I've been running with great pleasure for over 15 years and regularly participate in races like "Dwars door Hasselt" or the "20km of Brussels." However, until recently, I never managed to truly improve. I wanted to run 5km in under half an hour or complete 10km in an hour, which in hindsight, were somewhat unrealistic expectations, considering I didn't even know at what pace I was doing my workouts.

Three years ago, I finally bought a sports watch, giving me more insight into my activities, but I still remained clueless about how to train effectively. That's when I discovered Trenara via Instagram, a startup from my own region. I was immediately interested and decided to give it a try! My first intervals, tempo runs, long slow distance (LSD) runs, and recovery sessions quickly became a reality. It was very easy to set up the workouts on my new Suunto sports watch and simply follow the plan, it was really a piece of cake.

Not long after, Trenara launched a virtual run: a 5km virtual race where you competed against the time predicted by Coach Christophe. Right away, I finished under that magical pace of 6:00/km for the first time in my running career, just seconds faster than the prediction! Trenara was spot on.

Since then, I've continued training with Trenara. Thanks to the variety in the schedule regarding types of workouts, pace, and distance, I enjoy running even more than before. The results were evident; my paces improved by more than 30 seconds per km on all distances between 5km and the half marathon.

What remained was the ultimate running experience for many: the marathon. I too dreamt of it occasionally. In early January, the announcement of the Gent Marathon landed in my inbox, one of the first races to go ahead in a corona-proof manner. We were in the midst of yet another lockdown, and I needed a goal. I didn't have much time to think about my registration, as the limited spots were quickly filling up. I quickly ran a simulation in Trenara, which predicted a sub-four-hour time, a feasible goal. The training plan looked ambitious, but I was excited about it. I decided to sign up. This time, Trenara was a bit too optimistic about the finishing time, but the schedule led me to a fantastic marathon experience!

Meanwhile, I'm on my way to another goal: breaking that next magical barrier of 5:00/km on the 5km run. A few more intervals, tempo runs, LSD runs, and recovery sessions, and I'll get there. I can't get enough of it; for me, Trenara is an absolute must for every runner.