"The single best thing for my coaching career..."

Published December 14, 2025

Hello!

I've been getting lots of messages from coaches who are coming to the Boulder Running Clinics. Today I want to share hours and hours of free videos that you can watch right now or any time over the coming winter break to get a taste for what's at the clinic.

The clinic is special, and really is a unique learning opportunity. As Coach Hayes says...

"I have been coming to the Boulder Running Clinic since 2019...and it has been the single greatest thing for my coaching career."

(December 21st): I'm going to share full clinic videos as a free holiday gift. You'll have access to them whenever you're ready—whether that's over break or later this winter. If you don't want to think about track until 2026, no problem.

Today: Here's a YouTube playlist of 45 video excerpts from past clinics. Most of these you can listen to like podcasts on a run or a walk.

​Click here to watch/listen.

Boulder Running Clinics 2026

I also want to make sure you know what's happening January 16-17 in Boulder.

We've got plenty of tickets available, and our reduced room rate at the Embassy Suites is still available for a few more weeks. If you're planning to come, now's a great time to book your hotel and flight.

Quick bonus:

The next 10 coaches who register will receive free OOFOS recovery footwear!

If you haven't tried OOFOS, their recovery sandals and slides are unbelievable. The foam absorbs impact in a way that's hard to describe until you experience it—it's like walking on air. If you're someone who's on your feet all day at track meets or getting in long runs with your athletes, these are a game-changer for recovery. Once the 10 pairs are gone, they're gone.

The Speakers

Mike Scannell - Hamilton High School (AZ)

We’ve never had a speaker who’s coached an Olympic medalist. We’ve never had a speaker who’s coached a world record holder. Mike Scannell has done both.

If you follow professional running at all, you know Grant Fisher. Two bronze medals at the Paris Olympics in the 5,000m and 10,000m—the first American to medal in both events at the same Games. World records in the indoor 3,000m and 5,000m this year. Six American records. Mike has been Grant’s coach since high school, when Grant was a sub-4:00 miler and two-time Foot Locker national champion.

But here’s what makes Mike’s presentation valuable for high school coaches: he’s still coaching high school. He’s the distance coach at Hamilton High School in Chandler, Arizona, where he’s coached 42 individual state champions since 2010 and led the program to state titles in cross country and track. Hamilton’s 2024 cross country team posted the fastest cumulative time and lowest point total in Arizona history.

Mike McClain - Eastwood High School (TX)

Mike McClain has spent his entire 34-year coaching career in El Paso, Texas, working with athletes across the full economic spectrum. He coached at Bowie High School, ranked as the third poorest school in the nation, and now coaches at Eastwood High School. His ability to develop championship-level programs regardless of resources has made him one of the most respected coaches in Texas.

The numbers speak for themselves: 13-time El Paso Coach of the Year, two-time Texas Coach of the Year, six NXN qualifications, multiple state championships and podium finishes, and two NXN individual All-Americans. In 2018, Mike became the first coach to qualify an all-Hispanic cross country team to NXN.

What I love about having Mike at the clinic is that he represents something important: you don’t need a wealthy school district or a tradition-rich program to build something special. You need knowledge, commitment, and the ability to connect with kids. Mike has been doing that for over three decades.

Mike is giving two presentations at the clinic.

The first, The Poor Man's Altitude, covers how his program uses heat training to gain a physiological advantage—a creative adaptation when you don't have access to altitude or expensive resources.

The second, Training Smart When You Can't Train Rich, dives deeper into how he's built championship programs without the budgets that many successful programs rely on.

I'm really excited about both of these talks because they get at something fundamental: coaching excellence isn't about what resources you have, it's about what you know and how you apply it.

Dani Cook - Fossil Ridge High School (CO)

Dani Cook took over at Fossil Ridge in Fort Collins in 2016. In less than a decade, she’s rewritten the record books—she’s coached every distance school record at Fossil Ridge across both the boys and girls programs. Both teams have maintained state meet appearance streaks lasting over a decade.

This past year was historic. The Lady SaberCats won the 5A State Track and Field title in spring 2025—the first state title in program history—winning by 25 points. In cross country, the girls won their fourth consecutive regional title, finished third at state, and then qualified for Nike Cross Nationals for the first time in program history. At NXN, they finished 8th in the nation.

