What are strides? And why do cross country runners need to run strides to race faster?
Give me a few minutes and you’ll have the answer to both questions.
Let’s go!
A Stride is a Quick, Short, Controlled Sprint
A stride is simply a quick, short, controlled sprint — anywhere from 70m to 150m — that’s faster than your race pace and much faster than your training paces. To be clear, this is not all...
This article is for coaches of high school 800m runners, yet I’d use the same 800m workout for advanced middle school runners, as well as adult runners.
We want to do three things in an 800m pre-race day workout.
1. Get neuromuscularly ready to race 800m the next day.
2. Get mentally ready to race 800m the next day.
3. Avoid having any carry-over fatigue from this day to the race.
You won’t have to...
Here’s the deal – most articles about cross country training plans aren’t that helpful. The training suggestions are too general, the coach doesn’t explain the “why” behind the workouts, and they don't, therefore, end up clearly explaining how to train for cross country.
In this article I’m going to explain exactly what a summer cross country training program should include, with a simple...
Transcript - 5 min read time
This excerpt is from the Mental Skills for High School Runners course.
Jay: Your girls just finished second at the 2022 Nike Cross Nationals. What are some of the things you're doing all year long?
Kelly: All year long to make sure that those same girls now...when we go into the track season, can run a really good 1600m. I think so much of the mile is rhythm and cadence and learning how to run a...
Transcript - 6 min read time
This excerpt is from the Mental Skills for High School Runners course.
John O'Malley - MS - 800m Mentality for High School Runners
Jay: I want to start this off with a very simple question: How does the mentality change from somebody who's successful in 5k cross country who's also going to be on a state qualifying or even a state champion 4x800m relay?
John: Well, I think there's two significant...
Here's how you can get an athlete to run fast indoors and outdoors.
It's hard to strike the right balance of training and racing indoors while setting them up to faster outdoors. Do these three things to help kids PR in both seasons.
You know athletes need to:
- Build the aerobic engine
- Strengthen the chassis
- Rev the engine most days
Here's what you need to do for each of those elements to make sure athletes race well...
The first 4-6 weeks of training following the end of the cross-country season is a crucial time for serious high school runners. The reason is two-fold.
First, athletes need to fully recover from a long race season. They need time off if they had a minor injury or a “niggle.” And they need to give their bodies time to recover and regenerate.
Coaches have always (rightly) insisted on some amount of time off...
Injury-free running is more than doing daily pre- and post-run work.
When I was a first-year coach, I was convinced that if I could keep athletes healthy throughout a season, they'd run PRs.
Twenty-three years of coaching have only strengthened my conviction.
Now I have a system that keeps kids injury-free.
I want to share it with you today.
You know that injury-free, consistent runners race faster. But what...
This is an article is intended for coaches, yet the suggestions may apply to families who are looking for some guidance if their child is training on their own for post-season meets.
Most coaches have questions about what to do after the team’s last in-season meet to get ready for NXR or Footlocker. They wonder what the focus of the workouts should be. Is this the time to go back to long runs? Should the post-run work be...
If you're a serious high school XC runner, then you're no doubt excited to have your best races of the year in October and November. Here are 10 keys to remember that will help you race to your fitness level in the biggest meets of the year.
1. You Don’t Need an A+ Race
If you want to help your team advance to the next meet, or to place high at the state meet, you don’t need an A+ race. You simply need a solid race to help your...
Here’s a phrase I love to use with athletes:
If you want to do things you’ve never done before, you’ve got to do things you’ve never done before.
You asked your kids to do things like a new warm-up or new post-run work to run PRs in May.
Now that it’s May you are going to ask them to do things they’ve never done before:
- Go out at a faster pace
- Sit back longer and trust...
One of the biggest questions coaches and athletes have during the track season is what to do to properly warm-up when the athlete is running two races (aka "doubling").
Great question! Here's my concise warm-up for running track races on the track.
Quick Mobility Routine
After they finish the first race of the day, the athlete should take 10-15 minutes until they feel mostly back to normal. They can choose to jog for 2-3 minutes, though...
