John Henwood

Welcome to the Web site of John Henwood, New Zealand Representative in the Olympic Games, World Track and Field Championships, Commonwealth Games, and 13th-place getter in the 2005 ING New York Marathon with a time of 2:15:05. (Also 21st in 2008) I am an elite athlete and a professional Running coach and trainer. I enjoy working with all runners regardless of their goals and will give you the personalised attention you deserve.

Please use the links above to explore this site, and feel free to contact me with any questions you may have about my coaching and training services.

John Henwood

Client Testimonials

Katarina Janosikova (Running Divas) - New York Marathon 2008, - 18th Place Overall Female

I first met John for some stretching and advice regarding my hip injury after the recommendation from my fellow runners. Later on, when my leg got little better, I joined his training group.

Thanks to his advice on strenghtening exercises and smart training, I was able to minimize the impact of my hip problems on my running. Not only that, but under John's guidance, I actually did run my fastest times ever in all distances ranging from 3.5 miles to the marathon throughout this year (2008). My debut marathon - the ING NYC Marathon 2008 - was an amazing experience with a finish time of 2:42:57, making me the top NY female finisher.

It felt easy and everything worked out exactly as John has told me prior to the marathon. In the training, John gets to know you individually, customize the training to your specific needs to make you run your best.

Robert Riordan (Team for Kids) - New York Marathon 2008

My goal when I met with John was to break 1.30 for a half and 3.15 in the NYC marathon and qualify for Boston.

After just one month, I'd reached a new level of fitness and began to think of loftier goals. By following his custom designed, weekly schedule and attending his speed workouts I was setting P.R.'s in every race I ran.

About two months before the marathon i got very sick and was unable to properly train for 3 weeks. John redesigned my workouts to allow me to recover properly. A month before the NYC Marathon I ran a 1.28 in the half, a PR by 6 minutes, and in the marathon itself I ran 3.11, a PR by 17 minutes.

John knows what he's doing and if you stick to his plan you'll run PR's, it's as simple as that.

Brian Osias - New York Marathon 2008

I started working with John only 8 weeks before the NYC marathon He created a program that vastly improved my fitness in a short period of time.

When we discussed my goals for the NYC marathon, he told me I could easily break 3:10 and qualify for Boston. Given I had run a 3:24 in London in April, I thought this was a bit of a stretch. However, not only did I run 3:08:30 (which was exactly 30 minutes faster than my NYC time last year), but I also ran the first half of the race in under 1:33, which was by far my fastest half marathon time.

The training program John gave me was very manageable, and I found his speed sessions very motivating. Also, I had only a few aches and pains that John was able to help me easily get rid of through his hands-on stretching, cross-training.

I'm looking forward to running Boston, and I'm confident John will help me reach new goals that I would not have thought were remotely possible when I started running two years ago.

Arianne Field (NYAC)- New York Marathon 2008

I made my marathon debut running 2:51:49 in the 2008 NYC ING Marathon.

I finished 11 seconds faster than John's goal time for me and when running 26 miles, that is a pretty accurate prediction!

He trained me methodically and rigorously while still allowing leeway for my long work hours. I could not have trained or preformed the way I did without John's guidance and support.

Reiko Cyr - New York Marathon 2008

I QUALIFIED FOR BOSTON!! I’ve been a member of the New York Road Runners since 2000. I’ve run 3 marathons using training programs from running books. My best finishing time was 4h17.

John’s training program is very different from what I’ve done before and that really seemed to make all the difference, in spite of the fact that I started training quite late this year. My goal was to run the 2008 New York marathon in 3h50 to qualify for the Boston marathon. I finished in 3h45, blowing away my PR and even beating my goal time by 5 minutes!

John is a fantastic coach and a great person. He checked in with me frequently and adjusted my program depending on how I was doing. And having a mentor who competed in the Olympics really made me understand what it is like to commit to a goal you’ve set for yourself. An all-round awesome experience.

Ilyssa Wexler - New York Marathon 2008

I found John a year ago on the NYRR website. NYC was my first marathon. John was able to coach me through countless injuries and setbacks over the past year.

