Ruth Astle reveals new coach: ‘It feels like a massive risk – I’m hoping it will pay off’

British pro Ruth Astle has announced that she has switched coaches after a “pretty mega journey” with Will Clarke.

“He’s clearly taken me from age-grouper to professional to coming fifth at a World Champs,” she says in her latest YouTube video before announcing who will take over.

Why the change?

Astle endured an injury-hit 2023 which saw her drop out of the top 50 in the world rankings, though she did manage to finish 12th in a vintage IRONMAN World Championship in Kona despite limited training.

Explaining the rationale, she admits: “For me it is a really big step. I’ve only ever been coached by Will, it’s been nine years.

“It’s still working, hence it wasn’t an easy decision, because I feel I am still getting better under him.

“But my main reason for deciding now is the time is because we’ve almost got to a point where we’ve got a really good friendship and I kind of abuse it a bit.

“To the extent of if there’s a session I don’t really fancy – or something I’d rather do like a chain gang ride – then I’ll just do it because I know I’ll kind of get away with it.

“So I’ve made the decision that it’s probably not the best thing for my training and I should be a bit more disciplined with it.”

Who is the new coach?

The decision was made late in 2023 and Astle adds: “There’s been a lot of back and forth in my head because to me it feels like a massive risk – but I’m hoping it will pay off.

“I probably also have in my head that I have five-ish years left of trying to compete at the top level.”

So who is the new coach? You’ll have to watch the video below to find out – but it all came about following an initial contact on Instagram.

“I just liked his general kind of approach,” says Astle. “We got on which is really important for me.

It’s going to be a change and I’m going to have to sort of get used to not doing exactly what I want!

“The main focus is going to be Nice [and the IRONMAN World Championship]. I obviously have to qualify first but I’m hoping that’s not going to be too difficult.”

Astle also reveals that her injury issues look to be behind her, with training starting in earnest this week before ramping up with a camp in Spain in February.