Do I need a running coach?

For years I toyed with the idea of getting a personal running coach.  Every time I thought about it, I ended up in a big internal debate; Would it be worth it?  Can I afford it?  Would it help me improve?  Could it help me get more from my training?  Invariably each debate ended in…

A Hand in the Dark

On a cold evening back in March, I pulled up into a quiet housing estate in south Derbyshire.  It was a dry, crisp night for running, the sort where the mist of your breath hangs in the air in front of you as you talk and your fingers and toes never seem to quite thaw…