Runner Profile: Neil Coulson
Hi, everyone, I’m Neil. First, my thanks to Stuart for the nomination. Thanks also for sharing your running story, Stuart, it was a great read and I wish you a speedy recovery. Hopefully, you’ll soon be running and racing again!
School Cross Country
I started running nearly forty years ago. As a teenager I loved most sports, but it was in my second year of secondary school when I realised that I was among the strange people who liked cross country running! There was just something about it that I loved and this developed throughout my time at school to include track running and training runs after school. I didn’t manage to break into the County cross country team till Sixth Form. Fortunately for me, a good number of the much faster runners had left the school system at sixteen! Still, I was proud to run at County level for a couple of years. I also took part in the ‘Great Grimsby Fun Run’ as an older teenager. There’ll be a post-race photo or two of me somewhere, complete with my precious quiff (I had lovely hair back in the day!) but you’ll be spared these for now as having just moved house a few months ago, I’ve honestly no idea where they are right now!
The Royal Air Force
After school, I joined the RAF. Being a strong runner and reasonably fit made Recruit Training a little easier! When I went onto my Trade Training at RAF Shawbury, I started running cross country for my base in RAF races and this continued when I went to my first posting at RAF Wattisham and after this, at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire. I always enjoyed these races. You even got time off work to race! They were usually on Wednesday afternoons. I left the RAF after five years. Marriage and family life came next and I also became busy with my new job. My running dropped off quite a bit during this season of life, with me just running occasionally in my late twenties.
Becoming NtV!
A few of my FRR running buddies sometimes refer to me as NtV, that is, Neil the Vicar! The process of becoming NtV began when I was thirty when I went off to study Theology. Three years in Nantwich was followed by three years at Bristol Baptist College and really this whole period was great for me as I developed better routines, had a bit more free time and I started running two or three times a week. It was so good to be running again. My first full-time position as NtV was in Birmingham and although it was an extremely busy time, I did manage to keep running during my late thirties, usually at least a couple of times a week; it had become an important part of my life.
The Royal Navy
I ramped up my running in the first half of 2012 as I prepared to join the RN as a Chaplain in July. I could remember exactly what initial training was like when I was nineteen and thought doing it as a forty year old would be even more interesting! Fortunately, the extra training prior to joining the RN did pay off when I was running and doing PT alongside all the other Officer Cadets, most of whom were nearly half my age! I was able to run the 1.5 mile fitness test in just over 9 minutes, which was only 30 seconds slower than what I’d been running when in RAF training. I remember being pretty happy with this time as an older trainee! Initial Officer Training was demanding but strangely enjoyable! The camaraderie among the trainees really was quite special and I was so glad to be serving in the Armed Forces again.
Poorly and then parkrun!
Unfortunately, things didn’t quite go to plan in the Royal Navy. I became unwell with Crohn’s disease. Soon, working full-time hours was a struggle due to extreme fatigue and so naturally, running time had to be reduced while in the Navy. Usually, it was just a gentle run with Gill on Saturday morning for about 2½ years. At least this was some running rather than no running at all! While on leave, I also ran my first 4 parkruns in 2015. We’d come to the parkrun party late, but then the parkrun where we lived in Lee-on-the-Solent had only begun in 2015. I ran in events 4 and 5 in August 2015 but my health was a bit unstable then and so I wasn’t a regular at this stage. I was medically discharged after 4½ years of service and I then took a career break for a couple of years to sort myself out.
Following my discharge, I immediately returned to running several times a week and I started running at parkrun almost every week from August 2016. It quickly became the highlight of the week, I loved everything about it! I ran 84 parkruns in Lee, with times between 27:59 and 17:56 and I was pleased to be first over the line a couple of times in April 2018. Sometimes it was a family event too when Gill and the children ran at parkrun.
In October 2017, I ran my first half marathon, the Gosport Half Marathon. My time was 01:26:57. This is still my fastest HM time and as the only other half marathon I’ve raced in is the Ipswich one with two lovely hills, I’m not sure if I’ll ever improve on this! I also raced in the Stubbington 10k in January 2018 achieving a time of 38:29. This 10k time would eventually be slightly improved on but not until 2024! I soon realised that regular running actually helped me to manage my condition and it was, of course, good for my health in every way!
