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On a surprisingly mild Wednesday this week I popped down to Gosport for Absolute Running’s mid week, all inclusive, 5K training run. This open invite to the running community sums up the philosophy of shop owners father & son, Nick and Harry (H). My second reason for visiting was to have a chat with Shane from the newly created Endurance Hub about the combined service he and his fellow triathlete Roman are offering in the fields of Training, Nutrition and Performance.

A group of about 20 of us chatted away in the shop with the upcoming Portsmouth Coastal marathon being the main topic, what with it only being 4 days away. I asked Nick how Harry would get on, Nick’s response was “ask H and he will tell you he just wants to finish his first marathon but what that really means is he wants to come top ten” 🙂

After posing for a quick “florescent” photo we ventured out into the night. I introduced myself to Johnny and Kieran who were running next to me and a brisk pace was set. The pace was quicker than I’ve been used to recently and considering I wasn’t 100% sure where I was going, I appreciated Johnny’s comment that the group approach is no one was left on their own, so we eased back on the pace a bit.

The 5K wizzed past with me exploring parts of my lungs that I haven’t used for some time. Back at the AR shop Harry gave us the choice of water, hot chocolate or a tot of rum as the theme for tonight was “rum runners” 🙂

After catching my breath Shane started to explain the background behind how he and Roman were combining their knowledge and strengths to offer a bespoke service rather than a general, “one size fits all” approach. Roman is a qualified Ironman coach and Shane is a personal trainer / nutritionist.

Shane was keen to stress that the service they offer extends right across the sporting spectrum whether that’s competing in an Ironman triathlon or simply conditioning. His enthusiasm for the topic shone through !!

Their measuring device pictured above covers so many body indicators it’s safe to say the word comprehensive is the right way of describing it and not only does it give overall readings it breaks it down into 5 separate body areas on some too. If you’d like to learn more then visit either their website, facebook or twitter pages.

I have waited until Sunday, “race day” to see how the partnership between Harry and the Endurance Hub had faired and to say that H had a great race was probably the understatement of the year. I have run this marathon myself and considering it has off road sections it wouldn’t be everyone’s first choice as a fast course even though it’s flat. The Hub’s expertise and support combined with Harry’s talent and hard work paid off.

Harry’s result : Portsmouth Coastal marathon : 3rd place in a time of 2.43 for his first marathon. I only have one word ….. Amazing. Congratulations to Harry, AR and the Hub.