The Online Running CoachReviews 

I would give more stars if I could....
I took up running again after a 20 year break in 2020 and have spent the last 5 years trying EVERYTHING to get faster and avoid injury, but I found myself constantly exhausted and frustrated. I have just completed my 4 week trial with Liam and this is the feedback I gave him -"Thank you again for a few weeks of brilliant training and support and for accepting me to be one of "your runners". It has been so refreshing and enjoyable and I love that I am learning about running and about myself all the time - such a revelation to find that effective training does not mean you have to be constantly exhausted and in pain (although I am sure you have noticed that this is my weak spot - when things aren't feeling great my natural inclination is to just go at it harder, but thanks for keeping me on track). I am genuinely excited about the path ahead, and although this all started with me suggesting a certain time I wanted to run in a HM, the numbers and times are not part of my daily thinking now - I am just enjoying getting strong and finding the joy in running. It sounds trite, but this new approach has been life-changing, and not just in my running life."
I have never had a coach at all previously and I wish I had tried it sooner. I am of an age when I need something tailored to me, and someone who "gets me". Despite being young enough to be my son, Liam is a perfect fit - very experienced, accessible, a lovely guy, and VERY tolerant of my many needy questions

Worked with Liam and Lee for 18months and really enjoyed and got a lot out of the coaching. Been running for 20plus years and wanted to see what a coach could offer, turns out a lot. Made the whole running process and training enjoyable and Beneficial seeing improvements in my running form/knowledge and pbs across the board. PBS were never forced or pushed just a by product of the excellent coaching and following a simple to understand process and mindset. In the 18months I’ve improved way more than I’d hoped in all areas of my running. Definitely a experience I’d recommend

Just what I needed.

After feeling fatigued week on week with the running club I am a member of and being a busy self employed dad I needed something that works for me, gives me confidence in my running ability and real purpose in my training not just going out aimlessly or hell for leather during training club sessions without leaving me constantly tired and actually enjoying training again.

I love the variety, with easy runs, hill sessions, speed work, long runs. Everything.. The support is second to none with communication, transferring the sessions directly to your watch etc. I’ve adapted really well the new approach I now take to running with “by feel efforts”. Really excited to see what the future holds.

Can’t recommend Liam enough. He’s above being a good coach, he’s a nice guy too who makes the time for you and cares about your progress as much as you!

Onwards and upwards.

Business lacks structure, respect & professionalism

I’ve just completed a year of coaching with The Online Running Coach and sadly wouldn’t recommend it.

Pros: Niamh, my assigned coach, was genuinely kind, supportive and consistent. She showed up for me and made the best of what she had to work with — she was the one positive part of the experience.

Cons: Everything else felt impersonal and poorly structured. Coaching was delivered entirely through WhatsApp voice notes, with no proper onboarding, no contract, no platform, no community, and no real engagement from the business owner. It felt like a lonely message thread, not a coaching relationship.

Even as paying clients, we were later offered “real” one-to-one coaching — but only at an extra cost. It was disappointing to feel like better support was always behind a paywall, rather than something existing clients were valued enough to receive.

As my coaching period ended, there was no message, no thank you, no “how did we do?” — just silence. I emailed honest, constructive feedback and was ignored. I left a respectful review on Facebook… and was blocked.

This isn’t cheap coaching — I paid over £1,800 for the year. At that price, I expected professionalism, community, and basic courtesy. What I got was a transactional setup that ended without even a goodbye. It says everything.

I won’t be recommending this business. Coaching should be a partnership — not a faceless service that disappears the second you leave.

Absolutely phenomenal coaching! This was so much more than just a training program—it was an incredibly in-depth and supportive experience. The program not only improved my running but also integrated essential strength work, giving me a well-rounded foundation. I received amazing advice on running nutrition and pacing strategies, which played a huge role in my success at World’s Toughest Mudder.

