My Running Philosophy

Exploring Personal Limits

 

I believe running is a gateway to discovering what you are truly capable of. Running Far Coach was born from a quest to move beyond basic health toward testing the boundaries of human endurance. It is about solving the complex puzzle of ultra-distance racing: managing fuel, maintaining pace, and building mental grit.

Lessons I learnt The Hard Way
 

• Your race is won or lost in the first hour. Go out too fast and you pay for it later, with interest. Now I hold back early and pass people late.

• Your gut is a muscle too. The fuel that worked on a two-hour run can fail you at hour ten. Practise race-day food in training, and never try anything new on the day.

• Downhills break more runners than climbs. Strong quads matter as much as strong lungs, especially in the mountains.

• Night changes everything. Your pace, your mood and your footing all change after dark. Train in it before you race in it.

• Cut-offs don’t care how you feel. Know them, plan for them, and keep a buffer.

• Rest is part of training. I’ve learned I get fitter by recovering well, not by doing more.

• The mountain has the final say. At Karkloof I was 130 km in when a thunderstorm closed the course. You can control your training, your fuel and your pacing. You can’t control the weather. Plan for what you can, accept what you can’t, and come back.

 

Why I coach

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I coach because I’ve made most of the mistakes already, so my athletes don’t have to. My UESCA and McMillan certifications give me the science. My races give me the practice: I know what 19 hours on a mountain feels like, and what it takes to get there.

I also believe age changes how you recover, not whether you belong at the start line. I plan for that with every runner I coach, from first marathons to first hundred-milers.

I started by asking, “How far can I go?” Now I help other runners ask the same question, and find their own answer.