ALL FOR ONE
And one for all
Our team share a common approach founded in a love of sport, of first class facilities and of a tailored, holistic, training model. Each member brings their own expertise and sense of fun to our team, creating an enjoyable, energetic and challenging atmosphere.
group evolution founders
Barry
Co-Founder
Like many I returned to sport in my late 30's, catching the 'triathlon bug'. In 2013 I even decided to go back to 'Uni', graduating 3 years later with a first class degree in sports science.
I founded Group Evolution with my wife, Becky, to help youth and age group athletes benefit from a level of training that is usually the preserve of elites That, and to have a little fun at a gorgeous Chateau along the way!
I continue to be a keen age grouper and have completed over 60 events, my personal highlight being Challenge Roth. I am not fast, but definitely enjoy the journey!
Becky
Co-Founder
With a goal-obsessed husband (look left) and a teenage daughter playing international representative sport, I had little choice but to sink or swim ... literally! So I joined in the fun and have since completed two marathons and numerous triathlons (up to half-ironman).
Being a commercial property lawyer, I tend to add a little sanity to proceedings, organising both our lives and our Chateau (it does help that I speak fluent French).
Having 3 teenagers, I am also very interested in healthy nutrition and am often found adapting recipes to maximise their benefit. I enjoy working with our nutritionists to come up with retreat menus that are as tasty as they are healthy.
coaches
triathlon
Dave Scott
'The Man'
Dave Scott blazed the trail that led triathlon to the global prominence it enjoys today. He is now a leading expert in triathlon training, nutrition, and racing. He was the Roger Bannister of triathlon… the first person to go under 10 hours, 9 hours and 8:30 in Kona. Dave Scott’s personal triathlon journey paralleled the early history of the Ironman Triathlon. His accomplishments on the Big Island of Hawaii led to Dave Scott becoming the very first inductee into the Ironman Triathlon Hall of Fame.
He now provides full-service coaching & performance consultation for motivated triathletes of all abilities, from Ironman professionals to aspiring age groupers. Dave Scott will make you a faster triathlete.
James Beckinsale
Level 3 BTF Coach
James has been coaching/training people for endurance since the early 90's. In 2000 he founded the Optima Racing Team with athlete’s performance in mind. My objective was to create an environment where athletes could reach their potential through a structured coaching system. This vision has been realised having coached novice age group triathletes to medal at World, European and Ironman competition and elite athletes, including Gillian Sanders to the 2012 & 2016 Olympic Games & a Commonwealth Games Medal. James has coached three females and four males to Kona and numerous junior/ U23 athletes to elite level.
Coaching is James' vocation and his long term goal is “to be 75 years old with grey hair still coaching happy athletes!
Mark Pearce
Level 3 BTF Coach
Mark has coached triathletes ranging from successful age groupers to an ITU World Champion and an Olympian.
Having graduated with a BSc and MSc in Sport and Exercise Science, Mark started work with the Olympic Triathlon programme in 2002 and gained a wealth of experience, coaching, among others Matt Sharp, Lucy Hall and Adam Bowden.
Since 2014, Mark has worked with age groupers and professional triathletes from Olympic up to Ironman distance.
Fiona Ford
Level 3 BTF Coach
Fiona is a full-time triathlon coach, former pro triathlete and author. For four years she raced as a Pro at Ironman distance triathlon (2008-2011), with top ten- and 9-hour IM finishes. Fiona is a former age group European and World Champion at ITU Triathlon and Aquathlon. Her Pro Ironman career was curtailed whilst out training in 2012 after sustaining serious injuries that were deemed ‘life changing’. Fiona spent two years on rehabilitation and recovery, going from learning to walk again to eventually resuming her coaching and training. Four years after the accident she competed at the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii and finished on the podium (2016).
Fran Bungay
Goal Specific
Fran is a level 3 BTF triathlon coach and is a coach tutor working as part of the BTF coach develop programme, training coaches who are just beginning their coaching journey to those completing the High Performance Coaching Programme. Fran also coaches athletes of all ages and abilities, from sprint triathlon and duathlon through to long distance and Ironman distance events.