I trained with Lee from The Online Running Coach and was amazed at the difference it made to my running.
I achieved 5 PR’s in one Half marathon as a result.
Lee asked me for weekly feedback- via an online chat- and my training for the next week was adapted or increased depending on how the previous week had been.
Feedback was given each Monday along with the weekly plan.
We used final surge app so Lee could monitor how I was doing- and feeling after each run.
If I had a query I could message him and received prompt feedback and if Lee had a question about a particular run I’d done he would message me.
I highly recommend these guys.
Lee was my training (there are others) and Liam (physio) matches the client with the coach based on a thorough assessment of needs etc.
There is also a nutritionist in the business for advice if needed

From the outset, these guys took time to understand me and then developed a personalised training schedule for me. This was subsequently fine-tuned through on-going monitoring and regular feedback. I was given a coach of a similar age to myself. He was patient and encouraging and always thorough in his responses to my comments and questions.
I got the wrong end of the stick about the first month's trial - it's not free, it's money-back if you or they decide not to continue. I'd found it so good that I did three months in the end and hope I've learned enough to continue making improvements on my own.
BTW, I've just run my fastest parkrun of the year and want to credit this coaching.

I am a 60 yo slow runner whose running had plateaued. I joined a challenge on Facebook with Lee and subsequently signed up for two months personal coaching.

Lee provided a challenging but doable programme and made refinements following any discussions we had. His feedback was clear, concise and specific.

Unfortunately, I tried to fit Lee's programme around my current running schedule so did not reap the maximum benefit from my coaching opportunity. I did, however, still see gains in my running. The final two weeks of my time with Lee, I stuck to the programme and saw benefits in that short time.

If you are looking for value for money detailed personal training then you can't go wrong with Lee. I would definitely sign up with him again.

I’ve been taking my running more seriously over the last 4-5 years & my main aim has been to get quicker. Unfortunately I’ve suffered some injuries along the way, mainly due to pushing my body too far too soon! The main one being stress fractures in both shins.

Liam has been amazing at really tailoring my programme so that I can increase my distances and work on speed at a sensible pace to reduce that risk of re-injuring myself.

I’m so thrilled to be running 3 times a week again, pain free, feeling stronger and also knocking minutes off my times too!

Any questions or concerns I have Liam is quick to reply & it’s always with a detailed voice note or video explaining what to do.

I’ve been so Impressed I’ve signed up for a years worth of coaching & I’m excited for what we can achieve together in the next 12 months.

I returned to running after a 10 year break, I am 52. My fitness is good, I’ve always worked out, but the only running I was doing was intervals on a treadmill. In the past I suffered badly from bad stomach issues during long or intense runs which would cause me a lot of anxiety and as for gels well they were a big No No! I never ran without tissues and for races always took Imodium.
I wanted to get outside and run but I needed help and Lee was amazing. Being a grey zone 3 runner he taught me to run to feel, to not be driven by the tech and to meet my body where it was at. This was totally alien to me who always looked to beat the last timings of a run and was very pace driven. I struggled at first to run in zone 2 or run conversationally and felt embarrassed by my timings but as Lee always said “to slow compared to what?”

The support and advice I have received from Lee has been great so much so that I ran a half marathon on an extremely hot and humid day without Imodium and took a gel and my stomach was fine. I now feel confident that I can be in control rather than my stomach and no longer feel anxious when I put on my running shoes. The progress I have made is huge and whilst not a speedy runner I know that if I build on this foundation I will only get better.

Was charged £247 after one week so beware the one month is only free if you get a refund when cancelling. Only received 2 weeks worth of programs due to claim of sickness of my coach so requested refund. Now I am being billed again for £247 for absolutely nothing. Strange I had to remove coach name due to bad review but good reviews have the name allowed

I signed up with Liam following having issues with my hip flexors, TFL and IT Band.

Just after a week of performing the exercises given the pain decreased massively and running/walks become enjoyable.

