km 01
One-to-one run coaching
An hour on the promenade or the track with Nia or Huw: your goal, your running, a plan for your week, and the changes that will help most.
£45 an hour, four for £160.
Porthcawl seafront · since 2015
Run further, mostly easy.
A running coach and a run club on the Porthcawl seafront: couch to 5k, race plans, form sessions and three club runs a week with a back marker on every one.
Coaching
Six ways to run with us, priced.
km 02
Couch to 5k
Nine weeks from walking to running five kilometres, three times a week with a group and a coach: run-walk intervals that grow slowly, on the flat seafront.
£60 for the nine weeks, everything included.
km 03
Half and marathon plans
A plan for your race and your week, with training paces from the predictor, a fortnightly call if you want one, and a pacing card for the day.
£25 a month for the plan, £55 a month with fortnightly calls.
km 04
Gait and form sessions
An hour on the track filming your running from the side and behind, slowed down and talked through, with two or three drills. Coaching, not a medical gait analysis.
£55 for the session, video included.
km 05
Trail and coast path running
Coached runs on the Wales Coast Path and the Kenfig dunes: running on rock, sand and grass, climbing, descending and pacing by effort.
£12 a guided run, or included in run club membership once a month.
km 06
Run club
Three club runs a week from the lighthouse and the track: steady seafront runs, a coached interval session and a Saturday long run, every pace grouped and a back marker on every run.
£5 a run, or £20 a month for every club run, the first free.
How we coach
Four things we tell every runner.
Nobody runs alone at the back
Every club run has a back marker who finishes last on purpose. If you are the slowest, you are running with a coach.
Mostly easy, honestly
Four in five of your runs should feel easy enough to talk. Most runners run too hard too often, and get hurt or stuck.
Paces you can use
Every plan gives paces in minutes per kilometre for easy, steady, threshold and fast running, worked out from a recent race, not guessed.
Pain is information
A niggle that changes how you run is a reason to stop and see a physio, not to push through. We would rather you missed a week than a season.
- 640beginners through couch to 5k since 2015
- 85run club regulars on a Tuesday
- 11 mof climb on the whole seafront 5k
- 4.9average from 233 reviews
Couch to 5k
Nobody in the group can run when they start. Nearly everyone can when they finish.
Nine weeks, three sessions a week on the flat promenade, from a minute of running at a time to thirty minutes without stopping. Huw runs at the back of every session. New groups start in January, April and September.
- £60 for the nine weeks, everything included
- Monday and Wednesday 6:30pm, Saturday 9am, from the lighthouse
- Your first month of run club free when you finish
Prices
Cheap to start, no contracts.
First club run
freeFree
Tuesday 6:30pm at the lighthouse. Find a coach in a teal jacket five minutes early.
Run club
a month£20
Every club run, one guided trail run a month, and the Thursday session. Or £5 a run.
Couch to 5k
9 weeks£60
Three group sessions a week with a coach at the back, a plan and a weekly email.
Runners
What runners say.
I was 58, two stone heavier than I wanted to be and had not run since school. Nine weeks later I ran five kilometres along the seafront without stopping and cried at the end. Huw ran at the back with me the whole way.
Nia used the predictor on my half time and told me my marathon target was too ambitious. She was right. I ran the pacing card she gave me almost to the second for 26.2 miles, and finished strong for the first time.
Tuesday nights at the lighthouse are the best part of my week. Four pace groups, nobody left behind, and the chips afterwards are optional but encouraged.
Questions before a first run
I have never run. Where do I start?
Couch to 5k. Nine weeks in a group, three times a week, from walking to running five kilometres. Nobody in it can run when they start.
How does the race predictor work?
It uses Riegel's formula, the most widely used rule of thumb: time at a new distance equals your race time times the distance ratio to the power 1.06. It is an estimate; marathon predictions are usually optimistic unless you have trained for the distance.
Is run club for fast runners?
No. Four pace groups on a Tuesday, from about 4:30 to 7:30 a kilometre, and a back marker on every run.
How much does it cost?
Club runs £5 or £20 a month, the first free. Couch to 5k £60 for nine weeks. One-to-one £45 an hour. Race plans from £25 a month. Gait and form £55.
Do you do medical gait analysis?
No. Our form sessions are coaching, filmed and explained. If something hurts, see a physiotherapist or podiatrist first.
What about the dark evenings?
From October to March, bring a light and something reflective on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The seafront and the track are lit; the bits between are not.
Your first club run is free. Tuesday, 6:30, the lighthouse.
Turn up five minutes early and find a coach in a teal jacket. There are four pace groups and a back marker who finishes last on purpose, so whatever your pace, you will not be running on your own.