Meet Nehal Patel
FREIGHT FORWARDER AND TRACKSMITH PACER, 5:30–5:55KM
In 2018, a friend dragged Nehal Patel to his local Parkrun in Dagenham. He wasn’t expecting to like it — but under 30 minutes later, he’d crossed the finish line. “I was like ‘Mate, I’m not doing this, it’s nine in the morning’,” he says. “But I instantly got hooked and went to Parkrun constantly. That first year, you’re getting PBs every week and really enjoying it.”
Although he was an experienced runner, and had completed a full marathon, it wasn’t until 2021 that Patel put himself forward as a pacer. “You don’t always back yourself when you’re starting out,” he reflects. “It took me a while before I realised I could pace 5:50 quite well — my heart rate is low, I can talk to people and I’m not out of breath.”
Today, Patel runs six days per week, all “at completely different paces”. He does a 100% effort track run once a week, and one tempo run at 60–70% of maximum effort. The rest are easy runs, along with two strength workouts per week. This is a plan set out by his coach, who Patel has been working with since running his first marathon in 2020. “Some people are happy running and making their own plans, and it works for them,” he says. “But I need somebody who controls that aspect of my life.”
“I was like ‘Mate, I’m not doing this, it’s nine in the morning’. But I instantly got hooked”