Your Coaching Team

I’ve been running ‘properly’ since 2016 when I completed my first parkrun at Druridge Bay…and I haven’t really stopped, running distances from 3 miles to a 70 mile ultra, preferring races that offer something a bit different, and the more hills the better. Originally with Stocksfield Striders, who put me through my Run Leader course, I made the long and carefully considered decision to become a first claim Prudhoe Plodder in June 2020 so I could be more involved with coaching the club juniors. Since then I’ve been made Mens Team Captain, qualified as a Coaching Assistant and am currently working towards becoming an Athletics Coach to solidify my role as Asssitant Head Coach for the juniors.
Outside of Plodders I still coach for Stocksfield Striders and I’m a memeber of and coach at Castle Tri (I WILL give triathlon another bash in the next year) I’m also a Run Director for Prudhoe Riverside parkrun. A couple of times a year you can hear Holly and I on Radio Prudhoe with our show BabbleOn, and I’m usually involved in the productions Ovingham Drama Group put on. I’m a perfectly normal Human who enjoys doing perfectly normal Human things.

I began running in 2015. I had been inspired by a colleague who had completed the Couch 2 5k app and loved it. I didn’t tell anyone I was doing it for a few weeks. I went out armed with my app and a determination to give it a go. Surprisingly, I loved it! I discussed it with another friend and she started too. She became my greatest running buddy (never thought I’d need one of those!) and still is.
After finishing the app, I wasn’t enjoying running as much. I found it a bit aimless. We found a local sports club and headed there. Here we met Holly. She enthused us to train with them and told us all about this thing called Parkrun that she was involved in bringing to Prudhoe.
I soon became a Parkrun regular and joined Plodders when it was set up.
As a mother and a teacher, involving children was really important to me so I was delighted to become a Run Director and help set up Junior Parkrun. It was fantastic to see the children progress and get better and better. I then helped out at Junior Plodders and trained as a Coaching Assistant.
I was approached to become Welfare Officer for the club and was delighted to accept. As someone who had never been involved in sports before, it’s so important that everyone feels welcome and included. My role as Welfare Officer helps to ensure that and maintains the club as a safe place for everyone.

It’s been a long journey into running for me. Having been definitely not a runner as a kid & having a harrowing memory of being taken to a Harriers club as a young un’ once to try and get me to go to bed earlier I still find itconfusing that I am not only a runner but actually am allowed to coach running. Like a lot of people my running journey began with Parkrun – my dad became fanatical about it & took my then 3 year old to a junior run & things spiralled from there. 

Parental responsibility means I pretty much only ever do the junior sessions. 

My ethos is that sessions should be fun first & foremost but that we also push on and develop the kids & it’s been fantastic to see our juniors progress & compete. 

I am a Athletics and endurance coach, as well as a visually impaired running guide. I have been running about 6 years. Before I started running I was a professional MMA fighter. Unfortunately, I snapped a wrist which ended my fighting career and I turned to running.

I started off my running by entering the Great North Run and trained with a local Olympian, Aly Dixon. After that I moved on to a local running club (Elswick harriers) where I coach Junior Athletics and running.

I have done most races in the North East as well as a few triathlons. I only learnt to swim about a year ago, so it shows that anyone can do it, if you put your mind to it 🙂

Back in November 2015, after a routine conversation at work about sorting some hoodies for a new customer, I discovered to my horror, that I had somehow managed to sign up for a Couch 2 5K run program thing!

I tried to wriggle my way out of it, really I did! I had excuses, I blamed commitments with kids, husband’s work shifts – you know the sort of thing – but eventually the guilt of maybe letting this lovely new customer* down (and letting myself down) got the better of me. So in February 2016 I pulled up my big girl knickers, bought myself a pair of cheap trainers (clearly still in denial) and went for it.

Let me just add, my life before this was no regular exercise apart from running around with my 3 kids, constantly juggling mum/wife/job duties and snatching my version of ME time by sitting in front of the TV with a large bar of Dairy Milk. Does this sound familiar? My last stint with actual fitness had been in my Twenties, running the Great North Run twice. In those days it took place in ‘flaming June’, sun block hadn’t been invented, Brendan Foster still had dark hair and Steve Cram was a bit of a looker.

I can honestly say that C25K has been a total life changer for me and I would recommend it wholeheartedly. I’m SOOOOOO pleased I did it!

You will always find me running, mostly slowly, at the back of the pack with my run buddy Helen Boaden. We completed our C25K together in May 2016 and our Run Leader courses in November 2016 and to date we have completed 5K runs, 10K runs and even triathlons. We continue to run together now, still with much laughter and lots and lots of chatting, all the while imagining that we are fabulous long legged gazelle type runners, wearing gorgeous Nike sponsored outfits with hair swishing as we run… well, we can dream 😉

* The lovely new customer was Holly our Director of Running & Athletics!

