MEET THE COACHES: HARRIET WRIGHT
Published: 06/10/2026 | By: Joli Knowles
As Sports Direct x Nike’s After Dark Tour 2026 training sessions get underway, Harriet Wright is exactly the kind of coach you want at the front of the group. Someone who understands big running goals but also knows that the strongest training plan is not always the hardest one.* Now, as a run coach, personal trainer and women's health advocate, she's helping women train smarter, recover better and redefine what it means to run "like a girl".*
Those experiences have shaped how she thinks about training. Rather than believing more is always better, she's learned that progress often means knowing when to back off and recover properly, not just pushing harder. That mindset feels especially fitting for After Dark Tour, a series built around women showing up for themselves, their goals and each other. She's also become increasingly aware of how much standard running advice is built around men's bodies rather than women's. "I really struggle when people give blanket advice," she says. She's a strong advocate for tracking your cycle and understanding how it affects your training, but is quick to add that there's no universal formula. "It's so unique to you, so you can't be prescribed something. You have to figure out how your body works and then kind of hack your own body and method to make it work for you."
That frustration with one-size-fits-all advice is what led Harriet to create like a girl run club, after one too many experiences with coaches who didn't put women at the centre of the advice they gave. "I was like, I'm just going to put my money where my mouth is," she says. "I'm going to go set up my own thing and just be the change I want to see."
But the club isn't just about training differently, it's about creating a community where women feel welcome, supported and confident taking up space in running. It’s that same energy she brings into the After Dark Tour sessions, where showing up matters just as much as how fast you run. Harriet discovered the power of that for herself when she moved to London seven years ago and stumbled into the city's running scene. "It was like this whole other world opened," she says. She wants other women to experience that same sense of belonging, somewhere you don't have to be the fastest person in the group or know exactly what you're doing, you just need to feel comfortable enough to keep coming back. Training alongside other women brings accountability, encouragement and the confidence to push beyond what you thought you could do, without losing the fun along the way.
Her advice for anyone thinking about getting started is simple: don't compare yourself to anyone else in the room, and if the first community you try doesn't feel right, keep looking. "You'll never know unless you try," she says.
Her own journey hasn't always gone to plan, but setbacks haven't made the goal disappear, they've simply meant finding a different route towards it. And that's what "running like a girl" means to Harriet: not conforming to one idea of what a runner should be, but finding the confidence to train on your own terms. Whether you're building towards the Nike After Dark Tour, chasing a marathon PB, running your first kilometre, or simply looking for a group that makes you want to lace up, her message is the same: train smart, look after yourself, find your people, and don't forget to enjoy the run.
