Our FAQ
Learn more about Coach the Run
What is the aim of Coach the Run?
We aim to help midlife runners improve their performance and reach their goals through personalised plans and training plans.
Our website offers many resources to support you, with one-to-one online coaching, invaluable running advice and training plans. We also regularly update our calendar of upcoming running events so that you can plan your next challenge too.
We love running! It’s a brilliant way to release stress and stay healthy during busy midlife. Our programmes are based on advice from London Marathon winner, Mike Gratton. Mike brings a wealth of experience to Coach the Run, having coached all age ranges for decades. He’s worked with professionals but, these days, he gets a real kick out of helping keen runners achieve their goals.
We want to help people get into running and get better at running, whilst getting healthier and happier along the way.
Want to join us? Subscribe to Coach the Run in our footer or become a Run Your Best Race member! Find out more about Coach the Run.
Who is behind Coach the Run?
Coach the Run is the brainchild of Mike Gratton and Stuart.
Mike is our head coach and running legend, who trained with Steve Ovett and Rab Heron. He won the London Marathon with a time of 2 hours and 9 minutes in 1983. He is a UK qualified coach who has run training camps in Portugal for decades, coaching GB Internationals and delivering beginners classes for UK charity runners. Plus, he’s also been the coaching editor for Runner’s World Magazine!
Stuart is our digital manager who absolutely loves running – he’s completed an impressive seven marathons! Stuart is the talent behind our website, making it easy to use, accessible and packed with everything you need to know about midlife running. He’s also behind the insightful emails that our subscribers enjoy. And he’s made our Run Your Best Race online one-to-one coaching membership work seamlessly.
We’re also supported by running expert and writer, Sarah, who has created a huge bank of advice about running training, running gear, running diet and running recovery. Check out our comprehensive running insights page.
Can find the answer you’re looking for? Simply Ask the Coach, so drop us a message and Mike will answer you.
What does Coach the Run offer?
There are several elements to our service:
- One-to-one online coaching – perfect for half marathon and marathon runners of all levels. Take a look
- Training plans – designed by our Head Coach, Mike, our plans cater for all levels. Take a look
- Running advice and insights – from recovery and training advice to diet and running gear, we’ve got you covered. Take a look
- Events – whether your challenge is the Marathon Majors, local events or stage races, choose the right running challenge for you! Take a look
- Search – find a running club, a physio or a yoga/pilates studio.
We encourage anyone to submit content, so if you have an inspiring running story, we’d love to hear from you!
How do I contact someone at Coach the Run?
If you have any questions for the team at Coach the Run – whether it’s an Ask the Coach question, if you’re interested in partnering with us, or anything else, we’d love to hear from you! Please get in touch via our contact page.
All our Run Your Best Race members can ask Mike unlimited questions about their running training plan, so please check out our one-to-one online running coaching page if that’s of interest!
How do I buy a training plan?
We have a range of running training plans, including marathon plans, half marathon plans, 10 miles plans, 10k plans, 5k plans and in-between races plans.
All our beginners’ plans are completely free for all these distances! We also have paid personalised plans, 8-week, 12-week and 18-week plans if you have a target time in mind. These range from just £5 to £75 and can be purchased on our running training plans page.
How do I make a suggestion?
Got an idea? We’d love to hear from you. Please get in touch via our get in touch page and we’ll get back to you shortly.
I’d like to submit an article – how do I do that?
We welcome articles from experts in their specific area of interest. If you’d like to see the type of content we like, check out our article from registered nutritional therapist, Nicola Vaughan, or yoga teacher, Anneke West.
We also invite members of our running community to contribute content about their running journey, experience, and challenges overcome! Please submit your idea and we’ll be in touch shortly.
How do I add a running event?
We’re passionate about running events as a great way to improve performance, achieve, and make the most of positive running communities. If you come across a running event that isn’t featured on our website, you can submit your event and we’ll add it to our events page!
What is the difference between a Personalised Plan and Run Your Best Race?
There are some different features to both options:
Run Your Best Race, priced at £180 or £250, is our premier online training service, perfect for extensive marathon preparation. With this service, you’ll gain online access to our head coach, Mike Gratton. This access includes:
- A kick-off video call with Mike will be held to discuss your target race and running history, as well as known injuries and life commitments.
- Mike will then create a personalised training plan based on the information gathered in the kick-off call.
- Send unlimited questions to Mike via our private chat tool, so you can ask Mike anything during your training block.
- Book up to 3x extra video check-in calls with Mike, which can be requested in our private area.
Our Personalised Plan service, priced at £75, includes an initial kick-off video call with Mike and a custom training plan tailored by him based on insights from the call. You can also send a follow-up message to Mike via email once the plan is complete.
If you’re seeking comprehensive support with our head coach, opt for Run Your Best Race. However, if you prefer a highly customised plan that is more tailored to your needs than typical running training apps, choose our Personalised Training Plan.
What is our eco pledge?
Coach the Run supports the fragile ecological environment that we live and run in. We understand that all businesses, big or small, need to support sustainability to help save our planet.
Read more about our pledges to help the environment here.
