Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

First Person: Val Burke

Trainer says goodbye to Whistler, kind of
1443val
Val Burke Photo by Robin O'Neil.

Val Burke won’t take all the credit for the astounding success of the many athletes she’s worked with over the years — her programs are better suited to the athletes that are self-motivated, and take training as seriously as competing.

Over the past six years, Burke has worked with most of Whistler’s top endurance athletes, helping to improve their performance by taking a scientific approach to training. She has records of every high performance athlete she has worked with, from times in interval runs to the level of oxygen they can carry in their blood, which she has used to measure progress.

And progress has been made. Burke’s athletes are winning triathlons, runs, and bike races, posting personal bests, and qualifying for events like the Ironman World Championships.

Burke and her family are moving back to New Zealand this winter after staying in Whistler far longer than they planned. However, despite the fact that she’ll be halfway around the world, Burke plans to continue her work with some local athletes.

Pique caught up to Val Burke last week to talk about her time in Whistler, the athletes she’s worked with, and her approach to training.

Pique: You worked in New Zealand before you arrived in Whistler. When did you get here?

Val Burke: We arrived in October, 2001. I was working at a university in New Zealand at the time, the University of Otago, for the previous seven years. I taught classes, labs, and worked in a human performance resource centre affiliated with the university — all kinds of exercise physiology stuff. I was a bit worried when we moved here because there was no academic centre in Whistler, and that was what I was used to.

I went into Meadow Park Sports Centre on the first day we were here, and they said they had nothing for me. I ended up volunteering for about six months. It was interesting — I went from working with Olympic athletes in New Zealand, and here I was cleaning windows and mirrors while getting started as a trainer.

Pique: Do you remember the first athlete you worked with?

VB: The first one, and I have to give him a lot of credit for getting me started, was Lance Brannigan. He was a big biker, and went to the World Police and Fire Games. He won a medal there, and came back and told all the physios and everybody. I didn’t know a lot of people, and he spread the word. And then it was the Suters, and especially Paul Suter and Paul Nicholas. I helped them to get ready for Ironman, and Paul Nicholas qualified for the championships in Kona that year. After that it was Marie-Anne Prevost — I’ve now worked with her every year since she got started in Ironman, we’re in year five, and she continues to improve with every year.

Pique: It must have been fun to watch those athletes progress.

VB: It’s been great. Unfortunately Paul Nicholas has a bad hip and is no longer training, but watching someone like Marie-Anne go from being a complete beginner to what she is today has been a lot of fun.

Through my circuits and run groups, I’ve worked with a lot of people that I haven’t personally coached and I hope I’ve made a difference with them as well. Through them I’ve been exposed to a lot of people, and shared what I could. I’m not that big on the mountain bike scene when it comes to personal training, I’ve worked with more triathletes, but I know the riders are in my groups. I’ll count up the number of people I’ve worked with when I have some more time — I’ve saved the file of everyone I’ve worked with personally over the years, which is enough to fill a couple of boxes.

Pique: What was it like going from Olympic athletes to Whistler athletes, who probably have a lot of natural ability but maybe not as much knowledge or discipline as the athletes you were used to?

VB: It’s been really fun, and really very different. I was a bit leery coming in because I was working with the national team in New Zealand. (Pro road rider) Will (Routley) would be the closest to what I worked with before I came here. My mentality when I arrived was that I was in a career of maintenance, working with people that were already accomplished athletes. But I have loved working with Whistler athletes. My programs are set up for people who are self-motivated anyway, and the Tri Club has been amazing. The Routleys are amazing. I’ve been coaching all different ages, and all different levels, with goals that ranged from running that first 5 km to being competitive at Ironman.

Every athlete has been self-motivated and self-disciplined. They’re good to coach because they do what I ask, and I can see if the program I’ve given them is working or not.

I can say that locals are generally very well rounded athletes, and the Masters athletes have life experiences behind them. They also work, and have families, and then have to find time to squeeze in training. But every one of them improved.

Pique: Let’s talk about Will Routley for a second. What was it like seeing his progression this past year and all his breakthroughs?

VB: I wouldn’t say it was my working with him that was responsible. I worked a full year with him and from what I could see he has a pure, natural talent. In the past he kept getting sick, so he wasn’t putting together a full season. This season was huge for him just because he stayed healthy.

