Support Coaches

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The Support Coaches for
The Bruce Longden Coaching Foundation

David Rice

UKA Level 4 Coach Sprints, Hurdles and Combined Events. David Was Bruce’s Performance Manager and Coach Education Manager during Bruce’s period as the BAF North of the Thames National Coach.

“I learnt so much from Bruce, I am delighted to be able to be given a chance of continuing his work.”

Brian Hopkins

Brian began coaching some thirty years ago under the guidance of former GB Coach Tom McNab at St Albans AC. Without doubt Tom instilled in him an enthusiasm for athletics and this was so important to him in his early years of coaching.
Initially he coached middle-distance but subsequently switched to hurdles, both sprint hurdles and long hurdles.
He has been extremely fortunate in being able to guide several talented young athletes to achieve National Gold medals and is also very proud to have instigated the hugely successful 300/400 Hurdles Training Days, which have been sponsored by BLCF since 2013.

Hayley Harrison

My name is Hayley Harrison and I live, work and coach in Ireland. My specialist event (as an athlete and coach) is the 400m hurdles and that is how I first met Bruce – he was involved in the national squad that I was attending as an athlete, many years ago! 4 years later, it was he who led me through my Level 4 (Senior Coach as it was then) 400mH specific, coaching award and at that time I became the first woman in Europe to achieve the award. I have been coaching for over 30 years and during that time I have brought athletes through to major championships at youth, junior, U23 and senior level. I have five 400m hurdlers in the squad at the moment, including Thomas Barr whom I have coached since 2010 (Tom has run 47.97s, was 4th in Rio 2016 and Bronze medallist in Berlin 2018).

My full-time job is as a coach education officer for Sport Ireland Coaching, based at the University of Limerick, where I train Coach Developers and Trainers of Coach Developers across 60 sports. I also lead the High Performance Coach Support Programme. Internationally I am an ICCE (International Council for Coaching Excellence) Global Expert in Coach Development and am one of their Master Trainers.

Nick Dakin

Director of Athletics Loughborough University, England
Specializes in coaching 400m and 400m hurdles with European medalists and World/ Olympic Finalists in both events.

‘’Just as it was a privilege to work with Bruce himself , it is also a privilege to be able to work with the Bruce Longden Coaching Foundation to help further develop talent in this great sport of ours’’

Peter Sutcliffe

Peter was a UK National Event Coach for many years, as well as a UK Athletics Team Coach and England Athletics Team Coach on a number of occasions.

‘I am delighted to be involved with the Foundation as I have always had the greatest respect for Bruce’s coaching achievements and welcome the opportunity to continue his coaching philosophy.’