We saw huge improvements in the 4 weeks of signing up with The Online Running Coach. They gave me a different way of training based on feel and stretches that really helped with my issues.

I can definitely recommend.

What can I say about the online running coach and especially Lee my mentor and coach during my process.
If you really want to improve and fine tune your running habits then I would highly recommend Lee from the online running coach.
Before I signed up for online coaching I was struck in weekly running routine running the same types of training runs and not seeing any or little improvement.
As soon as I signed up with Lee from the online running coach he started tailoring my running to match and suit me so I could start improving my overall running techniques with different types of runs sent to my watch through the running app they have called final surge.
Lee always had the right words of encouragement when things didn't always go my way.
I highly recommend the online running coach and especially Lee.
Thank you it was awesome 👌🏻

This time last year I noticed that the times that I was finishing my races had started to fall relative to other runners in my age category, (M60). I wanted to try and arrest the decline; I had recently retired and had to time to devote to whatever training would be suggested. After a thorough and detailed conversation we were ready to start the training programme. The programme consisted of bespoke runs that enabled me to build up a good endurance base, while also doing sessions that sharpen up my running. I reduced the number of races that I entered, thus giving me more time for effective training. The feedback was regular and very useful to effect immediate progress and /or adjustment. I felt that it was tailored to my requirements and was very specific to my needs and targets. I have learned a lot about effective training, injury avoidance and preparing for races. I also now, use more appropriate strength building exercises; specific to running. I would highly recommend the Online Running Coach to get you training more effectively and racing more relaxed without succumbing to injury.

I’ve been receiving coaching from Lee for the last 5 months whilst I was training for the London marathon. I have been a regular runner for the last 4 years and have ran the London marathon previously, however this time I had a time in mind that I wanted to complete the marathon in. Lee tailored the training plan to include a variety of different runs (speed, distance etc) and at different paces to help me to achieve my goal. This is the first time I have used a running coach and the advice and support I received from Lee really was invaluable as I learnt so much with regards to the correct pacing during training runs and the recommended frequency and variety of runs. Approximately a month before the marathon, I had an ankle injury and Lee and Liam offered great advice here and quickly adapted the running schedule to include more cross training activities so I still maintained my fitness whilst I had to take 2 weeks out of running. Without the support from Lee and Liam I wouldn’t have managed to knock 22 minutes off my marathon PB. Lee was also very responsive and always available over WhatsApp if I needed to connect with him. I would recommend the online running coach to anybody looking for support and improvement with their running.

I've only been running for a few years and it was the first time I considered using a coach. As someone who was used to doing and figuring things out on my own, it was great to have someone who could act as a guardrail to keep you on track with your paces and encourage you through difficult moments in a training block.

I was skeptical that working with someone in a different timezone would work, however, Lee usually responded on the same day, and I found that I got used to waking up and listening to Lee's 'life lesson' messages regarding my previous day's workouts.

I wouldn't have believed that I could suffer 2 injuries on the same side, run less, and still achieve an almost 3-minute PB in the 1/2 marathon distance, but it happened.

I signed up for coaching after getting stuck in a relentless cycle of building up my fitness, getting injured, losing all my progress and then building up again before getting injured again. Since I started working with Liam over a year ago this cycle has been well and truly broken. Instead, I've seen steady, consistent and satisfying improvements to all aspects of my running, culminating in a huge 35 minute PB in the marathon.
As well as putting a very effective plan (which includes both running and supplementary non-running workouts) in place for maximizing the return on your time investment, Liam has been excellent at helping me to re-organize my workouts around travel, family commitments and the occasional bout of sickness.
I would fully recommend this coaching service to anyone that wants to make progress in the sport.

As a now seasoned veteran runner who back in 2012 as a senior had been winning local 10k races, road running leagues, 10 mile regional championships, podium half marathon positions, etc, I thought I knew everything I needed to know about running.

Having been marred with injuries over the years since and having been put out of running for many years on end, in 2022 I had finally clawed a way back and embarked on my own training plan, winning many parkruns and starting to feel like an actual runner again.

