Marathon Training Week in Norfolk, UK

Feb 24 to Feb 28, 2025

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Marathon Training Week in Norfolk, UK
  • About
  • Gallery
  • Itinerary
  • Things to keep in mind
  • FAQ

One of our favourite weeks of the year, this four-night, five-day break, is excellent prep for your Spring Marathon.

You can expect a week of structured running with sessions led by qualified England Athletics Coaches, Fitness Yoga and Pilates, strength and conditioning sessions, running workshops, a mid-week sports massage, lovely accommodation with a hot tub, as well as plenty of nutritious and delicious food.

You will leave feeling prepped and ready for your marathon!

Not running a marathon but like the look of the agenda? We would love you to join us! This isn’t just for marathon runners – all runners are welcome!

Our four night/five day break is all about having fun, whilst ensuring you feel ready both physically and mentally for your marathon that lies ahead. If you aren’t running a marathon, you are very welcome to join us, it is a great week to learn, train, and have fun no matter your running goals. You will be surrounded by like-minded people whilst enjoying a solid week of training.

About

Fantastic accommodation (based on 2 sharing a twin or double)

Daily runs with qualified coaches

Strengthening & Conditioning, Fitness Yoga, and Fitness Pilates sessions with qualified instructor

Running workshop with training advice.

45 minute Sports Massage

Nutritious breakfast, lunch and dinner throughout your stay

Hot tub use

Wine and beer with dinner (we’re all about balance!)

Pick-up from Norwich train station if required

Tea/coffee and cake at a local tearoom

Airfare

Food

We are massive foodies so expect food to be a big part of the weekend!

Breakfasts consist of homemade granola, yogurt, fruits, porridge, local breads and jam.

Lunches are always a bit of a feast (re-energising after the morning session) made up of a selection of dishes such as frittata, quinoa salad, pasta with homemade pesto.

We come together every evening for a delicious dinner and a glass (or a couple) of local wine. Think hearty crowd-pleasers such as risotto, ratatouille with baked cod, and homemade curry.

No need to worry if you’re a meat eater, veggie, vegan or have any other dietary requirements as we can cater equally to pretty much anything! Just let us know beforehand and we will ensure you’re catered for just as well as everybody else.

Accommodation

The accommodation is situated an oasis in the suburbs of Norwich. It is a quirky Grade II listed home dating from 1632 full of history and
charm. Every bedroom has its own bathroom and the communal areas are fantastic – comfy sofas in front of log burners, a mature garden with a hot tub, and a beautiful yoga room. The location is great for our runs, we are within easy reach to Norwich, Catton Park, the Marriott’s Way, the University track and only a 30 minute drive to the Norfolk Coast for our coastal recovery run.

"I have just returned from a weekend retreat in Norfolk and can honestly say it was one of the best weekend breaks I’ve ever had! The itinerary was the perfect blend of exercise, relaxation, and fun. I learned so much about stretching and running technique, and the highlight was meeting an amazing, inspiring group of people. The food was absolutely excellent! If you're considering a retreat like this, just do it – you won’t regret it."

- Caroline Clarke

"I've just come home from my first weekend retreat in Norfolk and I can't stop telling everyone about it! From the perfectly balanced itinerary to the impeccable organization, the amazing hosts, the food (oh, the food!), the company, and everything in between, it was an experience to remember. The attention to detail and execution of the retreat was exceptional.

I was fortunate enough to meet a wonderful group of kind, interesting, warm, and inspiring women, and I look forward to staying in touch with them throughout our #runningjourneys. The entire weekend was unforgettable.

I highly recommend booking this retreat – it certainly won't be my last!"

- Stacey Harris

Gallery
About The Host

We (Abby and Chris) have spent nearly every holiday for the last 5 years travelling to wine regions, enjoying our 3 favorite things – running, wine and food! This love for wine led us to study wine, both gaining our WSET Level 3 qualifications, and then we took it one step further when we left our corporate jobs in London behind to work in a world-class Chilean Vineyard in 2018. During our time in Chile we decided to combine our passions – running and wine – and created Trails and Vines in order to share our favorite places and experiences with like-minded people. We are both England Athletics certified coaches and combined have ran over 7000 miles, so you're in good hands when you join one of our running holidays!

Itinerary

Day 1

Whether you drive or are picked-up by us at Norwich Train Station (1 hour 30 on the fast train from London) we will meet at ~2pm at our beautiful base on the outskirts of Norwich, here you will be welcomed with light refreshments. Once everyone is settled in, we will head out on our first run together (5-7M, 8-12K). This will be a tempo session, the structure of which will be based upon your current training schedule and marathon goals.

We will return home for a restorative yoga session, an optional hot tub and a delicious dinner.

Day 2

After a nutrious breakfast, we will start the day with a strength and conditioning session focusing on improving form and preventing injury. Later in the day we will enjoy a gentle recovery run to Norwich, taking in the local parks and sights as we go! When we arrive at Norwich Cathedral will be treated to tea and cake at one of the local tearooms.

In the late afternoon we will visit our local running store. Here you will meet Neil, during a Q&A session he will help with all of your Marathon queries. As a former England athlete and winner of multiple marathons, coach, trained sports nutritionist, and trainer expert, Neil is well positioned to provide you with great advice for your upcoming marathon. After hearing from Neil, you will also be able to pick up any purchases you might need for your training and marathon ahead.

As always, we will return home for a hearty feast and some evening chill time.

Day 3

This is a lot of our guest’s favourite day! After breakfast has settled, we will head to the University of East Anglia’s running track for some marathon specific speed-work. If you haven’t run on a track before, you will love it! Here you will be put through your paces by your coaches as we combine speed with the endurance – a great session to build physical and mental stamina for longer distances.

Later in the day you will have a professional on-site sports massage (this is included in your package). This is to aid in your recovery, to ensure you are ready for the remainder of your training week to come. We will also have a restorative stretch before dinner.

Day 4

Off of the back of yesterday’s harder session, we will be taking it a little easier today. We will kick start the day with Pilates working on core strength, mobility and stability, before heading out to the beautiful Norfolk coast for a recovery run mid-morning.

After lunch, Chris will lead a Race-Day preparation workshop to discuss effective training, fuelling and race day plans. This is a great opportunity to pull everything together that you’ve learned so far. We will have an earlier dinner designed to ensure you’re well fuelled for tomorrow’s long run. After dinner there will be an optional Yin-inspired Yoga session to release the myofascia and stretch tendons and ligaments.

Day 5

Our final morning with you, but it’s a big one as today is long run day. You will each have your own instructions based upon your own plan and goals, but expect to be running for around ~2 hours (depending on your own training). We head to the Marriotts Way, an old train line running from Aylsham to Norwich, which provides the perfect out and back running route and means everybody can run their own pace with your coaches on hand as bike support (we are your mobile aid stations!).

Post run, we will come back together for a restorative stretch and a light lunch before departing early afternoon.

Things to keep in mind

If you cancel your booking, all monies paid will be non-refundable unless you are able to provide a direct replacement.

If you find a replacement individual for your spot, a full refund will be issued, regardless of the notice period.

In the event that accommodation becomes unavailable due to circumstances beyond our control, we reserve the right to cancel any bookings. Our liability will be limited to a full refund of any monies paid. We are not responsible for any other direct or indirect losses you may incur due to a cancelled booking.

In the unlikely event that your holiday is cancelled, you will have the option to either transfer to an alternative holiday of equal value or receive a full refund of all monies paid.

FAQ