23rd November 2022

MEET THE COACHES: RACHAEL THEOBALD

RACHAEL THEOBALD 

What is your athletics background?

My interest in athletics started when I was in primary school. My Mum and Dad were runners so I’ve always had that sports background. I love sport and started competing when I was 8 years old in the triathlon. Running was always my favourite discipline, so I joined the school athletics and cross-country team when I was nine. I immediately knew this is what I wanted to do!

I started secondary school and my PE teacher was a runner, she organised the school cross country club on a Tuesday after school. She was (and still is) a coach at Wirral AC and so some of the other coaches from there would come and join us. I then got invited to join the club and became a member of Wirral AC when I was 11, doing track, field and cross-country. I loved training every week and always enjoyed going to competitions with my team-mates.

When I was 14 I decided I wanted to take my running seriously. I wanted to be a successful endurance runner so I set my mind to that. My coaches were really supportive of me and have always encouraged me. I’ve been very lucky to have such great coaches and family supporting me. I have been coached by Sarah and Ronan Kearney from the start of my athletic career and, 8 years on, they still coach me today.

I am now 19 years old and competing successfully as an athlete. Endurance takes a long time to build, but seeing your hard work pay off when you get a PB or win a race, makes it all worthwhile. My favourite distances are the 5k or the 10k road, but I also love anything cross-country! I have been to Northern Counties Championships, Nationals, Inter-counties and English Schools, all of which were amazing experiences for me. I am very grateful for what the sport has given me and will continue to work hard not only in my sport but to provide other young athletes with the opportunities I had at that age.

 

How long have you been coaching and in what field?

I started coaching in the club’s endurance programme when I was 16. Most of the time I am an ‘active’ coach and will be doing the session with the group I’m coaching, with the role as group leader.  We are in different ability groups and have a set pace/ time to run for each effort. My job is to keep the pacing right during efforts and timing the recoveries. Our athletes are always motivated to work hard and have fun so that bit is easy!

I started my coaching qualification when I was 18. Due to the pandemic and school exams it was a little later than I had hoped but the first chance I got I did my qualification!

 

What brought you into coaching?

There are quite a few things that made me want to become a coach, but two in particular stand out:

Firstly, I have always been a very academic person and love learning. I did PE GCSE at school and really enjoyed biology. I took both of those subjects for A Level (together with psychology) and learned all about the different systems of the body, the effect of training and lifestyle on the body and even learning about the brain. I realised how much of what I was learning could be transferred to sport and wanted to share my knowledge and thoughts with others. Coaching gave me a platform to do that. I am able to share information on why we’re doing a particular session and how it will impact the performances of our athletes. For example, if we’re doing a tempo session, why this is beneficial to increasing our fitness levels for competition.

Secondly, I enjoy working with other people. We have a fantastic team of coaches and all work together in order to give our athletes every opportunity we can in order to help them become the best versions of themselves. Coaching has helped me develop as an athlete and a person and I can say it has helped me become the person I am today.

 

What do you consider your biggest achievement from a coach perspective?

Probably being a part of helping keeping our group going over lockdown, so that when restrictions were easing and races started up again, our athletes were strong, fast and ready to go! As coaches we each organised weekly challenges to keep the athletes motivated and focussed. These ranged from drawing a particular shape with your Strava run, finding road names starting with each letter of the alphabet on your runs, or even WEPOPOLY, which was a Wirral Endurance version of Monopoly, each person having their own board on their phone!

The challenge I organised was food and nutrition. Each athlete made a day’s worth of food, so they made breakfast, lunch and dinner (plus snacks) for one day during that week. They then took a photo of it and wrote a small description of what they’d made, some of the nutrients it contains and how it will help their running. The idea behind it was to encourage our athletes to try new foods and experiment. There were over 50 meals and snacks made and when we were back to group training, there were prizes given for best entries!

A big part of an athlete’s success comes from the coaching they receive. I think the fact I have grown up with such great coaches provides me with a good insight on what can be done when we put our minds to something and this can be applied to training and also racing.

