David Leith

David Leith is a junior coach within the Running Division at Science to Sport. He holds a Masters degree in Exercise Science and an Honours in Biokinetics. Having worked as a Running Coach, Sport Scientist, Biokineticist and Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) for over 8 years, he currently exercises his trade from within the High Performance Centre of the Sports Science Institute of South Africa. David has worked with athletes ranging from beginner to elite level, helping them train towards Park Run to Marathon-distance PBs and/or complete some of the world’s toughest ultra-endurance events. He is passionate about all aspects of endurance training theory and has been a research consultant on running-related research projects for multiple academic and corporate institutions.

David has been an avid trail runner for over a decade, competing at marathon to 100km distances. He spends most of his free time in the mountains or in the gym. David prides himself on an “n=1”coaching philosophy: he wants to know about his athletes’ history and training background, strengths and weaknesses, injuries, life schedules and biggest, wildest goals.  He applies his scientific knowledge, intuition and training experience to the individual, providing them with a tailored training plan that is unique to them and their lives.