Bio

Mark Howard, 44, has been involved in athletics for over 25 years as an athlete, coach and CEO of the Victorian Athletic League. Mark is accredited with Athletics Australia as a Level 3 coach. Mark is the original proprietor and creator of Running Coach Melbourne. Mark has assisted people of all age groups and is willing to assist any person of any athletic ability. Mark believes that having the correct running technique is the most essential tool to gaining speed and running long distances such as the Marathon.

Mark is a member of the Doncaster Athletics Club and coaches runners at this track. Mark and Matt Shiel conduct joint group training sessions on Tuesday and Thursday at 6pm and 10am on Sunday. Mark and Matt encourage athletes of any ability to join the group sessions, whether a novice or an elite runner we can tailor a training plan to suit your requirements. Online training programs can be made available for runners who cannot attend sessions in person.

Mark has coached elite runners of all age including Victorian state championship runners, Australian national junior representatives as well training professional runners to win at the Stawell Gift carnival. Mark has a background in AFL having played over 150 games in the Essendon District Football League. He has coached TAC cup players and has assisted players in gaining speed and endurance in order to get drafted to the AFL, notable players include Bachar Houli (Richmond) and Trent Bianco (Collingwood). In addition, Mark has assisted a number of A-league and rep soccer players including Bruce Kamau.

Mark's professional achievements in the Victorian Athletic League include winning 3 major 400m professional events, including the 2001 Bendigo Black Opal (46.24 sec), the richest professional 400m event in Australia. Mark competed in distance events post his sprinting career and completed the 2012 Melbourne Marathon in 3hrs 58mins. Mark has also competed for the Doncaster Athletic Club and has won team relay events at an Athletics Victoria championship event in 2019.

To book an appointment with Mark, email runningcoachmelbourne@hotmail.com or phone 0402 199 463.

Accreditations

Coaching