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Meet our Gold Coach Pat Nispel

Meet our eight running.COACH Gold Coaches in our interview serie. This first interview is with Pat Nispel. Until the 10th September 2016 you can profit and we will give you 10% off the gold subscription. Find the code and more details below.

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What reputation and importance does running have in the country that you live in? 

Australia has a long lasting tradition in exceptional distance runners and coaches. This is currently shown again by the many top results by Australian athletes at the Olympics. Running and triathlon as well as sport in general are part of our lifestyle here with huge participation numbers.

Tell us your personal running story.

I started with gymnastic and skiing form a very young age while growing up in Switzerland. However, from age 12, running has been my favourite sport and I started out with cross country and athletics; winning my first gold medal at the Junior Cross Country Swiss Championships when I was 17 and going on to represent Switzerland at the European Championships when I was 18.

Following a long track career racing across Europe, I moved to Brisbane, Australia in 2007 to work as an architect and train with the legendary coach Pat Clohessy at the University of Queensland Athletics Club. In 2008, I had my most prestige track race win in Melbourne with the Zatopek 3000m Steeplechase in a time of 8:59. At the same time, I started coaching runners and triathletes.

I decided to make the transition from track to marathon in 2011, with a debut time of 2:23 at the Gold Coast Marathon, placing 10th overall. That year was a good one for me; I also won the Australian and Queensland Mountain Running Championships and received my Australian citizenship. I am now very proud to be a dual Swiss-Australian citizen. In February 2012, I finished 3rd in the Osaka Marathon in Japan. In 2013, I placed 3rd in the Swiss Championships at the Zurich Marathon in a time of 2:22 which landed me a spot in the Swiss National team for the 2014 European Athletics Championships. My most favourite distance now is the half-marathon with many wins to my name and in 2016 I improved my half-marathon PB to 1:07:07 and won the City2South 14k event in Brisbane.

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What has been your favourite running experience so far?

There are many fond memories I have from my 20 year long running career both in and out of competition. My most honourable track results is wining the famous Zatopek Meet 3000m Steeplechase in Melbourne in 2008. I went out hard leading the race from start to finish to win in a personal best time of 8:59. It was also my last season as a track runner. On the road, I am still hoping for my best to come, but my 3rd place at the Senshu International City Marathon in Osaka, Japan in 2012 was definitely a highlight.

What is your next goal? How do you prepare for that? 

I am currently having a break from competition and enjoy time with my family and 6 months old son while focusing on my growing coaching business. I am looking to return to some races towards the end of this year and some bigger goals from next year again.

What is your favourite type of training? 

I love a challenging long run on trails or marathon simulation run when I am in top shape. However, otherwise my favourite and most practiced speed session is the Mona Fartlek named after Steve Monegetthi. 

 

Which is your personal piece of training advice that you can share with us? 

“Train smarter, not harder” – a personal coach that brings both years of experience in the sport as well as the knowledge of the latest exercise and sport science will be able to guide each individual person/ athlete to achieve their personal goals. There are no short-cuts when it comes to performance in endurance sports so the right mix of different training methods and recovery are just one critical factor amongst many other factors to consider.

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Do you have any ritual which you do before a competition? 

There are lots of rituals before a race I go through, too many to mention here. My warm up routine is definitely an important ritual, so is the 4am wake up alarm before a morning race start.

Do you mind your nutrition?

My nutrition has become more important each year and I believe it is equally important to my training and recovery. Luckily I work with a top sport nutritionist and my wife loves spoiling my with healthy cooking. Cooking, the same as exercise are part of our daily family lifestyle.

What is your favourite running brand? 

On running shoes. I have been running in On shoes for the last four years and love their constant innovations and variety in shoe types.

What was a special moment for you as a running coach/ Gold coach? 

As part of my marathon club we had over 50 people taking part in the Gold Coast Marathon Festival in July this year, 35 of them I coach personally using runinng.COACH as the training plan software and app of choice. To offer a personal coaching service and individual plans for this many people would not be possible without the technologies that sit behind running.COACH. We have athletes of all levels training for different events worldwide all year round in road, trail, track and multisport events.

Why should a customer book you as a Gold coach?

The athlete – coach relationship is very important hence the decision needs to be mainly a personal one. If there is a mutual understanding for each other, I can offer over 20 years of personal experience in the sport as well as I offer both onland coaching and personal training in Brisbane as well as online coaching worldwide. Everyone is different and has individual needs so none of my training approach is exactly the same for two people.

 

Would you like to book Pat Nispel as your Gold Coach? You get 10% off till 10th September 2016. It doesn’t matter which Coach your book. Just use the code: GETGOLD10

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