Brooksie’s: noteworthy performances
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1999
Rowbotham’s Round Rotherham, 50-mile fell race: 1st
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2000
Northern Triangle Ultra Trail Series: 2nd
UK Trail Running Championships, Ultra Distance: 4th
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2002
Belvoir Challenge, 26-mile trail race: 1st
Mongolia Sunrise to Sunset, 100km trail race: 3rd / 1st International
High Peak 40-mile Challenge: 1st
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2003
Belvoir Challenge, 26-mile trail race: 1st
Massanutten Mountain Trails, 100-mile trail race (Virginia USA): 6th / 1st International
Dovedale Dipper, 26-mile trail race: 1st / Course Record
Belper Rugby Rover, 30k trail race: 1st / Course Record
Rowbotham’s Round Rotherham, 50-mile fell race: 1st
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2005
Dovedale Dipper, 26-mile trail race: 1st / Course Record
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2006
Dovedale Dipper, 26-mile trail race: 1st
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2009
Wadi Bih, 72k trail race (Oman): 1st solo runner
Dead Sea Ultra-marathon, 50k (Jordan): 11th
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2015
Derbyshire 100-mile Challenge, self organised event with two club-mates, running the length of Derbyshire north to south off-road.
Brutal Extreme Triathlon - Ironman distance (Wales), 16th
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2016
Run to Flanders, self organised run from the National Arboretum (Staffordshire) to Torhout (Belgium), including Night of Flanders Marathon: 500k over 9 days
Cotswold Way Century, 102-mile trail race: 3rd
Dusk ‘til Dawn, 50-mile night time mountain trail race: 1st
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2017
Last One Standing Ultra, Castleward (Northern Ireland): 130 miles, 5th
Lakeland 100, 105 mile trail race (22,500ft ascent): 26th
King Offas's Dyke Race, 185 miles non-stop trail race (32,100ft ascent): 4th
Meet our Coach
Andy Brooks (Brooksie)
I am licensed by UK Athletics as a Coach in Running Fitness and also a Lydiard Foundation Level II Coach. This means I have been on courses and passed formal assessments that allow me to coach endurance runners using principles that have been tried and tested on runners at all levels, from absolute beginners to Olympic champions. That's useful, of course it is, but what I believe is more useful to the runners I work with is my experience as a runner myself, my interest in the limitless abilities of the human body and my enthusiasm for the sport at all levels.
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I was never sporty as a kid and didn't discover that running could be fun until my late 20's, and that was almost by accident as I was just trying to get fit to climb a mountain! Since then, in the last 20 years I have taken part in around 400 races (I lost count a long time ago), over distances ranging from less than one mile to over 100. While I enjoy having a go at all kinds of races, including the occasional triathlon, what I love most is off-road running in the hills, and testing myself in ultra-distance events.
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In the races I’ve done I've finished last, I've finished first and I’ve finished in just about every other position in-between; so I feel I can relate to runners of all abilities. Sure, I have had some successes, but this has been more down to my desire to test my boundaries and willingness to learn from failure, rather than any natural athletic ability.
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I believe most people have the capability to achieve goals beyond what they imagined possible in running, if they take the right approach and have guidance which is suitable to them as individuals. Helping others to tap into their true potential to achieve their running ambitions, whatever they are, is something I find immensely rewarding, perhaps even more so than my own running. This was my key motivation for becoming a coach.
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I’ve always had to fit my running around a busy family and (non-running related) working life, with long hours and lots of travel. I can therefore fully appreciate the limitations athletes I work with have on their time, and know how to help them make the most of the time they do have available for running.
