Race Recap: Josh’s 2:33 in Hamburg

Josh is the founder of Kaizen and has run around 25 marathons(!). He ran Hamburg Marathon on 23 April in 2:33:54, his best time since 2018. He answers a few important questions about running and how he uses Kaizen.

Why do you run?

I run simply because I love it. Although I find marathons a really challenging distance I enjoy the fact that there is no shortcut - the only way to improve is to put the work in and train smart. That direct correlation between training and performance is something that I haven’t found in other sports, but I really appreciate with running.

How did you get into running?

I’ve been running for quite some time, starting with cross country in school and moving to marathons after school. I found that during my time at university I had a lot more time to train and was able to improve my marathon PB quite a lot, whereas it’s harder to find the time nowadays. Having said that I have been improving recently and that paid off in Hamburg with me achieving the best time I’ve managed in several years.

How was your race at the Hamburg Marathon?

The Hamburg Marathon was a great day! I was able to set off at the right pace and found some good groups to run with for most of the race. I was feeling a little too confident around the 28km point and then ran a few kms a little too fast which I then paid for down the line, with the final section being a real challenge. Kaizen had predicted me at 2:35 so I was pleased to beat the prediction by a little.

How does Kaizen influence your training?

It’s all about the flexibility of the training plan for me. I love that I’m able to run at whatever pace I feel like and Kaizen adjusts around that. I find this particularly useful as I often run with friends so I’m always able to just say “We can go at whatever pace you like” and I know that after the run I will have a new distance goal and I’ve gained a little fitness.

Next marathon and goal?

I’ll be aiming for a marathon in October this year, with the aim of running a little faster than Hamburg. For now though I’ll be taking a week of well deserved rest and then starting the build up to work on my fitness after some relaxed kms.