About Ross Cairns Coaching

“Hi, I’m Ross Cairns, an endurance performance coach who believes potential isn’t fixed. With patience, progressive training and the right support, every athlete can go further than they think possible.  Based in the UK I am dedicated to helping athletes maximise their potential with smart, long term development and a love for the sport that lasts.  Not only will I develop your training and performance resilience, but also your mindset and training habits required for sustainable high performance in sport and beyond.”

About me

I’ve never fitted the traditional pathway. I left school at 17, applied for architecture, didn’t get in and that could easily have been the moment I accepted my fate – nope! I worked my way through a clunky early 90s education system, earned my degree (twice) and spent the last 18 years teaching young people that someone else’s perception of you never has to define your reality.

A Short (but meaningful) Time as an Athlete

Rugby was my first love, but balancing study and sport simply wasn’t possible. A chance discovery of the Kelvin Hall indoor track changed everything. I went from casually training in the gym to being spotted by a coach after one session of 200m reps, he walked over and quietly said: “You have something. Keep at it.”  That comment lit the fuse.

I became a decent 400/800m runner, even if my achievements weren’t as recorded in the modern era of online rankings and socials. But I earned district titles at a national level, and for a late starter who barely knew what athletics even was, that experience shaped the foundation of everything I now believe about development, preparation and possibility.

How Coaching Found Me

Fast-forward ten years. I was living in the northeast of Scotland, mid DIY brake-change on a Subaru, when my old coach phoned: “Come back down, I’ve got a couple of talented youngsters could use some pacing…”  I laughed it off “I’m busy… and I’ve got two young kids!”
Three months later I was pacing them through 400m reps and realising just how powerful coaching could be.  I hadn’t “won anything,” in the eyes of these kids, I certainly wasn’t the fast guy anymore, and to a bunch of teenagers I was just a thirtysomething trying to keep up but I was hooked.

Learning the Craft

Over the next decade I gained my UKA qualifications, built one of the most successful endurance groups in Scotland (40+ athletes, national, UK, European titles), and learned my coaching trade the hard way.

Working in coaching environments will loads of abilities teaches your patience.  I made every mistake possible along the way, but those years shaped everything I now value about long term development.

 

My Coaching Philosophy

Keep it simple and progressive, so it’s all about PACE

Patience as the foundation for performance

Patience as the foundation for performance

Patience as the foundation for performance

Patience as the foundation for performance

This philosophy is simple: if you get this PACE right, the performance follows.

Recognition

In this world I have to list the laurels and acclaims, but what is behind below is always the athletes and recognition of how the athletes have grown, not just what they have won.

  • Scottish Athletics Development Coach of the Year (2020)
  • Scottish Athletics Development Coach of the Year (2023)
  • Scottish Athletics Performance Coach of the Year (2024)
  • Scottish Athletics Performance Coach of the Year (2025)

Roles in Athletics

  • UKA World Class Performance Programme Participant Coach
  • UKA Futures Programme Participant Coach
  • Scottish Athletics Academy Participant Coach
  • Head Coach Endurance Inverness Harriers AAC
  • Volunteer Coach Edinburgh Running Academy University of Edinburgh
  • Scottish Athletics Road Racing & Cross County Commissioner (North)
  • Scottish Athletics / UKA Coach Education Tutor
  • Graduate of Scottish Athletics Coach Apprentice Programme
  • Accredited Endurance Coach United Kingdom Athletics (UKA)