Pollinger AI

I'm a runner 🚀 (️but you probably already know that haha).

Four years. Four training plans. One quiet revolution in AI.

Without really planning it, my running has become the clearest measure I have of how fast AI is moving.

The journey 👇

2022 - Manchester Marathon: I bought an off-the-shelf training plan. Generic, one-size-fits-all, printed and stuck in a draw. It didn't know me. It didn't care how I felt on a Tuesday. It was a plan for everyone, which meant it was a plan for no one.

2024 - Cardiff Half: I asked ChatGPT to build me a plan. Suddenly it was customised - shaped around my goals and my schedule. A huge step up. But it was working blind: no training data, no idea how my actual runs were going. A smart coach who'd never seen me run.

March 2026 - Swansea Half: I used Copilot to create my plan and coach me daily. The breakthrough? I started pasting screenshots of my Strava runs. For the first time, the AI could see what I'd actually done and adjust accordingly. The plan was finally reacting to my daily running.

Present - Perplexity - Chippenham Half - 14.09.26: This is where it gets interesting. Perplexity now coaches me daily using my entire running history and my live runs through a direct Strava link. It reads and factors in heart rate, cadence, Suffer Score and more. I also scanned and uploaded my medical history, so it takes that into account too.

The advice is now personalised and nuanced. It's not "run 8km at 5/k." It's "run 8km at 5/k - and if your heart rate climbs, ease off by 10 seconds per km." Then it tells me why.

That's the breakthrough. In four years I've gone from a printed page that knew nothing about me… to a coach that knows my body, my history, and my data in real time - and explains its reasoning like a professional coach of elite athletes would.

In 4 years my runngin advice has moved from a document, to an assistant, to something that genuinely understands context.

I can't wait to see what the next four years brings.

What's your version of this story - where have you watched AI quietly transform a hobyy, interest or sport?

Great to be at MKLINK’s Meetup in Cheltenham today, talking to MSPs about one of the biggest commercial opportunities in front of them right now, AI.

There's a real opportunity in helping clients turn AI into practical business value.

Many organisations already have access to ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, and other AI tools, but they are still asking the same questions:

How do we use this properly?

How do we protect data?

How do we train staff?

How do we make it useful day to day?

How do we move from curiosity to results?

That creates a clear opening for MSPs.

You already have the trusted relationship. You already understand the client’s systems, processes, and pain points. AI training and adoption support is a natural next step.

The businesses that win won’t just be the ones buying AI tools. They’ll be the ones helping their people use them with confidence, judgement, and purpose.

Thanks to MKLINK for hosting a great session, and to everyone who came along and asked such thoughtful questions.

Plenty of opportunities ahead!