We moved to Ipswich!
Luckily, by 2018 I was well enough to return to full-time NtV duties in a local church. We moved back to Suffolk in the June and attended our first Ipswich parkrun at Chantry Park two days after our move on Saturday 30th June. It took me a few months to get used to running up hills at parkrun and while doing training runs in Ipswich! This was a real change compared to running in the Lee area in Hampshire. I’ve continued running at as many parkruns as possible and I’ll shortly be running my 300th parkrun. Until last year, the only races I’d entered in recent times were the occasional Grimsby 10k (my hometown), and two local races, the Twilight 10k and the Ipswich Half Marathon; both of these are events I really enjoy. Obviously, taking lots of Sundays off for races is quite tricky, especially as it’s the only day I work! 😉
And finally… FRR!
I’d often thought about joining a running club but had always felt that poor availability on Sundays and some evenings would be an issue. That said, when Robin and Dave talked with me about FRR after a couple of parkruns late 2023, I started to reconsider. I knew a few other FRR runners through Ipswich parkrun and I met others on social runs late 2023 and I just thought I should go for it! I joined FRR in January 2024, I received a very warm welcome at the Tuesday training session and very quickly, these sessions were somewhere I wanted to be every week! I wished I’d joined sooner! It was great to be pushed as a runner and I really enjoyed the camaraderie and meeting new running buddies. Twenty months on, I still like to be there every week if at all possible.
Although I’ve only been in the club for a few months, I’ve already enjoyed some great running and racing events. I’ve also managed to make a good number of the Club’s social events. As it worked out, 2024 happened to be a lucky year for me race-wise with no injuries to report and some good race results. And those tough Tuesday evening sessions must have had an impact too!
My first race in a red vest was the Tarpley 20, a distance I’d never raced before. I’d trained properly for it but on the day, I still went off far too fast! I managed to keep up with Jason Taylor for the first 10 miles and then I began to struggle! Thankfully, Chris Boyt came along and spurred me on from about mile 14 I think and kept me going for a good 4-5 mile stretch! I managed a time of 2:24:41, I learnt a bit about running beyond a half marathon distance and mainly I caught the bug to do more races! I enjoyed my first day out as an FRR runner! And of course, I signed up for the 2025 Tarpley 20 as soon as it opened!
The next race that I could do was the Ipswich Twilight 5k which I ran in 18:05 minutes and this is another one that I now plan to do every year. One of the highlights of my first year with FRR has to be the Friday 5 series. This was the first time I’d run in these races and I was able to race in every event. I managed to run one sub-30 5 mile race (a 29:46 at Framlingham), I came first in my age category at Kirton and Stowmarket and I ended up with 1st Male V50 for the series. I admit, I was really chuffed with winning some trophies! I loved these races and I ran in them all again this year. Although I’ve not managed to repeat 2024’s results, I’ve still thoroughly enjoyed these Friday evenings.
The Ipswich Twilight 10k was next and I finally beat my 2018 10k time running a 38:06 (I was only 3 minutes slower this year!). With so many FRR runners taking part and with great support around the town, this was a good night for running! I ran in our Coastal 10 race for the first time last year which ended with an all-out sprint finish between Dave Solomon, Ryan Davidson and me (which I lost!) and with me winning the Suffolk 10 mile Championship for my age category. I ran my fastest Ipswich Half Marathon in 2024 too. The target was to try and run a sub 1:30 which would be 3 minutes quicker than my previous best effort. My official time was 01:30:00! I’ll take that! My first year as an FRR runner finished with another enjoyable first event for me, taking part in the Stutton & Holbrook Fun Run on Christmas Eve.
It’s been a real ‘blast’ so far and I’ll be continuing to do as many of these races and events as I can this year and beyond. Also, looking forward, I probably ought to stop just talking about running a marathon and actually run one sometime soon! Anyway, I love being part of the Club and I really appreciate the coaching, the encouragement and the camaraderie. I should have joined years ago! So, thanks for having me and thanks for reading my rather long story! All the very best with your running.
For next month’s runner profile, I’d like to nominate fellow ‘newbie’, Adele Field.
