I have been coached by Russ Cox for 2 years and highly recommend him. He has developed me from having completed one sprint triathlon and a half-marathon through to qualifying for the 70.3 World Championships. He is knowledgeable, methodical and able to adapt your training plan to meet your life schedule which makes him an excellent coach for getting the most out of time crunched age-group athletes. He is also kind, responsive and supportive for helping with the inevitable setbacks of endurance sport.
He is always open to discussing and accommodating my suggestions, however naïve, which gives us a rewarding athlete-coach relationship. He has coached me to PBs at all distances raced - including a 2:43 full marathon and <4:30 half-ironman.
He also runs a yearly training camp in Lanzarote which is great fun to hang out with Russ and the other athletes he coaches, whilst getting bespoke in-person coaching.
Triathlon can be an expensive hobby but without doubt my best financial outlay has been having Russ as my coach. He is clear, straightforward and encouraging without being unrealistic or difficult. He understands the athlete’s personal circumstance and supports you to train efficiently and maintain motivation. He has a wealth of information and has not only helped me with training programmes but also race execution resulting in race victories and IM WC qualification.
Working with Russ for over a year now through various events has been not only rewarding in terms of performance, but also enormously enjoyable. All of the sessions, whether in the pool, on the bike, or on the run have been interesting and served to improve the respective discipline – being flexible to fit around work and life. Having competed himself in IRONMAN events you feel confident that Russ knows exactly what he is talking about and how to get the best from his athletes, irrespective of their goals, aspirations, and experience.
I've had the pleasure of being coached by Russ for six seasons. As a coach I cannot recommend him highly enough. He is honest, reliable, level headed and thorough. No element of ego either and is very much athlete focused. Always ready to explain why I was doing certain sessions and illustrating the big picture. Any time I came with my own ideas or things to experiment with he was accommodating and open to suggestion which made it a good two way relationship. His data driven approach suited my mentality and the post race analysis reports are always extremely helpful and insightful. Over my time with Russ I've achieved PBs at all distances from sprint to ironman, as well as on the road running from 5km to marathon. So the proof is in the pudding - hard work - it works. Would highly recommend!
I started working with Russ at the end of 2017 in readiness for 2018. Since then I've never looked back, there's been highs and lows but Russ has always given me the confidence to get the best out of myself. I feel in the last 7 years I haven't just grown as an athlete but as a person. I love structure but also understand hard work really does work.
I've been coached by Russ for more years than I can remember, and the reason that I stick with him is because he manages to get me prepared for races even when I'm struggling for time and failing to make all of my sessions. I can spring holidays, and even races on him because I've forgotten to tell him and he takes everything in his stride,
Russ has been providing me with triathlon coaching for around 1 year in preparation for Kalmar Iron Man. Even though we have worked largely remote from each other, Russ has both significantly improved my overall fitness plus improved my poor swim technique to a point where I feel confident to take on the 3.8km open water swim. He has the gift of being able to explain things in simple terms in ways you can quickly take on board to improve technique. The way he manages the weekly training plans makes it easy to follow and enables you to focus on the optimal schedule to achieve your target without spending hours yourself researching and planning. An added bonus is the opportunity to join a training camp in Lanzarote which is a great way to learn from Russ but also other experienced athletes as well as have a lot of fun and kick start your season!
Coach Russell Cox took me from no triathlon experience through two successful race seasons, not only achieving, but exceeding my Ironman goals. Russ is a hugely experienced coach and was able to develop my fitness through a well thought out, progressive and enjoyable training program. Russ was happy to adapt the program to my needs, catering for family demands and work commitments. Russ was also a good educator and communicator, answering any queries about Ironman training, equipment and racing in a timely fashion. I unreservedly recommend Coach Cox.
I worked with Coach Russ for around 3 years after attempting a 70.3 on my own.
Russ helped structure training around my work and social life which made me enjoy the process without feeling as though I was missing out on life! Over this time I went from a 5:41 70.3 finisher to qualifying and completing the 70.3 Ironman World Championships in Taupo.
I contacted Russ 18 months ago as a complete novice looking to get into some triathlon. From the outset he was interested, honest, clearly very knowledgable and happy to answer my onslaught of questions, no matter how silly they now seem.
By following Russ’ coaching plan and trusting his process i have already raced at levels beyond what I would have thought possible and seen PB after PB go across all disciplines and distances. Russ understands the challenge for the majority of us to balance training with family, work & life etc, the training plans are realistic to reflect this whilst still getting the best from you.
To have taken up a new sport (or three) later in life and get so much out of it has been life changing. Without Russ’ help I wouldn’t have known where to start.
Prior to working with Coach Cox, I had been self coaching for my Ironman races and after my second Ironman, I decided to make a change in the hopes to improve my performance and the switch has been the best decision. The training has brought me in my preparation with exactly how I need to train and I have seen huge success with my race performance.
One of the biggest changes I’ve noticed from my prior training to with having Coach Cox is I am no longer sore with the training load. My previous attempt to self coach I was constantly sore and not training right. Since working with Coach Cox, he manages to implement the right balance and load of training to ensure success and it’s paid off!
I have been on an amazing journey that in October 2019 took me to Kona. Russ has been there at each step. His experience and knowledge gave me a plan which allowed me to be consistent with my training and which delivered me to each start line confident in my preparation. When I started training with Russ, my goal was to complete an Ironman. This year, I wanted to race. Thank you Russ, a great coach.
Russ has been my coach now for just under a year. Until signing up with Russ, I had no idea if I was even capable of being a triathlete. Athletics is not something I was interested in during my teens, twenties or even my thirties, but after watching from the sidelines for several years (married to a triathlete) I thought I would like to give it a go. Before this, I had completed the C25k, ran 2 Half marathons and a completed a Try-aTri (I’m certainly not the quickest) I emailed Russ with my background and asked him if he thought it was possible to not only do a Tri, but to go straight in for a 70.3 event.
Russ didn’t hesitate to take me on and my triathlon journey began.
Over the last few months Russ’ support, expertise, and guidance has seen me go from struggling to do 20 miles on a bike, struggling to swim more than 100 meters without being breathless, to regularly completing 2k swims, 10 mile runs, and 50 mile rides relatively easily. His knowledge and guidance has built my aerobic base and given me more confidence in my own abilities than I could have ever imagined. My journey has not been easy, and I’ve had a few set backs along the way, but Russ always takes each week as it comes and makes sure I’m happy, comfortable and confident before moving on, something that I think is invaluable from a confidence point of view when you are so new to the sport like I am.
In 10 weeks time, I’ll be standing on the start line for my first event, and I know I would not be there if it wasn’t for Coach Cox.
In a year working with Russ I have taken over 50 minutes off my Wimbleball PB. Russ's patient and thoughtful approach to coaching has helped me through injury and to meet my seasons goals.
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