Whether its his stretching, teaching of patience, endurance, or just very simply his expertise coaching and running plans--he gave me the tools and confidence I needed to achieve my goal successfully with the limitations I had.

I finished with a 4:17 marathon time. It truly was one of the best day's of my life, Coach Henwood helped make it all possible.

Kelly Chin (Running Divas) - Houston Marathon 2008

John started coaching me 10 weeks before the Chevron Houston Marathon, where I was trying to achieve the U.S. Olympic Trials B standard of 2:47:00. Prior to this I had a six week layoff due to injury.

He devised an intense program with an eight week mileage build up and two weeks taper. He attended my key workouts and races. He kept me motivated every single day. He also kept me injury-free -- another difficult task given the quick increase in mileage and my general pre-disposition to injuries.

In Houston I finished in 9th place in 2:47:48 -- just short of the Trials qualifier but an impressive 3 1/2 minute PR.

I would have never gotten as close as I did without John's help. He wanted me to achieve that Olympic Trials standard as badly as I wanted it. There are plenty of coaches out there who can write a simple training program. But John is extraordinary in his ability to motivate and inspire his athletes to take on the near-impossible.

Stephen Burr - New York Marathon 2007

I ran my first marathon in NYC in 2006 and walked away from the experience humbled. I thought I was in good shape and quickly realized that my training was less than adequate. I was determined to improve my time in 2007 and enlisted John's services at the recommendation of a friend.

I quickly realized that I was in good hands based on the training plan that John developed. Through a combination of long runs, tempo runs and most importantly, speed work, I began to gradually build up my endurance. A back injury in late August put a dent in my training as I was unable to run for 3 weeks. John quickly adjusted my schedule and condensed my training program in preparation for the marathon.

I entered the race feeling healthy and confident and finished in 3:06. I easily beat my goal of 3:10 and set a PR by 20 minutes. If you listen to John and stick to his training program, I have no doubt that you will reach your goals.

Eoin Corrigan - New York Marathon 2007

I started training with John five weeks before my second marathon (NYC 2007). I ran Paris in 3h46 four years before and was targeting 3hr30 on this occasion based on a recent half marathon of 1h42.

I trained with John's group each week and had several one on one sessions. In between I followed John's plan which he emailed me every week.

In the week before the marathon, I certainly felt a new level of confidence and interest in my running. The training had been different from my normal routine - hills, intervals and weekly long runs - and based on these he proposed a target time of 3h21.

The marathon went great - at the half I did a PB of 1h35 and felt fine so kept up the pace. I crossed the line in 3.16, way faster than my expected finish. This is entirely due to John's coaching and his weekly training plan.

Suddenly some targets seem realistic - a 40m 10k, qualifying for Boston, maybe even a sub 3hr someday. I'm looking forward to continuing training with John and would recommend him to anyone looking to set some new PRs!

Adam Mulia (Urban Athletics) - Chicago Marathon 2007

I ran my first marathon (NYC) in 2002 in a time of 3:30:46 on very little training. After this humbling experience I was determined to push my body to the limits. I joined a group at a local Manhattan track where the mantra was "train hard". What I realized after a slew of mediocre improvements and injuries was that one needs to train smart to win.

My training with John Began in May of 2007, six months before the Chicago Marathon, my goal race. As a very disciplined runner I was impressed with John's almost militant approach to my training. Always punctual, always within reach via email or phone, he has been the supportive coach I had been looking for.

My training for Chicago left me satisfied, injury free, and ready to go. I placed 74th in a time of 2:43:33* on a day with temperatures reaching close to 90 degrees amongst an world class field of 35,000 participants. I was proud to finish 3rd for the state of NY.

If you are looking for a coach to take you to the next level and blow away your competition look no further.

* Adam would have "blown away" that time on a cooler day.

RoseAnn Serpico - New York Marathon 2007

After watching a runner client of mine run the NYC Marathon in 2006, I was inspired to register for 2007. At that time I had once run 6.2 miles and had never trained for endurance athletics. Not knowing how I could ever run a marathon, I asked John to train me.

