Scunthorpe’s Matty Smith is a fantastic example of an athlete who doesn’t let his busy lifestyle interrupt a carefully mapped out training schedule, and as a result, has sliced huge chunks off every single PB since joining Dave Tune’s personal coaching programme.

The hard-working steelworker’s demanding shifts combined with being a married father of two young children means fitting training in requires some clever juggling skills and a great deal of determination, both of which he has in spades!

Grabbing the opportunities he can, he cites one example of how there should never be excuses to miss essential sessions, revealing how he ran 15 miles home from his children’s swimming lessons in Gainsborough ‘just to get my threshold run in!’

The 32-year-old former Sunday league footballer ran his first race at the Great North Run for the MS Society five years ago, and, after crossing the line in 97 minutes, he was hooked, particularly enjoying the sport’s stress-relieving qualities.

Since then he has chopped an astonishing 24 minutes off his half marathon best, and this April he ran a superb 2:39 in London to represent his greatest running achievement yet.



Matty explains how he discovered lactate threshold running, and why it took a ‘failure’ in his eyes to dig deep and look for help from our expert running coach.

“When I missed my sub-3 target at the 2014 London marathon, running 3:10, I was determined to find out why I hadn’t performed,” he said. “After attending a Blizard Physiotherapy marathon talk at the clinic, I realised I had been woefully underprepared. I booked one of Dave Tune’s lactate threshold tests straight away to take my training to the next level, and prepare much more smartly for the Chester marathon a few months later.”

Matty ran a storming 2:56 in Chester, finishing with energy to spare. Brimming with self-belief, he signed up to Dave’s coaching programme, and hasn’t looked back since.

“Dave has given me the confidence to believe in my potential to better myself by training to heart rate. His enthusiasm and knowledge is second to none, leaving me thirsty to improve. I have had six lactate threshold tests in total, and now look forward to each and every one.

“I am still improving, so I know it is working for me, and I no longer have to worry about whether I am doing the right training intensity or volume - I just do what he tells me to do and enjoy my running more.

“His coaching helps me react better to situations like injury or illness - he adapts my training to allow for adequate recovery, whereas without his guidance I would probably have continued training hard, making the situation worse.”



The quality and openness of the coach-athlete relationship is key if the runner is to progress, so Matty and Dave’s clear communication channels are essential as the Scunthorpe man continues to take an increasing number of racing scalps.

“Since Dave has been coaching me my PBs have come rocketing down across the board, from 34:50 to 32:56 at Gainsborough in March, from 77 minutes to 73:24 for the half, and my parkrun time has been sliced from 16:48 to 15:58.

“I was over the moon to come in under 2:40 in London, because the last three miles were tough. I know that is down to some mistakes in my own personal preparation - which weren’t part of Dave’s pre-race build up - but I will learn from them. However, if I had been told two years ago I would be running 2:39 for a marathon this year I wouldn't have believed it!” 

Matty understands full well the importance of sticking to his heart rate zones, acknowledging that they ‘provide the foundation for my training, ensuring every single run has a purpose, and, by keeping to the right zones, I know I'm hitting the targets for each session in my schedule’.

Looking ahead with confidence, he is clear in his mind what he wants to achieve next.

“My short term aims are to improve my 5k and 10k PBs, but my next big target is the Great North Run in September, for which I will be steadily building up to over the summer - long term I want another pop at my marathon PB in London!

“I always recommend Blizards to running friends, and several have had lactate tests as a result. I can't speak highly enough of Dave’s coaching too, and I look forward to my future challenges.”

Dave is similarly impressed with his protege, adding: "Working with Matty is a pleasure as we communicate well together, and he performs at the level he reaches in the tests on the treadmill, which is all we can ever hope for. The way he has committed to his training and racing is an example to all aspiring athletes."