How far would you be willing to go to achieve a target marathon time?

For Nick Bester - his journey became a three-year quest, across 7 marathon attempts, to break the sub-2:20 marathon - a target he'd set himself once he broke 2:25

A relentless competitor and motivator, across 10 years, Nick has transformed from a recreational runner and corporate banker into a sub-elite marathoner and one of the most dedicated figures in the UK running scene.

As running coach, founder of Best Athletics, and Adidas Runners London Captain, Nick unpacks his extraordinary story of how he has pushed his body and mind to the limit, facing failures, self doubt and constantly re-tweaking his approach after each race to finally achieve his goal.

He takes us through every step of the journey: the races where things fell apart, the pivotal changes he made, and the mindset shifts that ultimately led him to success.

But this isn’t just a story about running fast - Nick opens up about quitting his corporate life to pursue his passion for coaching, the struggles he faced setting up his own brand and business, the lessons he’s learned along the way, and he reveals a mind-blowing marathon stat that I believe is far more impressive that breaking 2:20.

This is a story of grit, resilience, and the pursuit of something bigger than just a finishing time.

Whether you’re a runner chasing your own PB or someone looking for a lesson in perseverance, this episode is one you won’t want to miss.

Follow Nick:https://www.instagram.com/justalilbester/

Best Athletics:https://www.bestathletics.co.uk/

Support the podcast: Get a whopping 65% off your first Gousto box at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.gousto.co.uk/raf/?promo_code=TOM42277653⁠⁠⁠⁠

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CHAPTERS

00:00 Intro

01:30 Nicks New Age Category

04:38 Who is Nick?

07:42 The balance between weight and enjoying food

13:35 Nick's First Marathon in 3:17

17:40 Consistent and Accountable Training

20:05 A mind blowing stat about Nick's marathons

24:18 From Banker to Run Coach

31:06 The first year struggles

32:59 Hustling to build a brand

37:59 Dealing with negativity

42:23 Launching Best Athletics

50:23 Affiliation with Adidas

56:44 1st attempts at 2:20

01:04:29 Full sending a half marathon within training

01:09:29 Mistakes made while being the fittest

01:14:01 3rd attempt - 9 seconds out

01:22:01 Dealing with self doubters

01:26:19 Finding marginal gains

01:29:42 2024 Berlin Marathon

01:36:43 Transcending into the wider community

01:39:15 Nick's reason for running

01:41:52 Future running goals