Coaching - testimonials

Lawrence Laughery

2023

I can't speak highly enough about my experience with Daniel over the past season. He has had an immense impact on my development as an athlete. Before our collaboration began (end of 2021), I was feeling stuck in my performance and training. When we first started working together, I was enthusiast but lacked some skills and confidence to step up a level. Daniel saw my potential from the start and knew how to unlock my potential. His expertise, dedication, and guidance were instrumental in transforming me into a more capable and confident athlete.

What sets Daniel apart is his ability to break down complex techniques and strategies into simple, manageable steps. He tailors his coaching to my individual needs, providing constructive feedback and hands-on support to improve my performance. His personalized approach not only accelerated my progress but also made me more passionate about the sport. Daniel, didn't just focus on the physical aspects; he emphasized the importance of mental strength. He gives out great pep talks and strategies for handling pressure during intense competitions. I learned not only how to be a better athlete but also how to run under pressure.

As a result of Daniel's coaching, I've seen a significant improvement in my performance and have gained more self-confidence both on and off the field. I am proud to say that I've achieved personal milestones and unlocked some interesting physical, psychological aspects for the future. I recommend Daniel to any athlete looking to take their game to the next level. I am grateful for the positive impact he’s had on my sports journey.

2022

It’s been great working with Daniel this past year. His coaching philosophy helps me understand every session and it’s purpose. I have grown and progressed as an athlete, but also acquired a better knowledge of my body, my strenghts and limits. Daniel is very flexible and available to talk, meet up for a coffee, go for a stroll or chat on the phone to hear you out and give his wise advice or talk about your season plan. It goes without saying, Daniel’s scientific knowledge is very deep and he is willing to share it with you generously. Furthermore, he is a very accomplished and multidisciplnary athlete which is a capital gain for our discussions. Daniel is always ready to adapt the week session depending on your feedback/inputs which gives you a feeling of acknowledgedement. What I really enjoy is that Daniel gives out key sessions to accomplish during the week. Therefore, you can manage from there as you please and gives you some latitude; ideal for busy or tight personnal/professional schedules. For me, this collaboration and co-participation is very rich and meaningful. I would recommend him with no doubt. Two thumbs up to him!

Nici Winkelbeiner

I am deeply grateful to have the privilege of working with Daniel Rowland as my running coach. His qualifications, broad knowledge, and coaching philosophy are truly exceptional. From the moment I began training under Daniel’s guidance, it was evident that I am in the hands of a professional expert in road-, trail-, and mountainrunning. Further, Daniel provides most valuable support in recovery phases and for developing the mindset essential for running ultra distances or extreme-condition races.

Every aspect of Daniel’s coaching reflects his deep understanding of biomechanics, sports nutrition, and training methodologies. Training plans crafted by Daniel are carefully thought-through and flexibly tailored to individual needs and goals, ensuring that your personal potential and athletic progress are maximized.

Daniel unwaveringly supports his athletes and is dedicated to their progress as well as overall well-being. Besides providing solid guidance, motivation, and encouragement for training, Daniel imparts his valuable knowledge on “making good decisions” for your personal running journey. His positive attitude and genuine care for his runners is augmented by Daniel’s empathic and supportive communication.

I wholeheartedly recommend Daniel as running coach for his unmatched qualifications, broad interdisciplinary knowledge, and unwavering support full of kindness to help you reach your full potential.

Cristian Vargas

One of the things that I enjoy the most of training with Daniel is the long-term approach. My key goal is to get better and stronger ultra runner even though aging will play its game. We usually discuss long term goals, and then we disaggregate the plan into what needs to happen next weeks, months and quarters. For example, I have the curiosity of one day running plus 200-mile event, but we know approaching that in the short term may not be the smartest thing to do. So, the plan for now is to continue training and racing events that build up to maybe one day go for it.

In addition, as a non-professional athlete with a full-time job and family demands I need some coaching that can flex as life dynamics change, and I have found that Daniel fulfills that need very well.

I have been training with Daniel for one year and it’s been a big step change on my development as endurance athtlete, achieving my best results while feeling much stronger. I fully recommend training with Daniel.

Zoey Kim

I am extremely grateful I was able to work with Daniel for the past 8 months. His guidance and support definitely took my running to the next level. He was extremely responsive to my life needs, injuries, and other necessary adaptations as they arose and built a program that fit my abilities and lifestyle.

He is also extremely knowledgeable on the scientific and technical side of running which is something that I really appreciated and he was able to incorporate that into the program. In every aspect my running improved. I would very much like to work with him again if the circumstances allow for it. Definitely recommend this program and his coaching.

Tarek Fakhreddine

I started working with Daniel back in January 2022. My aim was to accomplish the Biel 100k which I did and it was a great experience. After that I decided to keep working with Daniel since he is a very experienced coach and become a good friend. I feel myself in good hands.

What I like about Daniel is that he is consistent with the objectives, adaptable, challenging and clear with his trainingsplans.

I recommend Daniel as a coach and as a friend.

Mario Solari

I've been working with Daniel for about a year, mostly on ultra trail running training (50-100km).

Daniel is a very experienced coach, who can connect with your level of fitness and experience, as well as life circumstances and training/racing goals, and pack it all up into a very personalized, caring, and adaptable approach to training. His philosophy is one of sustainability, and he will ensure you keep the long-term game always in sight, which helps avoid mistakes all of us athletes are instinctively exposed to as we try to reach shorter term goals. I've appreciated Daniel's disciplined approach to coaching. Every Monday I get full review on my previous week's training with specific comments and questions from Daniel and help us adjust the training plan in case of need. He is very thoughtful when expressing opinions about / answering questions I may have, and his way of adapting plans has given me peace of mind and confidence that there are alternative ways to achieve the desired fitness levels for particular objectives I may have.

