Meet our Coaches

Meet our coaches

Expert guidance from England Athletics certified coaches, sharing their knowledge and experience to help you achieve your running goals.

Event Group Manager

Hayley Hemmings

Hayley Hemmings has a wealth of experience across all things endurance. A Level 2 Athletics Coach for 18 years, Hayley has supported endurance athletes to make World and European teams and has been team manager for many international teams.

Hayley is the Event Group Manager for Endurance at England Athletics, working to nurture athletes across the talent pathway to train and perform at their best.

Hayley will be supporting RUN:EA members with lots of key session ideas, tips for maximising your sessions as well as helping new runners to understand the world of endurance.

Strength and Conditioning Coach

Maj Skok

From Olympians to professional footballers, rugby teams and para-athletes, Maj Skok has excellent experience of it all. Maj has been working with the England Athletics Talent Pathway and Talent Hub in Leeds for a number of years – supporting athletes across the full spectrum of the pathway with their strength and conditioning programmes and practice. Maj will be providing you with some key movements for beginners you can try at home, as well as some more advanced weighted exercises you can explore in the gym to make you into a strong runner and keep those niggles at bay.

Nutritionist

Bethan Crouse

Bethan Crouse is based out of Loughborough University and provides performance nutrition support to elite level athletes across a range of sports including athletics and triathlon.

Bethan is an SENr Graduate Nutritionist and a Registered Associate Nutritionist, having graduated from Cardiff Metropolitan with a degree in Nutrition and completed a MSc in Nutrition and Physiology for Sport and Exercise at Loughborough University.

Bethan will be helping RUN:EA members to fulfil their potential whether that is on how to correctly fuel your training runs, or how to smash your race day routine.

Physiotherapist

James Wilkinson

Placing fifth at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, James was an outstanding 3000m steeplechase and 5000m athlete, representing both England and Great Britain and Northern Ireland across his career. Now a physiotherapist, James stands on the other side of the start line, helping to prepare and treat elite level athletes based out of the England Athletics Leeds Talent Hub. James will be providing you with all of the top tips to keep injuries at bay and how to keep your body ready to race.

Elite Running Coach

Laura Weightman

A legend of the middle distance scene, Laura has many medals to her name at both domestic and international level. In 2014 she achieved both a silver and a bronze medal across the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and European Championships respectively. A finalist at multiple World Championships and Olympic Games, she then triumphed back onto the international podium in 2018 with double bronze medals at the Commonwealth Games and European Championships over the 1500m. Since retiring from the sport in 2023, Laura has moved into coaching and supports both elite level athletes and those across the England Athletics Talent Pathway. Laura will be supporting runners targeting 5-10k races with her tips on sessions to try, some drills to introduce and more.