Tony Routley (Will’s father) has also been wonderful to work with. They’re both completely dedicated, which makes my job easy.

Pique: What other athletes have you worked with recently who have had that kind of success?

VB: I’ve been working with (adventure racer) Gary Robbins for three years now, and this is the first year that he’s actually started winning the overall rather than his age group. He and his teammate were the first to win all three MOMARs (Mind Over Mountain Adventure Race) in a season. He’s a really fun guy to work with — lots of natural talent without any training experience. All of his gains come from getting a training program sorted, and showing him the right direction.

Pique: Did you also work with (adventure racer) Jen Segger?

VB: I worked with Jen once when I coached her for the Marathon des Sables cross-desert run, and we still keep in touch. She is the head trainer now at Quest University where she works with both the men’s and women’s basketball teams, and she runs the fitness centre. She’s also organizing an outdoor adventure race team there. She’s all mental, just so mentally strong, and I really enjoyed working with her.

Pique: It seems you take a science-based approach to training. Is that what works best for you?

VB: It’s definitely what works. I have a Masters degree in exercise physiology that I like to use.

The first thing I do is test people. Rather than writing a coaching plan, I look at their biomechanics, such as is there anything they can improve on the bike, are they spinning proper circles? I videotape them on the bike and running, and look to see if they’re running properly and everything is in line. I also ask if they have any recurring injuries, then work on the strength side to balance out against their injuries. After that we get into the endurance side, which means more testing.

I tested Will (Routley) last year and found that he didn’t respond to high volume training. We then cut his volume of training down by about five hours, which is when he started to get his really good results on the circuit.

You really have to combine sports sciences with coaching if you want to get people to a next level.

Pique: You were there since the beginning of the Whistler Tri Club, when only a few locals used to race Ironman. What’s it been like watching the progress of your athletes and the popularity of endurance events?

VB: There’s a lot of things that came together. What I’ve seen with my run group, for example, in the last five years of doing intervals and writing down everyone’s times, every year the group is getting faster. It’s not surprising — there’s Duncan Munro’s running group on Tuesday, I have intervals on Thursdays, and clinics on the weekends so there’s always a program available to plug into. Dave and Brandi Higgins started that Masters swim program that’s been huge in the off-season by giving everyone a social outlet and keeping athletes in training through winter. There are cycling intervals on Wednesdays.

There is so much to plug into, you just have to show up and you’re doing something five days a week. Everyone is getting better — look at Christine Cogger, she improved an hour and a quarter from one Ironman to the next. Everybody is pushing each other.

Pique: You seem to be busy.

VB: I’m very busy. Right now I’m a bit tired, because this summer was really busy. Whether that’s because of word of mouth, or if people are more interesting in training properly with a coach, I have no idea. The fact is that people have to train if they even want to do a Loonie race, and people are training more and taking advantage of training programs. I’ve never had someone get worse from training.

When people plug into the combination of everything that’s offered, everything just takes care of itself.

Pique: I’ve heard you plan to continue working with Whistler athletes after you move to New Zealand.

VB: I don’t really like Internet coaching but I’ll keep coaching some of the people I’ve coached in the past, as long as it continues to work to their benefit. Will Routley is going into his second year with me. I’m doing some work for the Whistler Nordics as well by developing a program.

I’ll probably work without about 10 athletes I know pretty well. You really have to see people on a regular basis, and watch them run, watch them ride.

Pique: Do you have a position yet in New Zealand?

VB: I don’t have a position, but I have been in contact and will be carded for exercise physiology, and strength and conditioning, and will step back into their national program again.

It’s pretty sad to be leaving, but as soon as we’re on the plane I know I’ll be looking forward to it. My husband has lots of family, and I have a brother there. If I had to live anywhere else other than Whistler it’s a pretty good place.

I’m also hoping to do some things in New Zealand, and give people a chance to come and visit. It should work well because the seasons are opposite. February and March are wonderful training seasons, and there are lots of events. Because there is no liability almost every town has regular duathlons, triathlons, runs, and it’s very laid back. I haven’t put anything on paper yet, but I’d like to offer training camps at that time of the year and see if I can get a group of five or six people out for summer training in the middle of winter.