Photo: _george_parker (IG)
Founded in October 2023 by Coach Rui Yong and Coach Rich Bull, the Battersea Bandits are a squad of high-performance amateur runners based in Battersea Park, London. The Bandits are sponsored by RunSohFast Academy - with Coach Rui pledging his services to the team free of charge. Coach Rui believes that high performance running can be attained while working a full-time job with a sustainable, patient approach, aimed at building confidence and consistency over long periods of time.
The Bandits meet twice a week for training, and boast a 100% success rate in setting new PBs just months after joining the program, be it Rich (2:34 > 2:32) and Dan (2:40 > 2:37) setting big new records at the 2023 Valencia Marathon, or Josh setting a new Half Marathon PB of 66:53 just 4 months after joining the Bandits, after being stuck at 69 minutes for years prior.
While the Bandits are a group of high-performance runners, most of all they have fun. Be it ruthless banter in our group chat or the support and camaraderie on the track and roads pushing each other through the biggest marathon workout of the block, we want every individual to have a good time, build fitness, and make lifelong friendships and memories in the process.
Whether you’re looking to break 2:20 for the marathon, or are coming off a long injury and looking for training group to get back in the game, as long as you are keen to train and and contribute positively to our squad, the Bandits could be a new home for you. Contact us now to set up a chat with Coach Rui - who knows where this might take you!
London marathon 2024
For the last 4 months I found myself in a new position of preparing for a marathon while also mentoring a squad of runners preparing for their marathons. Lots of time in front of those excel sheets. It’s been a joy to see the team learn and grow, not just as training partners but as a tight knit group of friends as well. As everyone had family duties and jobs, I decided that we would only do sessions twice a week - Tuesday track and Saturday road (with very easy running in between). That allowed for enough time to do recovery, work and life in between.
The squad delivered above and beyond with a 100% PB rate. First Ewan with 2:34:20 in Manchester Marathon last week got the squad pumped for London. Then on a gusty London Marathon, Josh set a debut and squad record 2:22:27 to become the world’s fastest insurance underwriter (probably). Stefan was balancing work, 2 kids, and marathon training still set a PB in 2:35:03. Dan has now gone from 2:40 to 2:37 to 2:35:59 since joining the squad 5 months ago as our first recruit. Callum ZS had a rough day with cramps but pulled through and nicked a PB, 2:51:18 - perseverance on a day it would be so easy to just DNF.
Not bad for a squad that only sessions twice a week, and had fun doing it. Running doesn’t have to be that hard! Coach Rui