However, something (a lot in fact) still wasn't right, I had stopped improving, many people who once knew me as a good runner were now beginning to turn their backs, I had plateaued, and was back running into injuries which I was just about pulling through the day with, but were ruining the rest of my plans outside of running, and would've got worse had I have not backed off again. My hopes to become competitive and get at least some of the way back to where I was again back in 2012 were fading rapidly. It seemed that I had nowhere to turn, that I had tried everything, that my body was old (at only 40 ..) and damaged beyond repair from having pushed it too hard in my 20s.

It never occurred to me that I needed to start all over again, to do things radically different.
It never occurred to me that I needed coaching, or not at least proper coaching from someone who had experience of coaching top drawer athletes.

It was one fateful moment of mindlessly scrolling through social media where the algorithm gods were looking down, and the ad for Liam's coaching program fell right in front of me, just at the point in life where I needed an answer more than ever.
I decided on the usual cliché approach of what the hell let's just give it a go and see what happens, but the rest was history.

Many months down the road, things have improved DRAMATICALLY ever since I've undergone Liam's coaching plan, moreso than they ever did when I was either at or approaching my once best, in any given length of time.
The early stages have involved the laying of new foundations, learning new concepts, eliminating old habits, doing a lot of things a lot differently to before, and much more.
If you adopt the same approach, this can work for you too, it's just a matter of how much you want it and how much you're willing to sacrifice.

The training plan which Liam has put together and reviews on a regular weekly and sometimes daily basis (circumstances dependent) has been finely precision tuned to my own specific current condition and future goals.
My determination is stronger than ever, and my hopes of becoming a strong runner again building by the day. I have yet to put what I've built to the test and take on old PBs as I'm more focused on the plan at present, and the long term benefits that come with it. I am even foregoing races which I would've once considered more important than training and probably more important than me keeping in one piece.

This is not someone's cheesy hyped up get out there lads and give it your all and reach for the stars and don't give up attempt at "coaching", which you will see happening everywhere in the running circuit, this is a carefully crafted plan with a long term view to safely getting you to where you want to be by improving your running ability optimally and without damaging yourself along the way.
The old idea of coaches having to be regularly face to face now seems a thing of the past. The power of the internet, apps and technology do have a bright side, as is being proven to me on a daily basis by Liam's coaching plan.

My only regret is that I didn't have something like this at my fingertips in earlier life, better later than never...

I signed up with Liam a few months back to try and get back into running a little further without getting stuck in the run for a bit then stop for injury cycle. We chatted about what I would like to do, what I was doing then and what was important to me regarding my running. Taking all this into account Liam added in strength work at optimum times to scheduled running workouts and I have now been doing some weekly speed sessions without them causing me pain, really chuffed about this. Any queries, problems or last minute schedule changes I can ask about them and get quick replies back about them. He follows my progress and suggests tweaks if needed. I'm learning how sensible training all fits together to make progress and why, really enjoying the process.

My Journey from Injury to Marathon Glory

I initially approached Liam with an injury that left me doubtful about ever running again. The journey was a long one but to my surprise, his coaching not only facilitated my recovery but propelled me to conquer the Dublin Marathon in 2019 and then on to complete my first mountain ultra.

Liam's support was instrumental in my achievements. His personalized coaching, encompassing not just running but also the importance of recovery and mental resilience, transformed my abilities and outlook on a healthy lifestyle. Beyond being an exceptional coach, Liam's encouragement and unwavering support inspired me to pursue run coaching myself.

Working with Liam has been a fulfilling experience, and his mentorship has been pivotal in my growth as a coach. His coaching philosophy builds a community of runners who uplift each other.

In summary, Liam is more than a coach; he's a transformative guide who propels you beyond your limits. Whether you're overcoming obstacles or aiming for new milestones, Liam's coaching is a journey of empowerment and exceeding expectations. Highly recommended.