Not just what’s the session, but why it matters. Fueling, pacing, recovery. The small things most people ignore.

Perfect person to coach

He was flying earlier this year. Everything clicking. One of those blocks where you think this is going to be big.

Then shin splints hit and changed everything.

No smooth build. No momentum. Just cross training, stop start running and trying to hold onto fitness while the body wasn’t playing ball.
That’s where most people fall off.
He didn’t.
Busy life, kids, stress. Still no excuses. Just got on with what he could do.

I’ll be honest, that stuff hits me as a coach.
When you’re flying I’m buzzing. When it goes wrong, I feel it. I want the best for every runner I work with.
You can’t control everything in this sport, but you still take responsibility for it.
That’s why I’m proud of that London Marathon.
Not because it was perfect.
Because it wasn’t.

It was earned the hard way.
We’ve had Malaga, 5Ks, PBs across the board.
But this block says more about him than any of those.
Resilience beats perfect every time.

Ryan’s been with me close to a year now, and I’ll be honest… before the injury, everything was lining up perfectly.
He was flying.
Training was clicking.
I genuinely believe there was 15 minutes more in him on Sunday if that block had stayed clean.
But it didn’t.
He got hit with a proper setback. The kind where you’re not even sure if the race is happening at all.
And this is where most runners lose it.
They either do nothing… feel sorry for themselves… drift.
Or they do too much… poke the injury every day… make it worse.
Ryan did neither.
He got his head down.
Smashed the cross training.
Did the physio work properly.
Didn’t chase fitness… just rebuilt it.
That’s the bit people don’t see.
As a coach, was I cautious bringing him back? Probably.
Would I tweak a few things looking back? Yeah. That’s part of it.
But none of that takes away from what he did.
He showed patience.
Discipline.
And when it mattered, he still turned up and delivered a solid performance.
That’s a proper athlete.
Proud to have coached him through this one, and if anything, I am hoping this is just the start.

P.s he also didnt run in carbons

This is the bit most people don’t want to hear.
It’s not a lack of effort. Most runners I see are trying hard. Probably too hard if anything. But that’s the problem. They rush the process, bring intensity in too early, turn every run into something it shouldn’t be, and end up training off ego instead of actually building fitness.
There’s this constant feeling of needing to prove something. Run a bit faster, push a bit harder, squeeze more out of the week. It feels productive, but it’s not. You’re just stacking fatigue on top of fatigue and calling it progress.
Then a couple months in it all starts to show. You’re tired all the time, little niggles start creeping in, sessions don’t feel great, and you’re not really improving. And instead of looking at the structure, people just accept it as part of running.
It’s not.
The difference is nearly always how the training is put together. The runners who actually improve aren’t smashing every session. They’re patient. They keep easy days easy, they recover properly, and they build things over time. Nothing fancy, just consistent and controlled.
It’s not sexy, but it works.
If you’ve been stuck in that cycle and you actually want to do it properly this time, comment RUN and I’ll send you the details.