Fran is also an accomplished athlete in her own right having won 8 medals competing for the Great Britain Age Group team including 2 European titles. In 2015 Fran won 3 consecutive Ironman 70.3 titles including the European Championship in Weisbaden (40-44) and was world ranked number 1 in her age group.
Ade Bungay
Goal Specific
Ade is a BTF level 3 triathlon coach and has been involved in coaching triathlon for 12 years.
Ade has always been a competitive sportsman and in his youth he was a national level slalom skier. He is a British triathlon Federation level 3 triathlon coach and is part of the BTF coach development team as a coach educator and coach mentor. As a 1 to 1 coach with Goalspecific, Ade coaches athletes training for races from sprint distance to ironman and has worked with athletes from novice through to age group and elite athletes.
Mark Livesey
Train x-hale
Mark Livesey has been deeply immersed in triathlon for over 25 years; racing, coaching and commentating. He has a reputation as one of the best coaches in the country and has developed his own coaching and training platform (trainxhale.com) to make sure he (and other coaches) can deliver coaching to athletes as effectively as possible. Based on his experience in the sport and 20 years as a physical training instructor in the military, Mark has developed methods and training strategies which have been proven to work time and again. Mark’s no nonsense, comedic approach ensures athletes develop both mental and physical strength while enjoying what they do.
Caroline Livesey
Pro triathlete
Caroline started triathlon as a total novice in 2003. Having worked hard to progress in each of the three sports, she has now been competing as a professional triathlete for 6 years with numerous notable results. Caroline has also been coaching for over 10 years, and is particularly interested in the mental aspect of the sport. She helps athletes to meet their potential through a combination of balanced training and attention to race focus.
running
Martin Yelling
Martin is a regular writer and coach for in health, fitness and running media. He has coached runners and triathletes at all levels from total novices who think they can't do it (but actually can), to experienced campaigners, full time professional athletes and celebrity runners, including Eddie Izzard. He is most proud of helping people achieve more than they'd previously thought possible at every level.
Martin has a background in sport, physical activity promotion and health education. He holds a BSc (Sports Science), a Post Graduate Certificate in Education, (Physical Education) and a PhD. He has worked in the education departments at Loughborough University and DeMontfort University. Martin is a UKA level 3 endurance coach and REPS advanced instructor.
Liz Yelling
Double Olympian and Commonwealth medalist Liz Yelling may be an elite runner but she's definitely not elitist. Liz has helped runners of all abilities, from total 'I can't run' novices, through to PB hunters and aspiring champions achieve their own personal levels of excellence.
Liz is a world class marathoner but also a highly respected female coach. She has helped first time 5k finishers and experienced marathoners achieve more than they'd previously thought possible. Her client list includes celebrities, Olympians and she coached double amputee Richard Whitehead to a World Record in the marathon (2hr42min) and a Paralympic Gold Medal.
Her approachable, friendly, non-judgemental style and her understanding of the needs of women runners make her the ideal coach for you.
swimming
Ray Gibbs
Ray took up swimming in his mid twenties when he began competing in Triathlons. A Channel relay in 1992 began his love of open water swimming.
Starting from scratch and frustrated by the lack of clear information on how to become a distance swimmer, he watched the technique of the talented ex-GB swimmers at his local masters club and realised that natural swimmers engaged the water, rather than snatched at it, breathed rhythmically, rather than gasped, and streamlined their bodies to slip through the water instead of fighting their way through it.
He also studied with the ASA in order to learn the theory behind what he was seeing. He became one of the fastest swimmers in his age group not by being fitter or stronger than the next man, but by using sound swimming technique. His relatively recent journey from ‘holiday splasher’ to fast and efficient open water swimmer gives him an empathy with his clients as they learn, first the basics and then the more advanced propulsive techniques of front crawl.
therapists
Ruth Devlin
Consultant
Ruth Devlin set up Let’s Talk Menopause to help raise awareness and to provide accurate information on the menopause. She is passionate about health and wellbeing, specialising in the menopause. She provides women and employers with evidence-based information and support, helping women to make informed decisions about how to manage their menopause and so improve their quality of life.
She has been asked to contribute on several occasions on various media platforms including, Radio 4s Woman’s hour, BBC Radio Scotland, Radio Borders, the BBC Insiders Guide to the Menopause documentary with Kirsty Wark and BBC breakfast.
