Lily Partridge and Ben Connor
Running
Professional marathon runners for Great Britain, Adidas & NB respectively. They set up Team Elite Running in 2020 to provide coaching and support to the everyday runner. Ben competed at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021. They both started running at an early age, progressing through the club age group system and on to Team GB.
- Team GB Marathon
“We started exploring Forth Edge when I (Lily) was struggling to recover after the Olympic Marathon Trials. Through Forth Edge analysis it was discovered that my cortisol and testosterone levels had crashed. This signalled to me that I had gone over the edge and needed rest. It also helped to confirm that the issues I was having weren't ‘in my head’ and that there was a physical issue that needed resolving which was important to understand and have clarity on. I tested again 4 months later after a much-needed break in which I had surgery but otherwise didn’t train and my levels had returned to a healthy level and in myself I felt much better. Ben also had testing done post Olympics as he was struggling to return and knew something wasn’t right and again tests confirmed Ben was sick with a virus which we suspected (not covid thankfully) but again it was good to get clarity and, in both cases, to understand our physical health in finer detail.”
Lily and Ben are both professional marathon runners for Great Britain, Adidas & NB Respectively. Ben recently became a member of Team GB and competed at the Tokyo Olympic Games. They both started running at school and then moved through the club age group system before taking different routes. Ben accepted a scholarship to study and train in the US at Providence College, RI and Lily stayed in the UK system and made successive age group Great Britain Teams through to senior level. They have both now moved to the marathon distance (Lily in 2017 finishing 4th in the Seville Marathon running a 2.32 debut, Ben in 2020 running a 2.11.20 debut at London Marathon). Team Elite Running started in November 2020 in response to the announcement of lockdown to provide support and give back to runners. Elite Running is a team of runners whom Lily and Ben coach personally and a wider community of runners where they provide some elite experience and access to information that they felt was missing for everyday runners. You can check it out here.
Ben is using our Male Runner Test whilst Lily is using both our Female Runner and Female Hormone Mapping tests to learn more about their hormones, key biomarkers and how this can help monitor health and training load.
Lily and Ben's Top Tips
A. Working with Forth Edge will allow us to better monitor physical health and make changes as we go, if necessary, rather than wait until our body stops us which will hopefully contribute to us being consistent and in a better position to perform.
A. We believe that nerves are good. If we are nervous, it means it is important, but you must channel them positively and not let them override you.
A. Find and do what works for you. Everyone is unique and what works for someone else won't necessarily work for you. Have confidence in what you are doing but be willing to learn and try new things.
A. Buy the best pair of running shoes you can afford. They don’t need to be expensive, but they need to be actual running shoes with a good level of support.