I had tried doing a Couch to 5k app myself a couple of times and always completed the 9 week course, but then stopped as I had no clue how to carry on with running. My husband signed me up to Holly’s second C25k course as, when we ran together, it was always a stressful event – I couldn’t keep up with him, and it “hurt him to run as slowly as I did”, so the run usually consisted of me running on my own with him jogging back every now and again to check I was okay and then running backwards and offering words of encouragement for me to keep up!!

In the first couple of weeks of the C25k I met some great people who have become great friends (especially my partner in crime and run buddy Amanda Hughes Fletcher), and more importantly I discovered what it was like to run with like minded people who wanted to take pleasure in running as well as achieve their goals. I realised that it’s not how fast you run that’s important, it’s about enjoying the experience. I’m not a fast runner, and don’t run huge distances (and to be fair spend a great deal of time complaining whilst running), but at the end of a run I am ALWAYS pleased that I went out and love the buzz you get.

Since joining Plodders I have met a great bunch of people who are friendly and welcoming, and no-one should feel intimidated about coming down for their first session as they will be made to feel very welcome and have a great laugh.

I started running with the NHS Couch to 5k app. I never saw myself as a running club type of person but joining Plodders made such a difference. I have done events from 5k to half marathons that I would never have had the courage to enter if it wasn’t for the support and encouragement from my fellow Plodders. 

I love being a coach. It gives me such a buzz when I see someone’s confidence grow and they suddenly realise they CAN do it. 

I’ve been running ‘properly’ since 2016 when I completed my first parkrun at Druridge Bay…and I haven’t really stopped, running distances from 3 miles to a 70 mile ultra, preferring races that offer something a bit different, and the more hills the better. Originally with Stocksfield Striders, who put me through my Run Leader course, I made the long and carefully considered decision to become a first claim Prudhoe Plodder in June 2020 so I could be more involved with coaching the club juniors. Since then I’ve been made Mens Team Captain, qualified as a Coaching Assistant and am currently working towards becoming an Athletics Coach to solidify my role as Asssitant Head Coach for the juniors.
Outside of Plodders I still coach for Stocksfield Striders and I’m a memeber of and coach at Castle Tri (I WILL give triathlon another bash in the next year) I’m also a Run Director for Prudhoe Riverside parkrun. A couple of times a year you can hear Holly and I on Radio Prudhoe with our show BabbleOn, and I’m usually involved in the productions Ovingham Drama Group put on. I’m a perfectly normal Human who enjoys doing perfectly normal Human things.

I started my running journey in 2018 completing the couch to 5k course I then I bravely signed up to do gnr that year, after saying never again I have completed it virtually once and anther two times 🤣.

I became lirf in 2021 which I thoroughly enjoy supporting all our lovely members in training. I am also one of the club reps so any ideas concerns or criticisms drop me a message.

I was a late comer to sport, buying my first pair of running shoes in my 30’s and starting where most people do – the couch! I built up my running distance and completed a few half marathons before deciding I wanted to be a run leader and engage other people in running.

After qualifying as a Run Leader, I established a C25K programme, driven by a passion for getting new people into the sport. And just to make sure they stuck at it, I led the development of Prudhoe Riverside parkrun, as Event Director in 2016. In 2017 I qualified as a Coach in Run Fitness and realised a lot of my injuries were from poor running form. No one ever tells you how to run without hurting yourself, so at Plodders we do.

As a coach, my primary aim, before you even put your trainers on, is to promote self belief. As John Bingham said “If you run, you are a runner. It doesn’t matter how fast or how far. It doesn’t matter if today is your first day or if you’ve been running for twenty years. There is no test to pass, no license to earn, no membership card to get. You just run.”

In 5 years I have progressed from the couch, to marathons, to coaching, to becoming an Ironman. I even picked up ‘Sports Personality of the Year’ at the Sport Tynedale 2017 awards. At Prudhoe Plodders we welcome anyone, from new runners, to those returning to sports. Each athlete is equally as important to us regardless of ability. And if I can do it, anyone can!

I started running in August 2017 and followed the highly successful Couch to 5K program being ran by the Prudhoe Plodders. This was recommended to me by a family friend and fellow Plodder. Following my graduation and first parkrun I have now qualified as a Run Leader with England Athletics.

I’m currently involved with the clubs C25K program and also take some of our main sessions.

I started running in 2015 using the C25K app with my little boy in his buggy. From then things slowly escalated to 10K, half marathon and I ran my first marathon at London in 2019.
Running has had a massive positive impact on my mental health and I feel lucky to have found such a wonderful supportive running family local to me.