Jackie Lynch
Nutritional Consultant
Jackie is a Registered Nutritional Therapist with a nutrition clinic in Notting Hill, London. She has a particular interest in female health and the menopause, and is the host of the popular diet and lifestyle podcast, The Happy Menopause. Jackie speaks at public events and conferences, and is a regular contributor of nutrition features for a range of print and online media. She is also the Chair of the Institute for Optimum Nutrition.
Jackie has featured as a guest expert on TV and radio programmes, including Channel 4’s Superfoods and is a Guardian Masterclass tutor.
Martin
Physiotherapist
Martin O' Connell is a highly regarded chartered physiotherapist who has worked in elite sport for over 20 years.
Martin specialises in soft tissue functional asymmetries and complex dysfunction. He pioneers the 'Fibrolysis' technique which has led to him being known as 'Mr Hookman' in the elite football and rugby world.
Martin shares his clinical time: consulting in professional football, whilst also heading up Symmetry Performance, a multi-disciplinary, high performance clinic offering support to all levels of athlete from a multitude of sporting backgrounds.
In his spare time Martin is a very keen single figure golfer.
Peter Haling
Fitness Consultant
During Peter's active career as a semi-professional basketball player he got fascinated by injuries and wanted to know why so many people got injured. His own injuries sent him on a quest to learn more about injury and dis-ease so that he could heal from his own chronic knee injuries. The most amazing healing he achieved was when he started eating right for his metabolic type and exercise to his own physical needs. Within 5 weeks his MRI showed no inflammation whatsoever as where in the beginning his tendons were seriously deteriorating and inflamed.
From that moment on, Peter knew that nutrition, lifestyle and a highly individualised exercise programme would play a large roll in rehabilitating his clients. Studying Metabolic Typing has also given Peter an amazing tool to help clients lose weight and feel more vital.
Holly
Fitness Consultant
Holly first entered the personal training world in 2002 when her love for dancing, playing team sports & keeping a healthy body inspired her to enter herself on to an intense personal training and sports therapy diploma. She loves to teach people how to functionally and efficiently use their body. Named HTS publicly (Holly The Sadist) by a client she had fun training hard & fast but now focuses on rehabilitation, back & core conditioning with a holistic & high performance approach.
Holly has been a part of the Royal automobile club fitness professional team for the biggest part of her career and works both from the private club & in the comfort of her clients home in Surrey where she lives. Holly loves to exercise herself & learn what is always evolving in the ever changing industry of health, fitness, nutrition & lifestyle coaching so will always want to read up on the latest research or attend courses.
Iryna Boost
Personal Trainer
Iryna studied an intensive 5 year degree course in Sports and Physical training in Ukraine. With 12 years experience as a freelance personal trainer in England, Iryna has a wealth of fitness knowledge and expertise to ensure you achieve the results you are looking for.
Iryna specialises in women’s health and fitness, including weight loss programmes, exercise for the menopause, ante and post natal exercise, as well as core stability and flexibility programmes.
With a background in dance, ballet and athletics, Iryna has a vast repertoire of exercises to bring variety, motivation and enjoyment to each session. Boxing is also a specialism to give each session an added punch!
group evolution ambassadors
Helen
Elite Triathlete
I am proud to have represented my country at the Beijing, London and Rio Olympics and to have become ITU Elite World Champion twice. I have been an elite athlete for over 15 years and spent time with coaches and athletes from all over the world. Triathlon has given my family and myself a great life and I’ve made lots of friends and great people along the way.
I love training and sport and even when I stop competing I hope to carry on swimming, biking and running and to be able to show my daughter what I did for a career. I also love live music, nice hotels, great restaurants and great food - a bonus you can afford when you train as much as I do.
Marc
Elite level Coach
I have been a professional athlete or coach since I was 17 and raced at the Athens Olympics and two Commonwealth games. After stopping racing due to illness, I started coaching Helen in 2007. When she stands on the start line she is one of the most consistent performers in the World over short course racing.
Even after racing I still love to keep fit and train with Helen. No matter where we go we always look for places to swim, ride, surf and, if our bodies are in good enough shape, run. While triathlon has been my career it is now also my pastime. We also love great hotels, food and music; especially in the off season.