When it comes to coaching, I think we can all agree…not many of us have been able to reinvent the wheel. And the good news is that we don’t need to…the men and women who have come before us in this sport have done a great job in setting the principles and standards for our sport.
No doubt my greatest influence as a coach is Arthur Lydiard. I could spend an entire year posting about Arthur, but I want to point out the most important thing I learned from him in regards to coaching…
You have to build an AEROBIC BASE.
A great man, Barry Magee, once coached me and he was able to actually be coached by Arthur. In fact, Barry was coached by Arthur to an Olympic bronze medal in the Marathon. Barry told me that the base is 80% of your season’s potential…that’s how important it is.
I know, whenever I get an athlete, or start preparing for a season that the first thing I have to do is build the base. And for that, I thank Arthur.
Phillips Running 