Celebrating 10 years of coaching - still obsessed - six reasons why.

Obviously helping athletes attain Personal Bests (which are certainly amazing, thanks Yvonne for the latest marathon moment below!), they are just the tip of the iceberg really. When it comes to why I’m still as passionate about coaching now, as I was when I first started helping out my friends with their training.

Sydney Marathon 2024

"I first reached out to Kate in 2022 after running my first marathon in Sydney with a time of 4:47. Since then, thanks to your personalised weekly training plans, I’ve taken an hour off my time—finishing Sydney this year in 3:47!” ~ Yvonne

There are inevitable lows and highs but here are some of the many reasons I continue to love my work;

1. I love figuring out patterns, looking for patterns in people's behaviour, testing and adapting to what helps get the best out of them as an athlete. I get to know who loves fartleks, long runs, easy runs, hills, speed. Oh, and what they need to work on. Every athlete has their profile and I enjoy getting to know what makes them tick and what they need to improve and become a better athlete.

2. I love taking the juggle out of busy people's lives, so they don’t have to think, removing the over-thinking and doubt from their training. Give me your availability and I’ll work with what you have. Week on/week off with the kids, FIFO, long hours, no problems.

3. I love realigning someone's training and schedule when there is a hiccup in their week, making sure they get back on track and continue to move forward. Let that run go, let’s move on, or let me adjust the rest of the week for you.

4. I love being the voice of reason. Seeing the bigger picture. Putting things in perspective for athletes. One crappy run, it’s ok, let’s keep showing up.

5. I love the unexpected gains that happen when you see someone showing up consistently over time, sometimes it’s a genuine surprise and sometimes I see it coming. A sudden parkrun breakthrough. A comment that shows running has become a joy with effortless easy running.

6. When I’m programming my athletes training plans I get right into the zone and I can concentrate on this, and this only, for some reason it is like art for me, the only time my brain doesn’t think about ten things at once! It’s never felt like a chore, or like “work” in the traditional sense. I often feel so proud of my work and honestly, it gives me great satisfaction to this day.

Designing your season and reigning in the FOMO!!

We all want to feel good on race day. Sometimes an athlete will come to me with a list of races they’ve already entered and I look at it and take a deep breathe and go hmmmm. It is getting harder to get into races, and the pressure to choose and enter further and further ahead is growing. However, with some thoughtful planning you’ll recover better, have a lot more fun, make more progression and race stronger within yourself.

Race distances and actual (not perceived) recover time between events;

5k - you can race a 5k every week, the recovery is short. You can still recover enough to do workouts during the week and show up for parkrun on Saturday, not every week will be 100% flat out but you can give it a crack each week for 5k.

10k - If you want to improve your 10k time you want to push them out to 6 weeks or two months, to give you time to do a good block of training between races.

Half marathon - If you want improvement in the half marathon I’m going to ask you to only run them every 3 months (you can add a 10k in there if you like!)

Marathon and beyond - When we are looking at road marathons and ultra-trail events recovery is four weeks, your muscles have micro-tears, your organs need to heal, your mind also. Best possible is 4 to 6 months between these longer events, minimum if you want to build back up, feel strong and ready to go again (to keep you challenged add some shorter events in between but not too close to the big ones.

So here are some factors to consider before the FOMO has you pressing that ENTER NOW button…:

• Your running experience - the longer you’ve been running the more you’ll know what you can handle and still stay keen and excited to show up to races, and recover between events. And it’s usually longer than you think.

• What do you want to focus on (finishing or performing?) - when I say performing I am not talking about making the podium or winning, I mean performing well within yourself, having the strongest race you can, having the endurance muscles build and training, and the endurance mindset that you’ve practised to keep moving forward. And if you want to improve your times, the more training you do between events the more you can build strength and speed.

• Don’t forget to think about the impact of your schedule, race travel and intense training on your family and social life too.

A perfect coaching/athlete relationship would see an athlete/coach formulating a list of “potential” events and distances between them, and then discussing this through toward the optimal race calendar (with some A, B, C goal races). It’s always good to have a FOMO free, objective and experienced coach work it through with you :)

Remember that usually, the same races (with all the distances!) will be there next year, if you prioritise well then you will be able to show up every year for your key races ie. you won’t be burnt-out mentally or physically, or have an overuse injury that puts out of the season all together. It’s a long game running, and you want to be running for the long term, so plan well team.

