About Me - Coached by AI

About Alex

An everyday runner pushing beyond limits with AI

Hey, I’m Alex – husband (to Jen), dad of four, Principal Delivery Lead at Dunelm, and a Borough Councillor at Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council. You could say that my life is busy – but who’s isn’t these days? I’m no full time athlete, just an average runner who keeps pushing to see how much I can improve.

How it started

Running wasn’t always part of my life. In fact, it all began on New Year’s Eve in 2016, with a simple decision between two mates to run a half marathon (in under 2 hours!) That first race – the Reading Half Marathon – lit a spark. Since then running become a thread that runs through my life, an annoying one if you ask my wife about it. I’ve had some amazing highs and some not-so-great lows.

The Journey so far

Over the years, I have taken on races of various distances, from 5Ks to 100-mile ultras. I’ve trained hard to achieve the goals that I was chasing at the time…

A sub-20 minute 5k
Half Marathon PB of 1hr 34mins
Sub 9hr 50 mile ultra
And a sub 24hr 100 mile ultra

The Tough miles

Around 2020 I hit a wall. For a long time, I thought I was struggling with depression – the fatigue, low motivation, and a lack of drive put a huge blocker in front of my desires to run. But further testing revealed I had low testosterone, and I’ve since started TRT. This has given me a renewed hope and energy that I can get back to pounding the pavement, or running across local trails.

The AI led journey

I’m now going to set out on a new “adventure”: to train for the Thames Path 100 2026, but with a twist. Instead of paying for a coach(which can cost a fortune), or following a static training plan – with limited adaptability, I’m going to put my trust in AI coaching. My aim with this blog is to share a raw, unfiltered journey of an ordinary runner trying to achieve extraordinary goals with the help of ChatGPT or as I know my new coach – Coach Sam.