Rich Blagrove

He previously worked at Birmingham City University as a Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Science and was Programme Director for the BSc Strength and Conditioning Science at St Mary’s University between 2008-17, where he also managed the sport science support to The Royal Ballet Company in London.

Richard is an Accredited Strength and Conditioning Coach and previously a Director of the UK Strength and Conditioning Association. He has provided strength and conditioning coaching support to numerous athletes over the last 12 years including endurance runners who have competed at the last three Olympic Games. In 2015, he authored the book ‘Strength and Conditioning for Endurance Running’ with The Crowood Press.

Richards extensive work with middle- and long-distance runners provided the inspiration for his doctoral research which investigated the utility of strength-based exercise for distance runners. His research interests predominantly lie in how strength training techniques can be used to enhance the performance and health of distance runners.