Craig Winrow, Centre Coordinator and Performance Coach
During his running career Craig won multiple English Schools' medals and UK age group championships over 800m. Craig continued to improve his performances as a senior athlete, competing at the highest level of international competitions and achieving a personal best over 800m of 1:45.69. His career highlight was competing at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, where he reached the semi-final.
Craig retired from competitive running in 1998 and moved to the US, where he coached at a division one NCAA university for 6 years. During that period, he had great success with his athletes and university team winning many medals at the Southland Conference Championships over track and cross country. This also led to taking many of his athletes to the NCAA Championships.
He moved back to the UK in 2005 and started coaching at St Mary’s EPC in 2007. Craig is very passionate about sharing his knowledge and experience with the athletes he coaches and strives to help them achieve their potential. Since 2007 he has helped the university team and individual athletes to many team and individual medals at the BUCS Cross Country, indoor and outdoor championships. His coaching highlights include serving on GB coaching teams for international meets and guiding several successful athletes to international achievements at European, Commonwealth and World Championships level and the Olympics.
Contact: craig.winrow@stmarys.ac.uk
Craig's interview on The Elite Endurance Podcast
Fiona Ford, EPC assistant performance coach
Athletic career
Fiona came into triathlon from a running background and won multiple age-group World and European Championships along with National titles at Olympic distance Triathlon, Aquathlon and Duathlon. Fiona transitioned into the elite, professional ranks as an ultra-endurance athlete, after finishing top ten on debut at Ironman France and qualifying for the World Championships. Fiona competed on the GB long-course team for 4 years with consistent top ten finishes. Her professional triathlon career ended in 2012 because of a serious bike accident. Fiona returned to endurance competition after a lengthy recovery from ‘life changing’ injuries, finishing on the podium at Ironman World Championships in 2016. She published ‘Back on Track’ (Meyer & Meyer, 2015) an athlete’s guide to recovery using a multisport approach, enhanced by nutrition and strength and conditioning.
Coaching Career
With over 15 years of experience as a professional high performance triathlon coach, Fiona has coached numerous triathletes to Ironman World Championships, 70.3 World Championships and GB age-group teams. Fiona has developed triathletes from age-group level to make National elite teams and worked with professional cyclists to improve their swimming for a potential transition into elite triathlon. Since 2009, Fiona has provided high quality triathlon training camps at moderate altitude in the French Alps and coached swim squads for triathletes in the Richmond area focusing on individualised coaching. Fiona was selected and highly trained to become part of a global team of Swim Smooth Certified coaches in 2011 and is currently a mentor coach for Swim Smooth.
Academic Achievements
Fiona graduated with an MSc in Applied Sports Nutrition from St Mary’s University in 2020. Currently Fiona is pursuing a PhD focusing on optimal nutrition strategies for Ironman triathlon performance. Fiona’s academic and coaching background underpins her evidence-based coaching and nutrition advice to athletes.
Contact: fiona.ford@stmarys.ac.uk
George Morris, Strength and Conditioning Coach
George leads strength and conditioning sessions for EPC athletes and is also strength and conditioning coach to international marathon runners as part of the England Athletics Talent Hub.
Alongside coaching at the EPC, George is a PhD candidate and a multidisciplinary Sport and Exercise Scientist specialising in endurance physiology. A former fencing athlete, George won three national titles and claimed three Commonwealth Games medals for Team GB. As a coach he has worked with talented fencing athletes training them towards participation for Paris 2024 and Los Angeles 2028.
A keen runner himself, George trains regularly with EPC athletes and has achieved a very respectable VO2 max of 75mL/Kg/min which ranks well alongside top athletes that he has tested himself in the physiology lab.
Contact: george.morris@stmarys.ac.uk