Johan Sandgren

Having Daniel Rowland as my coach, has been a learning adventure, through difficulties and struggles with health and body. I always felt supported by Daniel and he has provided good suggestions to try when things are not going as I'm hoping. I'm a rookie athlete so to have struggled with overtraining, some injuries and also not always being the patient guy, having Daniel to gentle guide from his experience has provided me with stability and a way to learn about how to meet my body, myself, to be able to get to my goals, step by step. He is a very friendly understanding person so that has matched well with me being really honest back. And using morning HRV/HR as well for feedback, measuring things, as also according to my liking so that matched well with me too. I can only recommend him!

Ralph Heath

Deciding to work with Coach Daniel Rowland is among the best decisions I have made in my cycling and triathlon career.

I worked for over a year to comprehend and apply the HRV data I had collected from my Oura Ring and the HRV4 App. I wasn’t confident I had a good understanding of the data and subsequently searched out and found Coach Daniel Rowland. Daniel is an outstanding communicator and an excellent teacher. He first helped me understand the overreaching concepts behind HRV, and then taught me how to use the tools in the HRV4 App to interpret the data and apply them to my workouts and other stressors in life that impact HRV. As athlete’s we sometimes forget that life has additional challenges that impact our fitness and training beyond our workouts. Daniel has helped me bring different elements of my life into my training perspective and understand the signals my body is sending with my HRV readings. HRV knowledge has greatly improved my ability to optimize my training. I am confident I have a better understanding of the HRV4 messaging and can better adapt my training and life activities to optimize my fitness. Daniels help has been invaluable and beyond my best expectations.

David Calero Rodríguez

Daniel always finds the right solution to adapt your training to your circumstances, no matter what your fitness level, time availability, motivation or performance goals are. His coaching goes way beyond simply creating a training program, he accompanies you through the whole process and makes sure you understand the purpose of every session. He is passionate about his job and he is constantly expanding his (already wide) knowledge in order to be always up to date. He is an accomplished runner with extensive experience in multiple types of races, which allows him to provide great first-hand advice.

Thanks to Daniel's guidance, I am learning to listen to my body and modulate my training (and racing) according to the feedback I get from it.

Moisés Jimenez

Consistent, adaptable, challenging, well explained and with a clear objective. That's how every week of training with Daniel feels for me. Daniel understands all the elements that create a great training journey, because at the end it's more than just running. Giving close and human support, Daniel really cares about how you are feeling and he vibrates with your workouts, he's not just prescribing a plan to follow, he's following this plan with you, next to you, guiding you and keeping you engaged and motivated with the plan. At the same time, everything is adaptable, Daniel will always have the right advice and motivation when you need to push harder and will always listen to you when things are not going well and you need to slow down or take it a little easier.

Stuart Graham

I started working with Daniel about two years ago with the goal of completing my first marathon. Having already been a runner for a few years, I had found it difficult to transition to longer distances and setup training programs which effectively build the different running systems required to run a good marathon. I had also struggled to create fuelling and nutrition plans that worked for me.

Daniel has helped take my running to the next level by applying a thorough training methodology to develop programs tailored to my specific needs, carefully considering my ability, race goals and available time. Each training block and each individual session has a clear purpose and goal. Importantly, Daniel has helped me understand the rationale and logic behind each session so that it is always very clear what we are trying to achieve, how it fits into the broader plan and how I am progressing. Crucially, since every runner responds slightly differently to various forms of training, Daniel has put considerable time into monitoring progress and understanding what works best for me and used this to further customise and adjust our plans to get the best results. Daniel has also helped me to understand the broader elements of running that support a training program, including nutrition, fuelling, injury prevention, recovery and gear.

In the two years working with Daniel I have completed five marathons as well as setting new PBs across 5km, 10km and 21km distances. Having helped me realise what I am capable of, Daniel is now helping me prepare for my first ultra-marathon.

Mark Kooijman

In 2019, after a decade long very ad-hoc run training, I suffered a lot from injuries and extreme bouts of gouty arthritis. As I love running and wanted to continue, I decided to hire a professional coach to support and guide me. And I could not have found a better coach than Daniel Rowland. He built for me an excellent program which included, aside from a very sensible running build up program: stretching, warm-ups, cool downs, cross training, weight and flexibility exercises. This all paired with advice on travel, equipment, nutrition, tapers etc. It was fantastic! I have been running injury free and just finished the Baikal Ice Marathon and I am now on my way to complete a 50 mile ultra.

Although you can probably search for all the training information in bits and pieces in books and on-line, it's so nice to have a dedicated, humorous and enthusiastic coach whom you can ask anything and who really tailor-makes a program for you. 100% total and utter value for money!

Roberto Rivola

Daniel and I share several passions and interests: running in the mountains and in the deserts, proper nutrition, accurate gear choice, appropriate mental attitude, scientific research in various fields. We decided to work together to share our experiences and thoughts in order to help me take the next step in progression in ultra-marathon competitions. After few months I can already say that I have seen the benefit of Daniel's knowledge, his accurate approach and planning, as well as his sensibility and flexibility. I feel very confident with the way Daniel has planned my training and already note good progress.