Coach Spotlight: Michael van der Klei – Building Community, Mile by Mile
From Loss to First Steps
On the Thursday before the 2025 Spartathlon, we met up with EndoGusto coach Michael van der Klei—an accomplished ultrarunner who had traveled to Greece to toe the line. Listening to Michael, it’s hard not to feel awe at how a life can keep evolving. At 59, he’s still finding new edges.
Michael wasn’t always a coach—or even a runner. Growing up in the Netherlands, he practiced martial arts while building a career in software, eventually founding his own company. Very tall and lean—some might say lanky—he doesn’t fit the stereotype at first glance, yet he’s become a formidable ultrarunner. With calm vulnerability, he shares that his father, similarly built, gained significant weight after retiring and saw his health decline, which ultimately contributed to his passing. The loss hit Michael hard and sparked a change he couldn’t have predicted would one day bring him to Athens.
He began running in 2012 to protect his health. It started simply: reach the first tree on the block, then a little farther the next day. One step at a time led to his first marathon a year later.
Finding Home in the West of Ireland
Still, something felt off. He didn’t feel at home in his own country; he was drawn to a quieter pace that matched his nature. In 2014, he sold his software company and moved his family to a small town in western Ireland—a world away from the Dutch hustle—where he finally found the calm he’d been seeking.
Running continued. By 2016, settled into Irish life, he wanted to give back. In Louisburgh (population ~434), he started a running club, launching with a Couch to 5K program. Twice a week, he still makes the hour-long drive from his hamlet outside Foxford to lead group runs and build community. Over the year,s he’s helped hundreds of people reach personal goals, sparking a local running boom in this quieter corner of County Mayo.
Meanwhile, his own goals grew. He ran his first 100-miler (160 km) in 2019, and now holds the Dutch 55+ records for both the 100-mile and the 24-hour events—each milestone still surprising him a little.
Route to Sparta
“Start with the first tree. Tomorrow, go a little farther.”
His path to Sparta was partly serendipity. Before that first 100-miler, he’d never heard of the Spartathlon. But at the race, he met Anne Jennings, now a two-time finisher, who first mentioned it to Michael, but he filed it under “nearly impossible”; 153 miles (246 km) felt beyond reach. Two weeks later, at another event, he met race director Anthony Lee, who mentioned it again in passing. The seed was planted. In 2023, he made his first attempt but missed the time cutoff by just 5 minutes at Checkpoint 59, just 46 kilometers from Sparta. He returned in 2025 to finish what he’d started. Even without a crew, he reached the statue of Leonidas in tears—joy, relief, and the satisfaction of a promise kept. As he’d predicted before the race: “The Spartathlon will be only joy, even if it will hurt.”
Coaching Philosophy: Progress You Can Recover From
As a coach, his philosophy is as steady as his stride. Michael brings calm enthusiasm and a focus on the experience. He knows comparison kills joy and emphasizes personal growth. Many new runners—and experienced runners stretching their distance—feel intimidated by the challenge. Michael’s answer is simple: take the first step. He removes the fear by building athletes up gradually, never to the point of exhaustion. “You should only train what you can recover from,” he says.
Community is his other hallmark. While he charges for coaching, he doesn’t set fixed fees. A “pay what you like” approach keeps finances from becoming a barrier; for Michael, giving matters more than receiving. He also organizes races that bring runners and volunteers together to enjoy County Mayo’s landscapes—the same sense of community that drew him to Ireland years ago.
Today, with the help of EndoGusto as his endurance coaching software partner, he coaches athletes around the world—from first 5Ks to ultras—meeting each person where they are. He draws on his own resilience to build theirs, then watches the impact ripple outward as they carry that strength back to their families and communities.
Website: Run Today
Website: Prorun.ie
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