So it's almost time for the final BLCF 300m/400m Hurdles Training Day at Lee Valley for this winter. Book your place for this Saturday, 25 March, from 10h30 until 14h00, on the Better UK app now. Cost still 10.00!!#BLCF#hurdlesdevelopment#hurdlestraining ...
Unfortunately there seem to be issues with the Better UK App booking system for the BLCF 300m/400m Training Day on Sunday, if you are not able to book on the system, please just pay 10.00 pounds when you arrive at Lee Valley. We apologize for any inconvenience but obviously the matter is out of our hands. #BLCF #hurdlestraining #hurdlesdevelopment ...
It's almost time for the next BLCF 300/400m Hurdles Training Day on Sunday 19 March, from 10h30 to 14h00, at Lee Valley Athletics Centre.Athletes can book their spot via the BetterUKapp. On the home page, select Book Athletics, select Hurdles, then select Sunday 19 March.Make sure you don't miss out on these great technical sessions as the outdoor season approaches rapidly.#BLCF #hurdlestraining #hurdlesdevelopment #LeeValleyAthleticsCentre ...
A reminder of the dates of the final BLCF 300m/400m Hurdles Training Days this month at Lee Valley Athletics Centre.Sunday 19 March and Saturday 25 March.Make sure you have the dates in your diary. We will let you know when bookings are open on the Better UK app #BLCF #hurdlesdevelopment ...
Sunday 26 February - 10h30 until 14h00. These are the correct times for the BLCF 300/400m Hurdles Training Day, at Lee Valley Athletics Centre, and not as indicated on your confirmed booking on the Better UK app. We thought we would just clarify this so there is no further confusion. ...
Don’t forget the next BLCF 300/400m Hurdles Training day on Sunday 26 February, at Lee Valley Athletics Centre.Athletes can book their spot from Tuesday 20 February via the BetterUK app. On the home page, select Book Athletics, select Hurdles, select Sunday 26 February.Set a reminder on your phone, don’t miss out on these great training days.#BLCF #hurdlestraining #hurdlesdevelopment #LeeValleyAthleticsCentre ...
💥BLCF/England Athletics Hurdles Fest💥We are delighted to announce the return of the Hurdles Fest!Date - Monday 29 May 2023Location - Chelmsford Sports and Athletics CentreMore details to follow when available 😀SAVE THE DATE now, so it is in your diary! ...
Our next BLCF 300m/400m Training Day is on Saturday, 10.30am until 2pm at the Lee Valley Athletics Centre. We hope you can attend.To pre-book please download the Better UK app and you can then enter on that. The cost is £10.00.If you have problems with the app please pay by bank card at Reception on arrival.Please bring liquid refreshment, a light lunch and clothing suitable for Indoor and Outdoor training.#BLCF #hurdlesdevelopment #hurdlestraining ...
Reminder that our next BLCF 300/400 HURDLES TRAINING DAY is on Sunday 13th November at the Lee Valley Athletics Centre, 10.30am until 2pm.No pre-booking needed but please pay at Reception on arrival. (£10, card payments only).Expect plenty of hurdles work!! Sprint hurdlers welcome too.Please share this with anyone you think may be interested.#BLCF #hurdlestraining #hurdlesdevelopment ...
EA/BLCF SPRINT HURDLES WORKSHOPSWe are delighted to announce that the Sprint Hurdles Workshops introduced last winter, will be taking place again this winter. Please save these dates:Saturday 29 OctoberSaturday 26 NovemberSaturday 17 DecemberThe Workshops will be available at both Chelmsford and Sutton, as in 2021. The lead coaches will also be the same Julie Pratt-Benterman, at Chelmsford, and Lorna Booth at Sutton.As soon as booking details are available, we will post these links on the group.#BLCF#EnglandAthletics#hurdlesdevelopment ...
SAVE THE DATESWe are delighted to announce the provisional dates for the BLCF 300m/400m Hurdles Training Days for this winter. These will be at Lee Valley. Please get the following dates into your diaries, and look out for further information with regard to booking your place.Sunday 23 October 2022Sunday 13 November 2022Saturday 3 December 2022Sunday 26 February 2023Sunday 19 March 2023Saturday 25 March 2023#BLCF#hurdlesdevelopment#thefutureofhurdling ...
No other words needed, other than amazing!👑 ...
Scintillating, sensational....Sydney McLaughlin everybody! 🤯🤯🤯She just broke her own world 400m hurdles record at the US Champs! 51.41! Can’t wait to see what she can do on the same track at the #worldathleticschamps #USATFOutdoors #nationalchamps #400mhurdles #worldrecord ...
The art of hurdling 🖼#WorldIndoorChamps ...
🔥 It's a very busy weekend at Lee Valley, today see's the BLCF/Lee Valley Sprint Hurdles Open Meeting, so good luck to all those athletes taking part. We hope you are able to run well, and reduce those PBs if you can!Tomorrow, Sunday 20 February, sees the next of our BLCF 300/400m Hurdles Training Days, from 10h30 until 14h00. Thanks to Brian Hopkins, Julie-Pratt Benterman, Dave Rice and Eric Brees, who will all be there assisting the athletes, and of course their own personal coaches.Lastly, please everyone travel safe, as the weather has been terrible over the last few days. #BLCF #LeeValleyAthleticsCentre #hurdles ...
🔥Don't forget the first of the BLCF 300m/400m Hurdles Training Day at Lee Valley on Sunday, 14 November.Brian Hopkins will be joined by Lawrence Lynch for this one. Don't miss out on learning from an athlete who has represented England and Great Britain, in the 400m Hurdles, at numerous Championships during his career.If you want to secure your place for all the Sunday sessions (14 November, 12 December, 20 February, 6 March and 3 April) just call Lee Valley Athletics Centre on 020 8344 7230, and they will assist you. 🔥 ...
🔥 BLCF 300m/400m Hurdle Workshops 🔥Unfortunately due to circumstances beyond our control, the first workshop at Lee Valley on 10 October, has been cancelled. The good news is that we have dates for 5 more!14 November 202112 December 202120 February 20226 March 20223 April 2022All are on Sundays, and the times will be 10:30 until 14:00. As soon as we have the booking link from Lee Valley, we will post this so that you can guarantee your place.Thanks to everyone for their patience and we look forward to seeing you all again at the Workshops.#BLCF #hurdles #LeeValley ...
Timeline photos🧐 I attributed as much as 70% of my ability to win my Olympic gold medal to my mental strength. 🏃‍♀️ Today was the women’s 400m hurdle final.As you can imagine, this brought back alot of memories for me.Warming up out on the track I knew I had done everything I could to be ready to race.In this picture I am going through the race in my head. Something I had probably done thousands of times already, in the lead up to this very moment. It is so important to look after your mental strength as well as your physical! Something that has been highlighted in this Olympic games by the likes of Adam Peaty MBE and Simone Biles I say ‘Long may it continue’#Wellbeingwednesday #WCW #Optimiseyourage #wednesdaywords #Wednesdaywisdom #TokyoOlympics #Mentalstrength #wellbeing #mentalwellbeing ...
🔥 SAVE THE DATES 🔥BLCF is delighted to announce the return of the 300m/400m Hurdles workshops at Lee Valley, after a winter's absence due to Covid-19, later this year. Get these dates into your diaries now:Sunday 10 OctoberSunday 14 NovemberSunday 12 DecemberFurther information, including times, costs and how to book, will be available as soon as possible.2022 dates are under discussion, but cannot be confirmed until the indoor fixture dates are known.#hurdles #development #BLCF #leevalley ...

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