I was afraid he would set impossible goals for me but he made all of the training accessible and although I worked hard, I never felt like what he asked was unattainable or that I was at risk for injury.

Not only did I finish but I finished with a respectable time of 3:38:13 thanks to John's training and guidance. There were times during the training that I wanted to stop, but John kept me going.

Jim St. Andre - Salt Lake City Marathon, April 2007

Results speak for themselves. After four months of working with John Henwood, I ran a 19 minute PR in the Salt Lake City Marathon where my 3hr.18min time was good enough to qualify me for next year's Boston Marathon--all in my second marathon ever and at high altitude!!

During my preparations for the Salt Lake City race, John provided a superior level of training and mentoring that pushed me beyond my limits and helped me redefine my goals as a runner. From a customized week by week running schedule to core weights and strength training programs and incredibly powerful speed sessions, I felt as though every angle of my preparation was covered and that there was a purpose and specific strategy to everything that we did.

If you are serious about your running and want someone who can take your results to the next level, I highly recommend working with John Henwood.

Darren Pollack - Boston Marathon 2007

I can't begin to say how happy I am with coach Henwood. I began a program in the beginning of Jan 2007 and have already gotten personal records for my Half Marathon and Marathon distances. I did 1hr 37mins for the Half Marathon, cutting 9 mins off my time and 3hrs 30mins for the Marathon, slicing 27mins off my time.

My training routine was set for a full 4 months but half way through I grew ill and had a minor injury and unfortunately that required me to take 2 full weeks off to recover. I can't wait to see how I improve now that I am completely healthy. I already have several races with my eye on from 5k's to the full Marathon and plan to continue to shatter my PR's over and over again with Boston qualifiers in the mix.

Not bad at 37 for someone who only started running as a hobby a few years ago to stay in shape.

If you are looking to improve your performance in the sport of running, don't look any further. Coach Henwood has proved to be the best in the business.

(Darren actually ran his 1hr 37min Half PR through the half way point of the Boston Marathon)

Karen Mcintyre (Urban Athletics) - Philadelphia Marathon 2006

In just eight weeks of John's program, I am in awe of his expertise! With limited time, he was able to provide a tailored schedule with killer weekly sessions, which guided me to a rewarding marathon experience!

I am thankful of John's proffessionalism, guidance and advice. And, I am elated that he assured me a target time and that he delivered on his promise- having reached my marathon goal while exceeding a previous best by 49 minutes.

John's training program has enhanced my performance and brought a new level of enjoyment to my running!

Blossom Coryat - New York Marathon 2006

John took my running achievements to a whole new level.

When I came to John my progress was stagnant and I had not seen a PR for months.John analyzed my old program and was quickly able to determine where I needed improvement.

Each week John would create a customized training program based on my past weeks performance and in less than five months I shattered all of my PR's, in every distance!

I am looking forward to another year of achievements with John.

Lawrence O'Halloran - Chicago Marathon 2006

I first came to John after having trained myself for one year. At the time I had just run a 1:34 half marathon and felt that I had it in me to go much faster, but I was struggling with injury problems and trying to design a training that worked for me.

We met over lunch and discussed in detail my training/racing history, diet and future goals, specifically breaking 3 hours in the marathon. I came away from the meeting motivated and ready to try a six month program leading up to the 2006 Chicago Marathon.

A non-running related knee injury a month later sent me to surgery and sidelined me for three months. I kept in contact with John through my recovery and he offered alot of advice which helped when I finally got back on my feet only four months before the marathon.

Despite the setback I decided to stick with my original goal. John designed a three month plan emphasizing high mileage to rebuild my base fitness and two workouts per week to develop speed. Long story short, my hard work, coupled with John's experience, guidance and inspiration resulted in a 2:59:02 run in Chicago. I even set a new personal best in the half marathon over the second half of the race and finished feeling fantastic.

I feel like I've made a breakthrough under John's guidance, but most importantly he has helped me to understand how to train properly: when to push, when to back off and when to stay the course. Without him I don't think I would have made it to the start line, let alone achieved my goal. I have no hesitation in recommending John to anyone who is looking to bring their running to a new level.