Back from 2 years out of Running to Crush the Cheltenham Half Marathon

I wanted to get back into running after a break of 2 years. I set myself the Cheltenham half marathon in Oct as my target. The club got me going again and they are so welcoming and inclusive. Conor gives great advice. I thoroughly recommend the club and am constantly telling friends about it.

Off Road 10k Success

I joined CRC to find a structure to my running. I wanted to improve my 10k time, the first race, after starting training, I knocked 3 minutes off the old time and the second race was 2 minutes quicker again. All comes down to coaching with Conor.

New Member Success

I began running with CRC about 6 weeks ago and it has been one of the best things that i did. I have made some great friends and feel supported 100% by head coach Conor. The club is sociable and welcoming for new members.

One of the Best Clubs in Cheltenham

It is a very good club for those beginning to run whatever age you are. There is a very friendly atmosphere to encourage people to reach their goal. This is one of the best running clubs in Cheltenham.

"improving my speed and endurance in a careful and gradual way..."

I highly recommend Conor's training squads. I've been a keen occasional runner for a few years, and had run a few 10ks and half marathons.

This year I was determined to get some structure in my training and see what I could achieve at the Cheltenham Half with a proper training plan. I hadn't done much training in the months before joining Conor's programme and was pretty unfit.

I've found the structure of the training plan to be excellent in improving my speed and endurance in a careful and gradual way over several months, without risking the injuries I've had in the past when I've suddenly increased mileages.

The combination of the interval runs with their lung-busting fast kilometers, good paced tempo runs and sensibly paced long runs has transformed my fitness. The improvement in performance has been really good too - I'm running 18ks at a faster pace than I ran a 5k at the start of the programme, and have beaten my 10k pb from several years ago.

What I find amazing is that I now think of going out for a 10k as a short run! Being part of a squad really helps with motivation too, when you might otherwise find an excuse not to go out for that long run in the British rain or holiday heat, and Conor's support and advice has been great as well.

I'm looking forward to the Cheltenham Half, and continuing to get much more out of my running.