The story behind The Everyday Athlete.

From first run to first Ironman

Sarah Trahair-Williams started running in April 2021 with no real endurance background. Five weeks later, she attempted a 100km charity challenge — having thought she had a whole weekend, not realising it had to be done in one go. She hit the wall at 58km. Six months after that, she ran 3:12 at Newport Marathon. Six months later, she missed sub-3 by 34 seconds in Paris. Six months after that, she ran 2:56 in Berlin.

Fast forward to 2024: a 2:48 PB at Amsterdam. In 2025, a top-10 finish at Manchester Marathon in 2:50 with her first elite start. In 2026, she took on her first Ironman in Copenhagen and earned her professional licence.

Sport brought her back

Sarah didn't grow up dreaming of being a marathon runner or triathlete. She grew up playing hockey at National League level, then stopped competing after her father passed away in 2012. For nearly a decade, sport became something she watched — not something she did. Running brought her back. And with it came something she hadn't expected: a community. The unbridled cheering of strangers. The accountability of training partners. The joy of saying yes to a challenge and figuring it out as you go.

Alongside a career

She did it while building a career. Sarah was a director at a commercial real estate consultancy by day and a sub-elite endurance athlete by choice. For over four years, home was Bristol but work was London: she commuted up and spent three nights a week in hotels. She didn't train full-time. She fitted structured, evidence-based training around client meetings, project deadlines, and the reality of everyday life. In 2026, driven by her passion for getting people active, she left that career to go all in on The Everyday Athlete.

The coaches behind it

Sarah wouldn't have reached sub-3 without Rob Hingston, her first coach after Newport. Rob guided her for 18 months, balancing her training around a demanding professional life — something he knows well as MD of Origin Workspace, where he somehow persuades most people he meets to sign up for an athletic event. At over 60, Rob brings a perspective the younger generation can't: wisdom, patience, and proof that endurance sport isn't just for the young and the elite.

After working with other coaches through 2024, Sarah brought in Clara Graham and Kasper Pedersen in 2025 when she set her sights on a sub-2:40 marathon and her first Ironman. Clara is an elite runner who holds the Welsh 10km and half marathon records, previously held the marathon record, and competed for Great Britain at the Paris 2024 Olympics in the marathon. She coaches Sarah's running. Kasper is a professional triathlon coach and a former elite age-group triathlete, whose racing career ended in 2020 when heart issues forced his retirement. He is part of the coaching team around Ironman World Championship podium finisher Magnus Ditlev, and he coaches Sarah's cycling and swimming.

Founded together

The Everyday Athlete wasn't started by one person with coaches joining later. Sarah, Rob, Clara and Kasper founded it together, each bringing the part of the sport they know best.

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  Sarah Trahair-Williams

  Running coach

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  Rob Hingston

  Monthly challenges

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  Clara Graham

  Running lead coach

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  Kasper Pedersen

  Triathlon lead coach

Sarah is the person who always says yes to sporting events. Her wife, Lamorna, is the person who says yes — but needs the plan, the guidance, and the accountability to get there. The Everyday Athlete exists for both of them: for the person just wanting to put their health first but not knowing where to start, the one chasing their first 5K under 30 minutes, and the person chasing a podium finish and PB dream.

No gatekeeping. No judgement. Just structure, support, and belief in what's possible — backed by a team who've lived it, coached it, and proved it works.

Dare more. Achieve more.