Hi! I’m Jo, a UESCA certified ultrarunning coach, RRCA certified coach, and Certified Personal Trainer (NASM), certified in CPR and First Aid. I love to run … at least I do now. Raised in the glorious county of Yorkshire in England I loved walking on the moors and dales. At school, I played hockey and netball but hated P.E., especially those days when it was cross country. That changed in 1981 when a couple of friends suggested that we sign up for the inaugural “Great North Run“. Those first few weeks of training are still burned into my mind – struggling to make it ¼ mile around the corner to the postbox. By the time I crossed the finish line … I had caught the running bug.
After graduating from college and getting a job I let everything slip, watching too much TV and doing too little exercise. I started having knee issues. Several surgeries and septic arthritis later I was left in chronic pain, with a reduced range of motion. I was working in front of a computer for 8 hours a day. The weight started piling on, pain increased, and mobility started to decrease. I knew I had to do something.
Top of my bucket list was to run a marathon before I was 50. At 48 I needed to take action. I decided on a memorable race – signing up for the Paris Marathon. I found a couple of generic training plans online, headed to a local running store, got a pair of shoes and off I went. Within a few weeks, I knew I was getting things wrong. My knee pain was increasing, my achilles tendons were hurting and I was struggling to complete even the shortest training runs.
It was then I admitted to myself I needed help. I did something I swore I would never do, joining a gym and getting a trainer. It turned out to be the best decision I could have made. Over the course of a couple of months, my knee pain decreased from 10/10 to 2/10, low back pain decreased as core strength increased, and I found I was better able to complete my training plan.
As I started reading books and articles about running I adapted my training and introduced cross-training. I made it to Paris, crossing the finish line in 5h 02 min. Again the running bug bit. I read more and became a certified running coach and personal trainer, initially to help me improve my own running. Since Paris, I have successfully run three marathons, completed the Dopey Challenge, as well as multiple half marathons, 10k’s and 5k’s. In 2021 I made a switch to trail running, completing several 10k, two half marathons and a 50km ultra marathon.
Why Become a Running Coach and Personal Trainer?
Having a chronic health issue, training is never straightforward. There have been frustrations (the PR missed by 1 second … oh that I had not made that bathroom stop), highs and lows. Despite this, my love of running remains – it is a joy, stress reliever, and rain or shine, even when I’m tired or sore it lifts my spirits and humbles me. The challenge of successfully completing a training cycle and race keeps me moving forward. I may never qualify for Boston but that’s ok, I’m not in this to break records.
In becoming a coach and trainer my goal is to help new and returning runners like myself accomplish their goals, maximize their potential, minimize injury, and most importantly have fun while doing so.