Paul ‘Wooly’ Woolard

Coaching Accreditations:

I love coaching, it has enabled me to connect with so many people from a diverse range of backgrounds, and has allowed me to create many many friendships that I will cherish forever. I've always been involved in playing or coaching some form of sport, having graduated from Uni with a Bachelor of Applied Science, Human Movement. Back then, I had dreams of working in elite-level sport. Running with Steve Monaghetti's pack in Ballarat where I did my degree will do that to you!

So I made some half-hearted attempts to work in that elite space. And I ran a few marathons around and under 3 hours, had a few running disasters as well, ran some fast 10k and half marathons, got injured, did my own rehab, got injured again, sought professional advice, ran well again, all of that! Loved it all. And then somewhat accidentally I ended up coaching "recreational runners", as is the term, thanks to my amazing mentor, Brian Schepisi, and soon enough, he put me in charge of a little group at the Tan in Melbourne. It was here that I realised where my passion in fitness truly lay. I discovered that sharing my knowledge of running and fitness with eager, open-minded, positive and equally passionate people was, for me, more rewarding than chasing down a faster personal time.

In the ensuing years, I have learned so much from my runners, as they share their wins, their struggles, what has worked, what hasn't, their injury stories, how they overcame diversity, not only in running, also in life.

My passion is in the sharing of these learnings, as well as the trusted network of runner support I have developed over time. Running well for life is my mantra, and like the saying "it takes a village to raise a child", it takes a 'hub" of support to give runners all the tools they need to run consistently well. It is what we need to overcome the barriers to success, to enable new and experienced runners alike to recognise the key traits and behaviours required to stay fit and healthy as long as possible, whilst achieving some pretty cool running goals along the journey.