Finish strong, plan your season well with Coach Kate.

Get to know your coach ~ 2024 edit!

I asked my current athletes on our group chat to ask me anything - all things running, actually all things, I am an open book and I will answer candidly and off the top of my head… So here we go!!! **photo from 2017 running a half marathon PB, those were the days :)

What is your favourite distance to run Kate and why? (Christine) Ah I love this question because I think it's why sometimes (besides my imagination, pattern recognition, empathy) I'm a good coach. I honestly have had stages where I have loved every distance and have focused on each one at times. Loved v's being successful (personally I mean) are two different stories as well though!! 5k I love because it is intense and over quickly, and I love running fast! Pretty much the same with 10k but you have to hold on longer mentally and physically. Then the half you get into a rhythm and it is a strength distance (mental/physical) I think my best comparative times are in the half marathon (see photo!). As for the marathon, I do love this distance and have had my best "feeling" race in the marathon (one of those dream races where time doesn't exist and you lose yourself, are in the zone doing running/being running) but also some back end failures (in my head and legs, even though they were faster times) I'd say I/m in love with the marathon but it has been a cruel lover at times!. Trail/50k/100k - getting into the endurance groove is so invigorating, being in the bush and using powerful legs to go very long distances is just amazing - a total different experience but still also a favourite!! Uh oh, see what I mean, I love all the distances so there you go!!!!!

What has been your favourite race and do you have a ‘bucket list’ race you want to complete? (Lisa) Hmmm it depends on what aspect of the race I think about. Ones where I performed well (internally) seem to stand out eg. Melbourne marathon where I felt that epic flow in a marathon, gold coast half marathon with the sunrise and fast course. Then Tarawera 50k in NZ with Deb Thorley an amazing experience, scenery and I was super strong, Taupo 100k was like a dream come true to run all day in New Zealand. A couple of races I won, that was kinda cool! Oh and (even though I was injured and it was my slowest) I'll always be grateful to experience Boston Marathon, it was an unbelievable experience too!!!! So a wide variety there of favourites 😍

When did you start running and why? How did you get into coaching? (Beth) In my younger life I played netball and swam, did gym classes, walked, I did something pretty much every day, it just made me feel good (I guess people say it’s mental health, but back then I didn’t have the words or knowledge to say that) - I would not really like runners as they were always in their own world and never said hi when you passed them! Ha!! One night I had a dream, I literally dreamt I was running, and it was smiling, I felt a pure happiness and joy. So I gradually (in my netball shoes!) added little runs into my walks (I'm talking light post to light post) where no-one could see me and with a jumper tied around my waist (I know right!?)... and the rest is history?? That was when I was 30, after I’d had my kids, so about 18 years ago, in 2005

How did you start coaching?... I met Tim Crosbie at a race one time, he helped me coach myself to a marathon PB (36min PB!!) and then encouraged me to do my coaching courses. By this stage I was already coaching my friends anyway, and I knew I loved it, I just love everything about it. And also the rest is history??

I know that we are all suppose to be happy with our bodies the way they are but honestly what impact does your weight have on your running? I personally feel just 2 kgs makes a difference to how I run. (Leone) Very interesting first question, here comes my honest answer. As a taller and stronger runner (ie. I stood head over all the other fast-ish women in races) it's something that has been a "thing" in my running journey. But also something that we need to generationally get over. The key to this is ~ power to weight ratio ~ so I might not be the lightest person in the bunch but I'm stronger and more powerful and therefore can run just as well. Strength training is key. How you feel about yourself is key. If I feel strong I run strong and I don't weigh myself. Eat to fuel, don't eat shit, you'll feel good about yourself, you'll run better. That's it!

What’s the biggest mistake you have made either in a race or in training. Funny and/or serious. (Deb) This could be a whole post too... probably trying to run through injury has been one of those mistakes I kept making over (because the injury was different each time, because personality, because 🤯 runner brain). I will think of more but I think that is reoccurring lesson.