Typically following the winter cross-country season in New Zealand is the road racing season. Typically starting with shorter distances (3-miles) and gradually working up over the course of a 3-month period to longer distances (up to 25km). This road racing season will end shortly after the track season opens. The main interest for the athlete … More Running to the Top — Road Running

“Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example.”  Mark Twain As far as I know, Mark Twain was not a runner. But he was a smart man. To be great at running you have to be disciplined. There are a lot of runners each year who have the … More Learning From the Greats — Mark Twain?

As the ‘On Marathoning’ series is winding down we move along to the speed workouts. These are typically workouts that people think are important, but the truth is, they have the least amount of importance throughout the training block. Just yesterday, Coach Ben Rosario of Northern Arizona Elite quoted Coach Bob Larsen, “If all we … More On Marathoning — The Speed Workouts

10 x 1 min hill repeats Recovery: Jog down easy after each uphill repeat.  Splits: N/A Magaly Soto, year-round Magaly is one of the best runners that I coach and is one of the best Master’s caliber runners in the country. She’s been on fire since placing 2nd overall at the Dallas Marathon in 2016 … More Workout of the Day — Magaly Soto

This chapter is not what you would expect in regards to Cross Country training. This chapter starts Lydiard taking a hypothetical athlete and walking us through the New Zealand training year. I am not as much concerned with his Cross Country training as I am with other key details he points out…see below. For all … More Running to the Top — Cross Country Training

The long run is what puts the tiger in the cat.  — Bill Squires Bill Squires is one of my favorite distance coaches…his book Speed With Endurance is one of my training go-to’s. During the 1970’s Squires, much like Lydiard, led a small contingency of men who were dominating the marathon scene; most notably of … More Learning From the Greats — Bill Squires

After the long runs, I believe that the most important details of the marathon training cycle come in the specific marathon sessions. So, what do I mean by specific marathon sessions? These are workouts where you are looking to get in a good amount of volume (mileage) at goal marathon pace and for me, these … More On Marathoning — The Specific Sessions

12 miles w/ miles 8-11 at goal half marathon pace.  Recovery: N/A Splits: 7:59, 7:16, 7:23, 7:07, 7:06, 6:54, 6:55, 6:54, 6:12, 6:07, 6:05, 6:39 Rachel Phillips, October 2011 This was about three weeks before Rachel’s goal half marathon in 2011. It was just a standard fast-finish long run…but the run was reduced in distance as … More Workout of the Day — Rachel Phillips

I don’t belong to the clenched-fist or air-clutching school of studied stylists…the mirror of perfect running action, fully-relaxed even under extreme pressure, arms driving straight through and carried easily at a natural height. The minute you clench that fist you tense the arm muscles and the shoulder muscles and encourage swaying and loss of balance. That … More Running to the Top — Style in Speed

“If you want to run, run a mile. If you want to experience a different life, run a marathon.”  — Emil Zatopek  I have never been the biggest fan of Emil Zatopek…mainly because I don’t know a lot about him. He’s a runner from the generation before where my running intelligence started; most of my … More Learning From the Greats — Emil Zatopek