The story behind The Everyday Athlete.
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 August 2026, stress-fracture recovery permitting, she will line up for her first Ironman in Copenhagen, aiming to get as close to 9 hours as possible.
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.
She also did it while building a career. Sarah is a director at a commercial real estate consultancy by day and a sub-elite endurance athlete by choice. She didn't quit her job or train full-time. She fitted structured, evidence-based training around client meetings in London, project deadlines, and the reality of everyday life.
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 former elite triathlete turned coach, now guiding elite athletes after illness forced him into a different role in the sport, and he coaches Sarah's cycling and swimming. Both had worked together before and brought complementary expertise. After 12 months of guiding Sarah across multiple disciplines while she managed a demanding career, it became clear they should be part of something bigger.
The Everyday Athlete was born from that. 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. This 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.