I emailed Steve prior to purchasing the training plan and he responded quickly with really sensible advice based on my triathlon history and current training volume. Of course being an 45 going on 12 year old age grouper I ignored all sensible advice an purchased the only plan that gives me any remote, long shot of getting to Kona….I’ve just finished my first month of the base phase and despite pushing through a couple of those weird one-day training head-colds due to the increased volume, I’ve loved every minute so far.

Having read and enjoyed Friel’s Training Bible I was still left with just a big empty spreadsheet and too many decisions to make for myself. I’m a normal bloke for god’s sake, tell me what to do or I’ll just sit and watch the Discovery Channel!

Steve’s plan takes away all the science, mathematics and preparation that a triathlete with a full-time job just doesn’t have time for. Once the testing phase is done, each session is is concisely described, training zones set and drills presented via video links etc. where appropriate. For bike sessions I don’t need to know any more than I have a bike session today, once I fire up Zwift, some black-magic means Steve’s session is already there in front of me and ERG means I’m training at exactly the prescribed power throughout, brilliant!

Moving sessions around the plan to fit in with other work commitments is easy and intuitive and for some reason I’m actually motivated to stretch for the first time in 25 years because it’s on the plan. Well I say stretch, think Uma Thurman in Kill Bill trying to wiggle her big toe, but hey, I’m trying.

In all seriousness, having debated throwing a few quid at a properly structured, proven plan for the price of a decent pair of runners, I now couldn’t recommend highly enough. Absolutely fantastic value for money

I purchased the 12 week 70.3 Advanced training plan. It was easy to follow, Coach Steve was very responsive & helpful via email – overall excellent value for money!
Being able to reorder sessions in TrainingPeaks is very useful, so recommend the Premium plan (which you get free for 30 days).
Following this plan allowed me to take 25 mins off my 70.3 PB (despite missing run sessions due to injury) – that says it all! Thanks Coach Steve 🙂

Long distance debut yesterday….12hrs 56mins wow man I still can't believe it! Hats off to everyone doing it on regular basis…one hell of a distance! Thank you Coach Steve

Thank you coach Steve for the programme and the support when needed for me to complete Ironman bolton. If I ever do another triathlon I will 100% be speaking to Steve again!! Thanks coach

Previously coached by Steve in 2016 when undertaking Full IM training. 5 years, 3 kids and a few stone later I'm back working with Steve, training towards Ironman Cork 70.3 in August 2021. Steve has tailored my training excellently to allow for family and work commitments as well as dilligently managing my training load to reduce the risk of injury and allow consistent progress. As ever, Steve is personable, easy going and flexible, always putting the athlete first. Would highly recommend!

If you are starting out in the game of endurance events or are looking to up your game Steven is the coach for you. He has a simple, common sense approach based on his own career of highs and lows. He is a curious coach and extensively researches his coaching practice so the client gets a great experience.

Having reached a plateau, it niggled that I hadn’t reached my full potential but felt it a bit pretentious engaging a coach as a middle-aged back of pack female. At initial meeting, Steve seemed just as interested in helping me reach my goals as somebody trying to get to Kona. Rapid feedback after each session means that I have had almost 100% consistency in training & the constant cycle of session & feedback has ingrained good habits. To my delight, mid-50s, I’m now stronger, fitter & faster

Just back from an excellent training camp on the ironman cork course hosted by coach Steve and Niall , very informative and great attention to detail, despite some challenging weather managed to get some solid training done, have a bit of craic and pick up some very useful tips, couldn't reccomend these camps enough !!!!

What an experience it was to finish my first Ironman. With the help of Coach Steve and his program, I crossed the line in 9 hours 36 minutes . Trust the process and perform on race day.
What’s next ?

I purchased the Beginner Ironman 22 week (50yrs+) plan that included email access to Coach. So far I am very pleased with this heart rate based plan. I was also pleased to see a training plan designed for my particular age group. This plan helps greatly to organize my weekly workouts. And if you have a Garmin Forerunner 935 watch, this plan can be synced to Garmin app which makes it even simpler to keep track! Join the Facebook group to get your questions answered is an awesome feature!

Just a big old thank you for the recent PB in my latest 70.3! Got over a little panic attack in the swim (partly thanks to the advice on the visualisation to help me get my mind in the game – mainly down to me MTFU ;-)) , smashed my bike and held it together for the run! I will be in touch re the next challenge – Ironman Barcelona in 2022!

Coach Steve is simply awesome! I am just getting back to training and he has been super helpful already! I am so happy that I chose Smart Endurance Solutions to help get me to the finish line of my second Ironman.