“I’ve been running seriously for about 12 years, since I was 32 and my wife was expecting our first daughter.  I decided it was time to get fit and found I had a talent for running.  Never having been given training, I just did what seemed right.

For 10 years, I competed in a serious number of races, from 5km Park Runs to 78km Ultra Marathons (Round the Rock). PBs are 35 mins for 10km and 2:45 for a marathon – usually puts me towards the sharp end of the race!  I trained hard, but always running, I’ve never cross trained, used the gym or used different sports – it’s all time taken out of my running!

A couple of years back, I started experiencing some sharp pain in my groin that just seemed to get worse, regardless of my level of training, so I decided to seek help. I approached Jersey Sports and Spinal and was seen by Lisa Mann.  Lisa was excellent, worked with me to assess the issue, build strength and try to fix the issue.  However, I improved in strength, but the pain persisted.  Rather than keeping going, we decided to seek medical advice.  Turns out I had a Gilmore’s Groin and two hernias.  Following surgery in May 2017, I got straight back to running and came 8th in the Jersey Marathon in October 2017.

However, things still didn’t feel quite right.  I’m the wrong side of 40 and getting a few aches and pains, so I spoke to Nigel Mann about how I was feeling.  He suggested I come to see David Lemasney to see if his Running Strength and Conditioning Course would be of benefit.

Having assessed my strength and pointing out a couple of tweaks to my running style, I started the course.  Even after a few short weeks, I can certainly see and feel the difference in my running.  The course concentrates on building core strength and all those muscles that support a runner, but don’t necessarily get a workout when just doing running training.  Glutes, abs, calves… I’ve got to say, after the first couple of sessions, I was pretty sore, but I feel stronger and quicker that I’ve been in a while.  I do a commute run into work every day and my latest runs have been as quick as those during the latter stages on my marathon training, so something is working!  An hour a week is really making a difference.

I’m really happy to be using Jersey Sports & Spinal.  The team are excellent and have the talent and expertise to assist with my assessment, recovery and ongoing development.  I’m looking forward to the next course!  Eliot Lincoln