Coast Road Runners was set up in March 2016. As a long term runner, I often heard people saying that they wish that they could run but feel that they can’t. I realised that what they needed was the confidence to believe in themselves to enable them to run. So I set up Coast Road Runners to help people to overcome this feeling that they can’t run, and train them to run from 0-5km. The first 0-5km course started in Clontarf on 7th March 2016. What I learned from this group has formed the basis that has underlined Coast Road Runners methodology.
After each 0-5km course, I always tell people that you can take your running to wherever you want it to go. Whether you never run a meter beyond 5km or not is entirely a personal choice. I was sometimes asked if I would do a course to train people to run for longer than 5km, so in April 2017, a year after starting Coast Road Runners, I started the first 5-10km course. Most people that did it came from the 0-5km courses. Seeing people who had taken their first running step with me within the past year, run for 10km (or 10,000 meters or c. 13,000 steps!) was a wonderful experience. It was also great to have people new to Coast Road Runners in the 5-10km group, as it helped them to move out of the 5km comfort zone that they felt stuck in after being in it for so long.
Out of this first 5-10km course came something that I hadn’t envisioned so soon after starting Coast Road Runners. As a 6 times marathon runner, the conversation of marathon running sometimes comes up during the running sessions. During this course it did more than just come up. Two people, Amanda and Paul ran the Dublin City Marathon in 2017. Not only did they both train together using a Coast Road Runners training plan, they crossed the finish line together in an astonishing 3 hours 52 minutes. In 2018, Coast Road Runners Elaine and Paul ran the Dublin Marathon and in 2019 an amazing 7 Coast Road Runners ran the Dublin Marathon 2019. And in April 2019 Paul became the first Coast Road Runner to do an Ultramarathon, an astounding 39.3 miles or 62.6km!
I have always told people that running is by no means all about marathon running. However what this demonstrates is that once you are able to run for 5km, you can take your running to wherever you want it to go. Whether you want to stay at 5km or go beyond, Coast Road Runners can help you to stay there or get you to where you want to go. Everyone has their own unique running journey and story. To read about mine, click here, to read about other Coast Road Runners, click here, and to start your own click here.
Coast Road Runners launched it’s first Sandymount 0-5km course in January 2018, Eastpoint corporate lunchtime 0-5km in February 2018 and Sutton 0-5km in March 2019. We now have a team of running coaches, some of whom have come through the Coast Road Runners 0-5km and 5-10km courses. The courses are suitable for men and women of all age, shapes, sizes and fitness levels. The people who have done the courses to date have ranged from age 18 to age 61, so you are never too young or too old to take your first running step.
Katharine Teeling
January 2022
Coast Road Runners Owner
© Coast Road Runners 2023