Like many of us I had followed Jemma for years. I was so excited to see her embark on her coaching journey however I never thought in a million years, Jemma would one day be my coach. I had been coached for a while but began to realise I needed more. One morning I plucked up the courage to contacted Jemma. After several voice messages, Jemma loves her voice messages! I found myself arranging an initial video call with her….
Read MoreNot a natural runner – I only really started in 2018 after giving up the will to live whilst stuck in trafficon the way to the gym again. I came to Jemma in 2022. I’d run a few half marathons and a marathon prior to this but was a one trick pony all running at one pace, too fast to be slow, too slow to be fast. I’d been looking at coaches online for a while, but none had really…
Read MoreBack in 2017, at the age of 35, I developed a notion of wanting to run. I was a busy working Mum of two, grabbing fleeting moments for herself while trying to juggle way too many things at once and I just wanted something for myself. I downloaded the couch to 5k programme and set about trying to complete it. When I say to people I couldn’t run for 3 minutes continuously when I started I genuinely mean it. I…
Read MoreI came to Jemma back in October 2021 when I was about to embark on my training for the Brighton Marathon. This was to be my last marathon and I wanted to give it my everything. After an initial chat with Jemma, I knew she was the right person. Immediately I trusted her plans and her sessions. The Marathon was a great success, I finished with a big smile on my face and was happy with how the training and…
Read MoreI first started with Jemma after following her running journey for years on Instagram. I’ve never struggled to motivate myself to run but I’d hit a wall with online training plans and trying to figure it out for myself. I didn’t have the knowledge or the headspace to do that level of work. This is where Jemma absolutely shines for me! Whereas before I would give myself easier runs in training, Jemma doesn’t coddle me – she pushes me when…
Read MoreI started coaching with Jemma in October 2021 and in just over my first year I achieved new PBs in my 1 mile, 5k, 10k, Half Marathon, and Marathon. When Jemma and I started I had just achieved a new Half PB of 2:10 and now my PB is under 2 hours. So the results speak for themselves! However, what I have found most valuable from Jemma, is how she coaches when things are not going to plan. In my…
Read More“You can do this, You can!” Some of the first words Jemma said to me, resulting in lots of tears from me. It was my first 1-1 and Jemma had already uncovered my biggest hurdle. I had no self-belief, no confidence in my running ability and that was about to change. I was a full-time working mom of two children, my youngest was just 12 months. I loved running, it was all I wanted to do when I wasn’t at…
Read MoreI first got in contact with Jemma in July 2021 after deciding to do my first race in September 2021 (the Bristol 10k). I had heard of Jemma after listening to her on a podcast and reached out to see if she could help with a training plan. I started running in my early 40s but initially didn’t stick to it. I thenstarted running again a few years ago and just got the ‘bug’. I lovethe feeling I get from…
Read MoreI reached out to Jemma just over three months ago after securing a place in my first ever marathon. With 9 months to go, I wanted to make sure I had enough time to prepare myself physically and mentally. Jemma has provided me with everything I knew I needed (and lots that I didn’t know I needed!) a training structure, a friendly fortnightly chat, accountability on those cold, rainy winter mornings, and solid advice from someone who’s actually been there…
Read MoreAfter taking time away from running due to health reasons and losing interest with no structured plan I was really struggling to get going again. I had followed Jemma for a while on Instagram and her personality was infectious. I had thought about reaching out so many times and finally bit the bullet around 6 months ago. A speedy response from Jemma meant I was literally up and running in no time, going from strength to strength in the process….
