Athlete Progress - Robbie Cresswell-Howe

After finding his passion for the sport over lockdown, Robbie first trusted me to write him a 7 week training plan in April 2022 for the Derby Half Marathon. He added structure to his training, introduced key sessions such as intervals, tempos and long runs and peaked at around 40 miles for this block. Throughout the block we used key sessions as fitness tests to determine a realistic target race pace, which was somewhere between 6:25 and 6:50 per mile to achieve as close to 85 mins as possible. Robbie had a strong run on the day, resulting in a 87:26 finish, and a PB of around 5mins.

We then had an entirely different training focus for the summer, as Robbie was running his first Marathon in October at London. His sessions became longer and so did his long run as he became accustomed to the demands of the distance. He thoroughly enjoyed the unique London Marathon experience and is the proud finisher of a 3:19:22 debut marathon, able to sustain a sensible pace throughout.

Robbie’s training focus then switched back to the shorter distances and in December he set a superb 10k PB of 36:21 at Telford, which gave him confidence that there was more time to knock off his half marathon.

In January, Robbie took his 10k pace into the Santa Pola Half Marathon, and in perfect running conditions on the Spanish coast, smashed through the 80 minute barrier with a 79:43 clocking!

These results were possible due to Robbie’s relentless consistency in getting out for his runs after a demanding work day and his competitive edge to keep pushing the pace in his sessions. He’s a dream to coach and his upward running trajectory is sure to continue for the rest of the year, with another attempt at his 10k PB, ahead of a sub 3 marathon attempt next April.