When Kimberworth’s Caroline Jackson knocked 27 minutes off her best ever marathon time in this year’s Liverpool marathon, those looking in from the outside must have wondered how on earth she managed it considering the nightmare build up she had endured.

For Caroline had barely been able to train in the last eight weeks leading up to May’s Rock ’n’ Roll event due to a catalogue of disasters, including an infected toe, illness and a bereavement.

It was the solid block of heart rate training the V40 star had completed before those unfortunate sequence of events occurred, however, that saw her smash her PB by nearly half an hour, together with the support and guidance offered by her coach, Dave Tune, every step of the way.

The busy HR business partner spends her week days travelling all over the north of England up to the top of Scotland, so when she started running just six years ago, she was loath to give it up when she succumbed to injury just a year later.

Frustrated by the lack of progress with her physiotherapy received elsewhere, she turned to Jenny Blizard for help after a number of recommendations from fellow runners. Despite some misgivings after being told her knee pains originated in her back, she soon discovered the wisdom of trusting Jenny’s judgement, adding “her initial assessment turned out to be spot on!”

Spurred on by her renewed love for running, and averting further injuries by attending the clinic’s regular functional movement classes, she booked in for her first of four lactate tests with Dave Tune at the clinic, and was bowled over by what she discovered.

Caroline explained: “The test was amazing, Dave was extremely thorough and made sure I knew what was happening all the way through. However, I was shocked to find the test results revealed I had been vastly over training on every single run!

“I wouldn’t still be running if I hadn't had that test, because I hadn't been enjoying it. Now I understand that you do have to do some hard runs, but you also need recovery runs!

“I have improved year on year since my tests and I haven’t looked back. My training is much more focused on what I want to achieve in races, and I’ve got faster from running slower!”



The 45-year-old marathoner continued to improve her times over the ensuing few years, enjoying the fruits of her labour in three further lactate tests, particularly noting that “when you run to your heart rate and to your different zones, you don’t over-train”.

She completed four marathons in Dublin and Yorkshire between 2011 and 2014, with a number of half-marathons in between, but last year she decided she wanted to attempt a sub-4 attempt. That would involve knocking at least 23 minutes off her previous 4:22 PB.

Having enjoyed reaping the rewards of Dave’s expertise during that time through her lactate tests, Caroline enrolled his help once more, but this time in a coaching capacity.

“Along with his reassurances that I would be able to fit my key runs in around my busy job, I was also grateful to have accountability for my running, as well as with other areas of my life that affect performance, such as sleep and nutrition,” she explained.

It is testament to Caroline’s dedication to her training before the problems she endured in the last eight weeks before Liverpool that she ran as well as she did on the day.

“Dave gave me my race plan the week before the marathon, and I had it written on my hand on race day,” she explained. “It was amazing, I felt really good all the way and I finished really strong, overtaking far more in the last six miles than passed me. The support helped a lot too, with one lady telling me she could see I was on a mission!

“I still get emotional thinking about the finish now because I really cannot believe that at the age of 44 I have smashed my marathon PB by such a big margin, and finished a marathon in less than four hours!??“I know I’m capable of going even faster on a cooler day with a better build up, so I’m targeting sub-3.50 at October’s Dublin marathon!”

The busy club runner still enjoys regular trips to the clinic, and appreciates the lengths every Blizard team member goes to to help her and her husband, fellow runner Pete.

She said: “Everyone is made to feel welcome at Blizard, the clinic has a great atmosphere and Jenny and Dave can’t do enough for people - they genuinely do care about what they do and their clients.

“One example of this is when Pete asked Jenny how to run one set of woods to another near where we live - Jenny met him early one Monday morning and took him out for a run to show him the route!

“I don’t know many physiotherapists who would do that for someone! She went above and beyond, but that is what everyone is like at Blizard - nothing is too much trouble.”

We’re thrilled to see Caroline continue to fulfil her potential, and will continue to do all we can to support her on her quest for her next marathon target - the magical sub-3:50!