Read More“Hi, is that Jemma with a J, it’s Jemma with a J here, it’s nice to meet you Jemma with a J!”From the first phone call with Jemma, I knew I had made the right choice to get in touch and try to get my running and enjoyment for running back on track. Having got into running as part of a personal challenge to complete 12 challenges in 12 months in 2018 I found once the challenge had been completed…
Read MoreI contacted Jemma 9 weeks out from my first marathon. It had been months since I had any structured training and I was (rightly) worried that I wasn’t going to be able to complete it and I would let the charity I was running for down. The training plan on my watch ticking away, unmet. I left that call fired up and confident that I could get round the course, with Jemma’s help, and signed up immediately. Marathon completed, with…
Read MoreI came to Jemma in January 2021. Having had a disastrous marathon cycle in 2018, I had lost my training mojo. I had ran here and there, but nothing serious and I was (literally) getting nowhere fast. I knew I had the Great North Run in September 2021 and I wanted to give it my all. I filled out the enquiry form, and within minutes Jemma had replied and arranged an introduction call. On this call I was blown away…
Read MoreGetting coached by Jemma is by far one of the best decisions I have ever made. I came to her at the start of 2021, having been out of running due to injury (in fact, I was in a bit of an injury cycle rut) and had started to loose hope that I would be able to race competitively again. To put things into perspective, I couldn’t even run 5km pain free. When we had our first chat, I was…
Read MoreJemma and I got together in August 2020; well, that’s how I like to see it! But why did I choose Jemma? I’m not sure I did; it just happened! I’d been running or trying to since 2016, and over the past year 2019/20, I’d joined a club, done a six week course, increased my distances, and had completed a half marathon. But, it all felt very aimless, and I’m not so good with that. Over the summer, I’d completed…
Read MoreIn February of this year I reached out to Jemma as I had followed her on Instagram for the past few years. I found her page very inspiring, she showed the good & the bad. I asked if she coached people outside of UK (as I’m from Ireland) which she thankfully replied yes. Well I haven’t looked back since. It was hands down the best decision I ever made. When I started I was jogging a 5km in 42mins &…
Read MoreI started training with Jemma in February 2021, after a few years of inconsistent running and I can honestly say it was the best decision. I was in a bit of a rut and needed some structure, guidance and accountability to ensure my training remained consistent. I was a bit nervous when I first started as I wasn’t at my fittest and Jemma is such a powerhouse in the running community so I was worried she’d think I was rubbish!…
Read MoreSo, I started running seriously in 2017 a few years after I’d left the Royal Navy. I joined a local running club and completed my first half marathon. At about that time I joined Instagram to document my “journey”. I started following some runners for inspiration and I found “Thisgirlrunsfar” On paper, apart from the running, we have nothing in common. I’m not a mother, I’m not married so I have all the time in the world, I don’t have…
Read MoreI never thought I was good enough to get a running coach. I started running at the grand old age of 37 with the aim of completing a 10K for the Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity after my daughter was born at 26 weeks the previous year. As someone who avoided exercise at all costs throughout my entire life and preferred the party lifestyle, it really took a lot out of me to even complete that 10K. But I did it…
Read MoreI had struggled for years and was up and down with my weight and generally feeling very unhappy. I had my first child 6 years ago and my second just over a year ago and the weight gain was making me feel so unhappy, tired and energy-less! I have managed to get 2 stone off and I have kept it off but have been stuck halfway and needed something more. I have also been diagnosed with Graves’ disease which is…
Read MoreAs a coach Jemma is an empathetic authority. Jemma always understands my situation and we plan the bigger picture through short term goals in a friendly and collaborative way which embraces the challenge. Jemma’s is always on board with you, never against you, and I can trust her to push me to achieve my goals in a safe, enjoyable and interesting way. Jemma’s training plans are really personal and week on week it makes me learn so much about my…
Read MoreI followed Jemma on Instagram for a while and admired her approach to running before I realised she coached as well. Being a sporadic on/off runner for years I decided that I was going to do a marathon and I got in touch with Jemma to see if she thought it would be possible for me to do one. Before I met Jemma I never pushed myself and had resigned myself to just being a plodder and that I would…
