Debbie Hartnell
running coach
Patient; run slow to run far
Couch to Start Line
Twenty weeks, no running history and a brother who never lets him forget it. Ravi learns how training actually works, gets injured, and has to decide whether finishing the race matters more than his health and his pride.
Planned · not started yet
Fitness & sport Second chances Ambition Living with uncertainty City life Hopeful Lightly witty
The premise
Twenty weeks, no running history and a brother who never lets him forget it. Ravi learns how training actually works, gets injured, and has to decide whether finishing the race matters more than his health and his pride.
The protagonist
Ravi Chandran-Moore — Sedentary 38-year-old entered into a half-marathon by his brother
The council
Every council member is an original fictional character. None represents, quotes or is endorsed by a real person.
Kristof Ward-Bellamy
sports physiotherapist
Cautious; pain is information
Dr Ayo Folarin
exercise physiologist
Numbers-driven; loves a heart-rate graph
How the story moves
Twenty weeks to race day; an injury at the midpoint forces Ravi to rebuild his plan and his reasons for running.
What readers take away
- Progressive overload and easy-hard balance
- Heart-rate and perceived-effort zones
- Building a training plan
- Running-technique myths and evidence
- Common injuries and warning signs
- Strength training for runners
- Fuelling and hydration
- Race-day pacing
- Choose running shoes using evidence rather than marketing
- Plan a taper before race day
- Recover properly after a long run
- Run safely in heat and cold
The books
- 1The dare Planned
- 2The base Planned
- 3The injury Planned
- 4Race day Planned
Book titles are working titles and may change before publication. No book is on sale until the complete series is finished, checked and released.