Performance Coach · BBC Contributor · Keynote Speaker
About Arj Thiruchelvam
The science is clear. The coaching should be too.
20 years turning elite performance methodology into real results for real athletes.
Arj Thiruchelvam is a UK-based performance coach, running coach, and performance nutritionist based in Solihull, Birmingham. He is the founder of Performance Physique and has over 20 years of experience working across elite sport, corporate health, and youth athlete development.
He holds numerous qualifications notably a BSc in Sports Science from Loughborough University, a UKA Level 2 Performance Coach licence a former manager for MNU Nutrition Qualification & Mac-Nutrition. He has co-designed two Sports Science degrees for Oxford Brookes University and previously worked as a Sports Science Lecturer.
Arj is a regular contributor to the BBC featuring BBC London, BBC Radio 5 Live, and BBC Radio WM and each year joins the broadcast team for a series and race day coverage of the London Marathon.
He has been featured in The Guardian, The Times, The Independent, Metro, Stylist Magazine, Sky News, and the Press Association. He is a keynote speaker at the National Running Show — appearing for three consecutive years — and cut the ribbon, presented at and closed the International Running Expo Amsterdam in 2025.
As a former decathlete, Arj brings the perspective of both practitioner and athlete to every coaching relationship. His own Achilles rupture in 2013 shaped a deep expertise in rehabilitation, return to sport, and long-term athletic development.
He coaches everyone from complete beginners to Team GBcompetitors. His athletes consistently achieve personal bests across all distances — whilst his developmental and corporate clients consistently report measurable improvements in energy, focus, and workplace performance.
My Philosophy
I want you to stop listening to the noise.
The fitness and nutrition space is crowded with trends, extremes, and misinformation. Influencers selling supplements. Apps replacing coaches. Generic plans being passed off as personalised programmes. My job is to cut through all of it.
Across more than two decades working in sport, nutrition, and performance, I have coached everyone from first-time 5k runners to Team GB Olympians. The science does not change based on your level. What changes is how it is applied — and that is where real coaching comes in.
Whether you are chasing a marathon PB, trying to build sustainable health habits, or looking for an expert voice for your publication or event — my aim is always the same. To give you clarity, evidence, and results. Not noise.
Career Timeline
Two decades of sport, science and performance.
2005 – Trained as alongside national and international athletes. Developed a deep understanding of elite training methodology from the inside. Coaching journey officially began.
2008 – Began coaching for Midlands & England Athletics under Pat Cropper.
2012 – Graduated from Loughborough University with a BSc in Applied Sports Science from one of the world’s leading sports universities. MC for the Olympic Handover Ceremony. DreamDecathlon the journey to Rio 2016 commences.
2013 – Achilles Tear — The Turning Point. The rehabilitation process became a determination to master return-to-sport methodology and shaped a lasting specialism in injury recovery and long-term athletic development.
2014 – Performance Physique Founded Established Performance Physique at Tudor Grange Leisure Centre, Solihull. Built from the ground up into a multi-programme coaching business spanning private coaching, group athletics, corporate wellness and online programmes. Invited to become a university lecturer in Sports Science.
2015 – Co-designed two Sports Science degrees and worked as a Sports Science Lecturer. Focused on coaching science, performance analysis and research methods.
2017 – Invited to join the prestigious Mac-Nutrition Consultancy and also launched the world renowned MNU Nutrition qualification workign alongiside mentor, Martin MacDonald.
2019 – Performance Physique becomes truly recognised and the media work begins.
2021 – National & International Media Regular BBC Radio London contributor across the London Marathon series and Week in Review. Keynote speaker at the National Running Show.
2025 – Keynote speaker and opening and closing host at the International Running Expo Amsterdam 2025.
Invite Arj to speak at your event.
Arj delivers evidence-led, engaging and inspiring keynotes for running events, corporate wellness days, conferences and media panels. All topics grounded in two decades of sports science — communicated in language that lands with any audience.