Read MoreI started working with Jemma in November 2020, after a period of the worst injury I’ve ever picked up. I had been trying (and failing!) to get back into running, lacking motivation and having no idea where to start, nervous to push myself and worried about relapsing, my fitness had dropped pretty dramatically. I’ve followed Jemma on Instagram for years and I always enjoyed how relatable her stories and posts were, after responding to one of her stories Jemma asked…
Read MoreWhat can I say about She Runs This? Jemma has saved my running and that’s not even close to an over-exaggeration! At the end of 2020, the worst year for so many people in general, my running and my relationship with running, was almost non-existent. I’d been coached since 2018 by an online coach (bar a few months out for personal reasons) so I felt loyalty to this Coach and the community and they had built. However, when I really…
Read MoreI have followed Jemma on social media for years and have always found her such an inspiration. I used to run a lot but it was put on the back burner with having a baby and a busy, stressful job. I contact Jemma in mid November, fully expecting her to say that she couldn’t help me as I couldn’t run far enough. I also didn’t think i was at a good enough to considered to be coached by Jemma. However,…
Read More“Having followed Jemma on Instagram since time began I can safely say she is one of a kind. Not only was she (and still is) one of my biggest inspirations, I could also see behind the Stories and Squares what a genuine, down to earth and approachable person she is. Someone I can totally relate to and understand, which is what makes Jemma so special. So when I was luckily enough to meet her back in September when she visited…
Read MoreJemma is an absolute coaching genius. She is the right side of firm and strict (which really keeps me accountable!) but also understanding that life happens and sometimes you just need an easy head-clearing run or a rest day. I approached Jem with 8 weeks to go before the Virtual London Marathon, and my training had been… sketchy at best from a few online sources that I’d cobbled together! Following all of the disappointments of 2020 I’d lost my mojo and my…
Read MoreI joined up with Jemma in July and haven’t looked back! I am relatively new to running so need all the help i can get. I’d joined a running club last year but when we went into lockdown earlier this year I lost any structure my “training” had had and didn’t know how to go forward by myself. I didn’t feel i was good enough to have a running coach but Jemma is so welcoming and encouraging no matter what…
Read MoreI’ve been following Jemma on Instagram for some time, so when she mentioned she was starting coaching, I knew I had to get in touch. As someone who’s been running for 30-odd years and who leads a running club myself, some of my friends couldn’t understand why I’d need a coach. But the fact I’d been running so long was actually part of the problem. I’d been doing the same sessions at the same speed – slow – for so…
Read MoreAfter completing couch to 5k, I knew that I did not want to give up my running. I had been following Jemma on instagram for some time and when she mentioned she was starting coaching, I jumped at the chance to sign up. Jemma has this infectious energy and enthusiasm for running, she shares the good, the bad, the highs and the lows of running. I have been working with Jemma for around two months and during that time, she…
Read MoreI contacted Jemma at the end of August about her new coaching and mentoring venture. I quickly decided to sign up for her mentoring services and haven’t looked back since! I was in dire need of someone to keep me accountable and on track with my training as I had recently moved meaning I had left my running club. Having Jemma as a mentor keeps me motivated to hit my sessions as I know she will be checking up on…
Read MoreI came to Jemma asking for help with my running, without really knowing what it was that I wanted help with. I’d been a runner on and off for a number of years and I knew I wanted to improve but I didn’t know where to start, how to go about it and was lacking structure. Jemma asked questions about my running journey so far and really listened to all I had to say, both in terms of my physical…
Read MoreJemma is an absolute powerhouse of a coach. She is totally passionate about running and completely dedicated to getting best out of you. I don’t consider myself a natural runner but Jemma’s enthusiasm is infectious and her technical knowledge has shown me that with some focussed training plans, I have everything I need to improve. Jemma makes me accountable for my training and helps me stay motivated to keep at it. She is so understanding when life gets in the…
Read MoreI’ve always enjoyed being active, but I decided to look for a running coach after taking up running more seriously during lockdown in early 2020. With the whole family at home for months especially with homeschooling two kids, it became so important to me to get outside, especially off road and into nature for both my physical and mental health. I took the plunge and typically of me, entered into an Ultra Marathon race for 2021. 5k to 30 miles…
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