Online Running Coach · UK & Worldwide
Online Running Coach for Training That Fits Your Life
Personalised coaching from Martin Williams — former GB and Scotland international, 2:17:36 marathoner and Edinburgh Marathon winner — who built that career while working shifts as a police officer. Your plan is built around your week, and it changes when your week does.
- From £50 / month
- 800m to marathon
- Beginner to elite
- Personal training dashboard
In short
Runners Route is a UK online running coaching service run by former GB marathon runner Martin Williams. Coaching starts from £50 per month after a free consultation. You get a plan written for you — not copied from a template — delivered on a personal training dashboard where you log every session. Martin reads your feedback and adjusts the plan around fatigue, work, shifts, family and races. Coaching covers 800m to the marathon, for beginners through to elite club athletes.
Who Online Coaching Is For
- Busy runners with jobs, families and limited time who need every session to count.
- Shift workers — police, NHS, fire service, factory and hospitality rotas. Martin has lived this.
- Runners who have stalled on their own, or keep picking up the same injury.
- First-timers preparing for a first 10k, half or first marathon.
- Masters runners who want to keep improving after 40 — see masters running.
- Experienced club athletes from 800m to marathon chasing championship standards and PBs.
The one thing every athlete needs: the motivation to do the training. Martin provides the structure, the thinking and the adjustments.
Why Not Just Use an App or a Free Plan?
Every coaching website promises a “personalised plan”. What actually matters is what happens after week one — when you miss a session, sleep badly after a night shift, feel a calf tighten or race better than expected.
| Free plan | Training app | Runners Route coaching | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Built around your week | No | Partly | Yes — rotas, family, travel |
| Reacts to how you feel | No | From watch data only | From your notes, data and a conversation |
| Spots niggles early | No | No | Coach and sports therapist reads your feedback |
| Race strategy | Generic | Generic | Pacing, fuelling and race-day plan for you |
| Someone to ask | No | Chatbot | Martin, directly |
More detail in How Much Does a Running Coach Cost in the UK — and Is It Worth It?
How It Works
- Free consultation. Tell Martin about your running history, goal race, weekly availability, injuries and what has or hasn't worked before.
- Your plan is built. Sessions are written around your real week. Every session has a clear purpose — easy aerobic running, hills, threshold, race-specific work, strength and recovery.
- Train with your dashboard. Your sessions, target paces and coach notes live on your own Runners Route training dashboard. After each run you add your Strava link and how it felt.
- The plan adapts. Martin reads your feedback and adjusts upcoming training around fatigue, niggles, shifts and life. Missed sessions are handled sensibly, not “made up”.
- Race ready. Taper, pacing, fuelling and a race-day plan for your goal event.
Coaching Packages
Coaching starts from £50 per month. Which level suits you is agreed during your free consultation — nothing is paid before then.
Foundation Coaching
For independent runners who need a roadmap. A custom 12–16 week plan, an initial strategy call and dashboard login. You execute it.
Performance Coaching
For runners chasing a specific PB. Monthly training blocks, regular check-ins and adjustments, strength & conditioning, race-day strategy, discounted sports massage.
Elite 1:1 Coaching
Total immersion, limited places. Regular feedback and analysis, supervised or supported sessions, S&C, sports massage support and unlimited WhatsApp access. Priced by agreement.
Add-on or standalone: running form analysis (£99) — a video assessment with drills and a strength programme.
Your Coach: Martin Williams
Martin started running at 25 to get fit for football, while working full-time shifts as a police officer. Over the next decade he went from fun runner to international athlete, balancing 120+ mile weeks with rotas and family life.
- Marathon PB 2:17:36
- Edinburgh Marathon winner and Scottish Marathon Champion
- Represented Great Britain at the 2010 European Championships (Barcelona) and Scotland at the 2010 Commonwealth Games (Delhi)
- 3rd place at the UK Half Marathon; Midland champion at 1500m and 5000m
- Tipton Harriers athlete with wins at races across the UK
- England Athletics licensed coach and ITEC qualified sports therapist
That late start matters. Martin didn't come through a junior system with unlimited time — he learned to get the most out of limited hours, and that is what he coaches.
Results from Coached Runners
“In just one 12-week plan, I ran massive PBs, smashing sub-17 minutes for 5km and breaking 36 minutes for 10km at Telford. Every session had a clear reason behind it, and the balance between volume, intensity and recovery was tailored to my needs around work and life.”— Roy C, Google review
“I hit goals I honestly didn't think were possible — a sub-19 minute 5k and a sub-39 minute 10k within less than a year of starting training! His coaching is smart, structured, and tailored to you as an individual, not a one-size-fits-all plan.”— Clare Hollis, Google review
“Martin has got me to many start lines. Whenever I am in the middle of a big training block for a marathon and things start to niggle, his sports massage and training advice gets me through.”— Mark Fantom, Google review
Online, or in Person in the West Midlands
Coaching is online, so you can be anywhere in the UK or abroad. If you're local to the Black Country, you can also add in-person sessions, form analysis and sports massage in Sedgley. See running coach Dudley, Wolverhampton and Birmingham.
Online Running Coach FAQs
How much does an online running coach cost?
From £50 per month. Elite 1:1 coaching is priced by agreement, subject to capacity. You start with a free consultation.
Is online running coaching worth it?
It is when the plan genuinely changes based on your feedback, and you have a goal and the motivation to train. If you only need a generic schedule, a free plan may be enough. If you've stalled, keep getting injured or have an unpredictable week, individual coaching usually pays for itself.
How does online running coaching work?
Your plan appears on a personal training dashboard. You log each session with your Strava link and notes, and Martin adjusts upcoming training around your feedback.
Can you coach beginners?
Yes — from first 5k to first marathon. “Elite” describes the coaching, not the pace you need to run.
Can you coach around shift work?
Yes. Martin trained to a 2:17 marathon while working police shifts. Plans are built around rotas, not a fixed Monday-to-Sunday template.
What distances do you coach?
800m and 1500m, 5k, 10k, half marathon, marathon and cross country.
Do I need a GPS watch?
It helps, and Strava links make feedback easy, but it isn't essential. How a session felt is often more useful than the numbers.
Start With a Free Consultation
Tell Martin where you are now, what you want to achieve and how your week really looks. You'll get an honest recommendation — including if coaching isn't the right fit yet.