Despite downloading numerous running plans off the internet and attempting to follow them, I was not achieving my goals in terms of pace and distance. I was not running badly it’s just that I wanted to raise the bar and set targets for 10km and half marathon races. My age grading (I am 58) needed to improve. I also wanted to finish my races injury free and comfortably.

I came across Coach Marco at the Modderfontein training group. I saw his dedication and the way he encouraged the runners out of their comfort zones. His speed training and hill workouts are inspiring. I could immediately see he means business, so I signed him up as my coach and proceeded to follow his program. The result was that I improved in heaps and bounds, achieving a VO2 max of 48 which indicated my cardiovascular fitness. My pace improved to a 6min/km at training runs and sometimes 5.30min/km. Coach Marco has helped me stay consistent in my running and motivates me all the time. Under his guidance he has also taught me warm up and cool down techniques, as well as injury prevention. I love his dedication, knowledge, personality and look forward to have him part of my running journey.