Before a race, when I’m about to head over to the start line, Sarah and Ronan (Kearney) will give me advice about the course and any strategies I should follow when I’m out there. Over the years I’ve picked up a lot of knowledge from both of them about racing. I try to share this when I can with some of the younger athletes in our club, who haven’t had as much experience in racing, especially in the big races!

For example, last year we were at a cross-country race and one of our U13 girls was really nervous about her run. I gave her little tips that might help her in her race, as well as reassurance. When she finished her race she came back over to the club tent with a big smile on her face and just said to me “I did what you said and I did really well!”. I was delighted for her, and I think when you have moments like that you really appreciate what you’re doing for these athletes, and how happy and proud it makes them (and you!), it’s such a nice feeling.

 

What’s your coaching philosophy?

My coaching philosophy is very similar to the way I have been coached from the start. Training has always been a fun environment where you support your teammates and encourage each other. This helps when we are doing a tough training session, we keep each other motivated and work together, our coaches encouraging us all the way.

Setting that fun but disciplined environment from the start is very important, we respect our coaches just as they look after us. Our coaches want good senior athletes, they want us to do well now but they will always prioritise our health and wellbeing over any race or competition, we really are in it for the long run.

I also think avoiding comparisons to other athletes is a big part of successful coaching. Comparing to other athletes or expecting too much too early can lead to athletes having confidence issues and putting too much pressure on themselves, or never being happy with the outcome of their performance. It is best to focus on yourself and compare yourself to your own previous performances. Our coaches have always set us small, individual goals tailored to our own ability, but the main thing is to have fun and do your best!

 

What keeps you motivated?

When you’re training almost every day and racing so much (especially during the winter), it can sometimes be hard to keep yourself going and push yourself to the next level. Running is as mentally challenging as it is physically, and we all sometimes need a break to prevent injury and burn out.

Setting goals at the start of the season is a great way to keep motivated. As coaches we ask our athletes ‘what do you want to achieve this season?’ It could be qualifying for a particular team, getting a PB or peaking for a big race. I find setting myself goals allows me to get into a routine as it’s something to aim or work for. When I’m feeling low on motivation, I remind myself why I’m working hard and how I’ll feel when I have achieved what I’d set out to do. Achieving goals reinforces a good work ethic and a sense of pride in what the athlete has done, so it’s important to make sure those goals are challenging but realistic and within the athlete’s capabilities.

 

 

What are your aspirations for 2023 and beyond?

That’s a hard one to pinpoint, there are so many things I’d love to accomplish over the next year or so!

I’d like to continue helping athletes develop into becoming the best versions of themselves, both on and off the track. Also possibly completing my Advanced Coaching Qualification, there’s always something to learn and skills to develop. This ties in nicely with encouraging other young athletes to get their coaching licence too.

Together with my coaching goals, I have my own athletic goals. Training is going really well and so far I’ve done seven races during the winter season which I’m happy with how they’ve gone. My goal is to keep healthy and strong, and place well in the big races. I’m also really looking forward to Manchester Cross-Country League again. I won last year’s series so there’s a little bit of pressure for this year but I’m just going to go out and enjoy it! I have highlighted particular races of the season I would like to do well in, the calendar is looking very full and sometimes there’s double races at the weekend. There are going to be some races that I really want to make sure I’m on good form for, and for others that I’m there for the experience. I don’t want to get burnt out or injured by the end of the season! But overall I want to keep enjoying what I do, and see where running takes me!

Lastly, I have just started university, studying Dietetics at the University of Chester. My long-term career goal is to be a registered dietitian working in a hospital. An important part of being a dietitian is people skills (together with a vast amount of knowledge on medical nutrition!). Dietitians have to be able to communicate with not only their patients, but other medical health professionals, such as doctors and nurses. I am looking forward to being able to transfer skills I have gained from coaching over to dietetics, and to whatever area of dietetics I choose to specialise in.