Published January 11, 2026

📌 KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Running by feel is the most important skill for distance runners — more important than hitting exact paces
• It's essential for racing middle distances (knowing how the first 200m of an 800m should feel)
• It helps athletes stay injury-free by recognizing when to back off
• Takes months, not weeks, to develop
• Lincoln High School (3x NXN qualifiers) uses "run by feel" terminology constantly, especi...

Published January 4, 2026

📌 KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Assign long runs by MINUTES, not miles (so athletes can "win the day" even in bad weather)
• Add strides in the last 20 minutes of the long run for three reasons:

    - Ensures good posture when fatigued

    - "Revs the engine" (speed work) during an aerobic workout

    - Forces negative split pacing — the last 20 min will be faster

• Hard days need to be hard, easy days need to be easy — the ...

Published December 28, 2025

📌 KEY TAKEAWAYS

•  Biggest mistake: Assuming your athletes trained over break. They didn't.
• "Meet them where they are" this week — not where you wish they were
• Four elements of modern track training: Proper warm-up → Running → Strides → Post-run strength
• "Extend the aerobic stimulus" — keep heart rate elevated by doing all elements back-to-back
• "Metabolic changes occur faster than structural changes" — young ...

Published December 14, 2025

📌 KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Boulder Running Clinics: A unique learning opportunity for coaches
• Hours of free videos available to watch before the clinic
• Coaches who attend say it transformed their programs
• Shannon Thompson (NAU mental performance coach) offers mental skills training
• Almost 100 videos available from 2018-2026 in the bundle
• "I have been coming since 2019..." — Coach Hayes

Hello!

I've been getting ...

December 10, 2025

📌 KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Common questions about the Track Training System answered
• Training plans for 800m, 1600m, and 3200m athletes included
• Addresses: Upperclassmen with high mileage, freshmen/sophomores, winter sport athletes, late joiners
• Includes video library, detailed post-run training, webinars, priority email support
• Lifetime access with all future updates
• Bonuses: Consistency Is Key copies, Complete HS Runner co...

December 9, 2025

📌 KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Yes, kids can PR every time the weather is nice in April and May — if you plan now
• The road to healthy, PR-setting athletes in April/May starts in December/January/February
• You need different training plans for: 3200m kids, 1600m kids, 800m kids, 4x400m kids
• Freshmen/sophomores who can't run solid 1600m times won't become great 3200m specialists later
• Consistent athletes who stay injury-free always be...

Published December 8, 2025

📌 KEY TAKEAWAYS

• When weather is nice and competition is good, your kids should PR most of the time
• Times that won state medals in 2004/2014 aren't even making regionals anymore
• It's partly shoes and tracks, but mostly sophistication of high school coaching
• If you're not doing modern training, you're falling behind
• The Track Training System provides plans for every type of athlete on your team
• One investme...

Published December 5, 2025

📌 KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Training from December through May specifically for boys breaking 2:00, girls breaking 2:20
• 800m is 60% aerobic — still need to build the aerobic engine
• Different training needed for: Upperclassmen, freshmen/sophomores, winter sport athletes, late joiners
• The athlete must practice PR splits to PR at the meet
• Practice at game speeds — coaches in other sports do this, so should you
• Kids who ...

Published December 4, 2025

Hello!

You might be wondering, “Wait - Jay emails me on Sunday and today is Thursday.”' Yes, that's true!

The reason for this blog today is I've got specific instructions and workouts for how you can keep your kids injury-free when the season starts. Tomorrow, I'll follow up with an in-depth email about 800m training. While it's more emails than usual, these strategies could save your season.

I'll dive deeper into t...

Published December 3, 2025

📌 KEY TAKEAWAYS

• High school running has gotten dramatically faster — standards keep rising
• The difference maker: Modern, sophisticated coaching approaches
• Winter training (December-February) determines spring success
• Athletes need to stay injury-free AND have fun to keep improving
• Specific training plans needed for each event and athlete type
• Coaches who invest in learning will see their athletes break th...

Published November 30, 2025

I’m fired up about what’s happening this week, and I wanted to share it with you.

But first, two things you need to know:

One: Starting Wednesday morning, I’m going to send you a series of emails about the exact training you can implement this winter so your athletes are running faster than they’ve ever run in April and May. We both know that the way they’re going to do that is by staying injury-free all winter long...

Published November 23, 2025

📌 KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Key concept: "Extend the aerobic stimulus" — keep heart rate elevated throughout entire practice
• This principle will transform your winter training and lead to PRs in April/May
• Five aerobic workout types: Long runs, Fartlek, Progression runs, Aerobic repeats, 30-90 fartlek
• Assign long runs by MINUTES rather than miles to help athletes run by feel
• Jeff Boelé's dynamic warm-up works through a...