It is my great pleasure to announce the two athletes who will be sponsored for coaching for 2020. First I would like to thank everyone who applied for the sponsorships. I was truly blown away by the response from the running community and the decision was made all the more difficult by the calibre of runners and the breadth and depth of challenges and adventures people are undertaking in 2020. What an amazing and inspiring community to be a part of - thank you all.

The first athlete is Tom Brimelow. Tom and I worked together last year and I am honoured to be able to work with him again in 2020. Supported by his wonderful wife Hayley and his three boys, Tom had an incredible 2019, with wins at Up the Buff (course record), GC50 30k, Waterfall Trail, and Kokoda Challenge and the stand out performance of the year, a 2nd place at the prestigious UTA 50k.

His 2020 goals are to set a new 5k PB (he has already taken 20 seconds off this year), run the UTA 50k again and tackle his first solo 100k as well as taking on another road marathon. Tom is a genuine star of Australian distance running with a professionalism and dedication which is truly inspiring, as well as being a very humble and down to earth guy and a good friend.

The second athlete is Anje Craft. As soon as I met Anje, I was blown away by her generous spirit and her incredible drive. Anje has had to overcome serious health issues in 2019 and I will let her tell her own story as it is not your typical runner's tale:

"I have always been a bit of a go-getter with fitness goals. I've summited Mt Kilimanjaro, ran along the Great Wall of China, made it to Mt Everest base camp, completed many obstacle challenges, finished the GC Kokoda Challenge a few times, played rep netball for the GC and jumped in on whatever else physically I could over the past 3 or 4 years. But unfortunately in 2019 I faced some significant health issues with my heart which resulted in me having 3 heart surgeries and having a defibrillator put in my heart on 19 November. As a result of heart issues, during 2019 I put on some considerable weight and was not able to complete some running challenges I set for myself during the year.

I have recently been given the all clear by my Cardiologist to return to physical activity and I'm looking forward to getting back on track physically to continue my 7 summits goal (ed. to climb the highest mountain on each of the 7 continents)  and to tackle more endurance events in the future, including UTA100."

I'd like to warmly welcome Tom and Anje and can't wait to see what 2020 has in store for them both.

​Happy Running :)

Would you like free running coaching for a whole year? Each year I offer two sponsorships to runners. The sponsorships are for a full year of online running coaching and I invite you to apply.

In 2019 I helped athletes complete a diverse range of goals. Here is a snapshot of a few successes from the year:

• UTA 50k 2nd place.
• Age group champion Spartan Ultra Beast - Bright, Vic.
• Age group champion Australian Mountain Running Championships
• Honolulu Marathon finisher and 2:50 debut marathon
• Outback Marathon finisher