Where the trails lead to accomplishment – Unpacking the success of our epic ‘Heart of England Trail Running Training Camp’

I’m sitting down on a Sunday evening, shattered, glass of wine in hand, my head is buzzing, and all I can think is……’did we just do that? Did we just accomplish a transformation for 13 trail runners, and they loved it’. 

Since I began coaching, my aim has always been to provide guidance and a coaching service that is of very high quality, and helps my athletes achieve goals that was out of their comfort zone, something I was unable to find myself.

Last year I had a moment, where I started to look at what was offered on training camps around the country, and most provide a full weekend with accommodation, various runs, advice, and coaching, but what I wanted to do was provide a structured, friendly and inclusive weekend where, new trail runners and experienced ultra-runners, could learn all the skills they require to improve performance, gain confidence, and leave knowing they had just gained all the knowledge they need to be successful achieving their goal.

I needed a location with hills, a venue, dates, refreshments and a host of other things to make it work.

I wanted to structure the weekend where we would introduce and coach a skill, before moving to the next, working on the foundations, and building to a pinnacle where it all comes together.

I approached one of my best friends Graeme who is also my mentor and we talked through my idea, and his reply, “let’s do it”. 

We teamed up with Leah (my run leader who is also a poles expert) and Anna from Achieve fitness who is a mobility and yoga expert.

Where I live has a large area of trails, hills and country side which is very well unknown outside of the West Midlands, called the Lickey and Waseley Hills.  I initially had a few venues to speak to, and after I decided on a few weekend dates that we had available, the Lickey Hills was out of the question.  The venue was expensive and Birmingham City Council would want a very large fee for using the land. I therefore looked at Waseley Hills, and spoke to the rangers who had a perfect location with a café on site.  Boxes were been ticked and the birth of the ‘Heart of England Trail Running Training Camp’ took place.

I then needed attendees!  This was to be, and still is the hardest part.  Trying to convince people to put their trust in you, give you money, expecting a top-quality weekend, not only is it my reputation and the reputation of the business, but also Graeme, Leah, Anna, the area, the venue, I had a lot riding on this and I needed a minimum of 10 people to make it work.

I approached several companies that are involved in trail and ultra-running to see if I could get support, and as we were covering sports nutrition, I approached Torq fitness and I was absolutely delighted that they said yes, and they also provided some of their products.  I have to say they are brilliant.

After a Facebook campaign, page on my website, and talking to people I coached, we got 10 and we were able to proceed.

The camp took attendees through strength and conditioning, hills master class, introduction to poles, fuelling the trails, mobility, a guided run, and finishing with a Q&A session.  It was an absolute blast all the logistics were perfect, and the coaching went really well, however I came away feeling that the Sunday could have more depth, it required another workshop and something to leave them empowered.  I approached a friend who is a FREC4 instructor and has also competed in plenty of mountain marathons and we came up with a workshop called ‘Hills and healing’, and I also created a workshop called ‘unleashing the inner champion’.  This was it, the perfect camp, everything that anyone would need.

The training methods we used were very flexible, with mixed abilities we tailored it to the individual.  On the hills we were able to do a round robin, so smaller groups got more personalised coaching which was very effective.  Participation was key in the class room too, it kept everyone engaged and enthused.

The camp was very inclusive and diverse.  Lisa who runs with Black Trail Runners had a few moments that lit that light bulb, one been her struggling with her breathing when running uphill, and after some personalised coaching tips, realised it wasn’t as bad as she imagined.  We also had Kirsteen, who had it in her head that she would walk all hills, but realised with a change in her technique could actually run some of the shallower hills, and has since run a PB on a local Park Run.

The group were amazing, we had fun on the downhills, high fives, plenty of good relaxed banter, and everyone felt comfortable to connect and discuss experiences and future goals.

This camp was a big success for me, but we did have challenges, my main one was attracting people to attend, and it was only with two weeks to go that we could confirm it would actually take place.  My marketing strategy will have to be looked at, a Facebook ad worked well so this will be part of my strategy going forward.  I also found myself worrying about it all running smoothly and at times forgetting to just go with the flow and enjoy it too.

I wasn’t entirely happy with the S&C workshop, and think a few tweaks will sort that, and we had a large number ask about navigation, so this will be explored and I have an idea of how that can be fitted in too.

Going forward we will be putting more camps on in 2024, making the few amendments and hoping that the success of this one will cascade to the next and gain momentum, so share your experiences below, whether you attended this one, or a different one.

If you are interested in attended a camp in 2024, leave me your details and I will keep you updated, we would love to have you come along.

Overall, I am over the moon and very proud of myself and the team I have put together, a we all feel we have helped transform so far 23 trail runners for the better, the hard work has paid off, the stress was worth it, and I can only thank Graeme, Leah, Anna and Rich for making it happen. So….look up Waseley Hills, put it on your map, and keep your eyes peeled for the next camp as it will be bigger and better than ever