About
Believe & Achieve

We Believe in You

In 2020 Believe and Achieve reached the milestone of being 20 years old.

The reason that we started running these events was to help people like you, achieve their goals. You may not have run half a mile before but if you want to race in our next 10K, kayak around Hayling Island or tackle an ultra, then we are here to help you reach that goal. The sense of achievement that you will feel once you complete your first milestone will stay with you forever. We always love seeing everyone cross the finish line, the atmosphere is second to none, and we are thankful to our fantastic local running community for all their support over the years.

Our Founder and Events Director

Rob Piggott ('Fitprorob')

After many years working in the fitness and weight loss industry, Rob set up Believe and Achieve in 2000. Providing personal training, Rob helped many clients (including celebrities) to go from never running to completing a marathon. He set up Portsmouth Coastal Waterside Marathon in 2009, and the business has since grown to offer running, cycling and kayaking events all year round.

Past highlights include completing 3 marathons in 2 weeks (Amsterdam, Dublin and New York) and winning the ‘Outstanding Contribution to Sport’ prize at The News Awards. And in the summer months can mostly be found in a kayak or on a golf course.

Believe and Achieve Rob Piggot

Things to remember

  • Safety: We are very experienced in running events and always put safety first. For all our races, we make sure we have enough marshals along the route, clear signage and lead cyclists where needed. For kayaking sessions, we will take you through safety instruction upon arrival.
  • Environment: We love our local area and are striving to make changes to be more environmentally friendly wherever possible. We have reduced our plastic use by 80% over all events over the last year. One of our supporters, Final Straw Solent, are happy to advise any local businesses (please see finalstrawsolent.org for how to help). We also regularly inspect our running routes, and our marathon sponsor TJ Waste have helped us improve some areas that needed some attention.
  • Charities: We love supporting local charities, and have been fundraising for the Rowans Hospice, the RNLI and All Call Signs. This year we will be fundraising for GAFIRS (Gosport and Fareham Inshore Rescue Service).
Getting the best out of you

Making Fitness Fun

Our events are open to everyone – whatever your fitness level and no matter what your age. Anyone can enter, so there’s no need to wait to be entered into a ballot. For all our running, cycling and kayaking events please book online. For Dawn’s Sunset Kayaking sessions, please send us a message via facebook.

Running Events Portsmouth

Running

We are home to the official Portsmouth Coastal Waterside Marathon, which is always a sell-out and considered a unique trail race with a fantastic route. We organise many races throughout the year including Ultras, Half Marathons, 10ks, 5ks, and our very popular RNLI 10K and Pieces of Eight race along Southsea seafront (which is a great training run for the Great South Run).

Cycling Events Portsmouth

Cycling

Our Duathlon series of 3 events is in it’s eighth year and is a great introduction to multi-sport racing. You can enter as an individual or as a team, with one person running and the other cycling. Our new Soggy Bottom Triathlon series includes cycling alongside running and kayaking.

Kayaking Events Portsmouth

Kayaking

Dawn’s Sunset Kayaking runs every week during the summer, where we take groups out on Langstone Harbour, catering for all abilities and stopping on the sandbanks for rounders and refreshments. For more competitive kayaking, we run the Soggy Bottom Triathlon series and the Cockleshell Heroes event.

Personal Training Portsmouth

Personal Training

We offer both one to one and group training sessions – in the comfort of your own home or out in the fresh air, every session is tailored to your individual needs and goals. Whether you’re looking to lose or manage weight, improve your fitness, grow muscle mass, tone up or even train for a marathon, we will help you get there.