Dani isn’t just a great coach—she was an elite athlete herself. She ran collegiately at Indiana State, spent several years with a professional Brooks training group, and qualified for the 2020 Olympic Trials Marathon. Before Fossil Ridge, she coached at the NCAA Division I level at Western Michigan and IUPUI. She knows what it takes to compete at the highest level, and she’s translated that into building a powerhouse high school program.

Jay Johnson - Denver East High School (CO)

This year is different for me personally. I’m going to be coaching the distance athletes at Denver East High School this spring. By the time the clinic happens in January, I’ll have been coaching for several weeks, and I’m excited to share with you what we’re doing at Denver East.

For years I’ve been “coaching coaches” through the Track Training System and XC Training System. Hundreds of coaches use these systems, and tens of thousands of athletes have stayed injury-free and run PRs because of them. But there’s a difference between creating a system and implementing it with real kids in a real program with a real culture. I’m taking what I’ve built and putting it into practice at a school with a solid cross country foundation, working alongside a great head coach - who will be at the clinic - to build the track program.

I’ll be sharing what’s working, what I’m learning, and how I’m adapting the systems to fit a specific group of athletes. It’s going to be a different kind of presentation from me than you’ve seen before.

Why I Think You Should Come

When I look at this lineup, I see coaches who’ve succeeded at the highest levels of the sport in very different ways:

• A coach who’s developed an athlete from high school runner to Olympic medalist and world record holder—while still coaching high school kids every day.
• A coach who’s built championship programs at some of the most economically disadvantaged schools in the country, proving that excellence isn’t about resources.
• A coach who was an elite athlete herself, who’s taken a program from good to nationally ranked in less than a decade.

And me—finally putting my own systems into practice with a high school team and learning what that’s really like.

I’m confident this is going to be one of our best clinics ever, and I’m hoping you’ll seriously consider coming to Boulder.

The Embassy Suites is the newest hotel in Boulder, and we’ve got a discounted rate for clinic attendees. There’s a link to book your room on the registration page.

The ticket is $295, same as last year.

Here's What You're Peers Are Saying

"This was my first Boulder Running Clinic and will definitely not be my last.

I have attended many other clinics, but this was amazing. Sometimes other clinic speakers are collegiate or professional coaches that do not have the same difficulties we experience in high school. Coaching high school is a different set of challenges and I feel the Boulder Running Clinic is geared specifically for us.

Each speaker brought a different set of experiences to share, making each presentation thought provoking and full of ideas to consider. I feel I improved as a coach just being there.

I also feel the whole clinic was geared toward collaboration and interaction with other coaches from all over the U.S. I made so many contacts, and friends over a 3 day period. It was a great experience!

The clinic was well worth my time and money to attend. I think the value supersedes similar costs incurred at other clinics. I traveled from Ohio and felt it was worth the flight cost to experience this caliber of speakers and collaboration. I feel the videos are very helpful to review at a later time.

Attending the clinic can feel overwhelming, but the reassurance that the content can be reviewed later is a big benefit." — Tom Vernot

"This was my first time attending the Boulder Running Clinic and the experience was fantastic.

The speakers came from unique backgrounds and were completely transparent in their presentations. Coaching philosophy was reinforced with real life examples, offering unique insights into some of the country's most successful programs.

The coach's socials were another highlight of the weekend. I was blown away by the wealth of knowledge from the other attendees, and there was a spirit of community that I haven't found anywhere else.

Overall, the clinic gave me and our other coaches plenty of practical takeaways, allowed us to identify areas we need to improve, and offered validation in things we're doing right.

The weekend has sparked some great conversation amongst our coaches, so I'd highly recommend attending as a full staff if you have the chance." — Brian Marshall

To learn more about the clinic or register: https://www.boulderrunningclinics.com​

If you have questions, reply to this email or reach out to [email protected].

Keep an eye out next Sunday for the FREE Winter Video Collection.

Let's go...to the clinic!

Jay

PS - I'm sharing more content on Instagram and Facebook, documenting what we're doing at practice. subscribe to those feeds, and you'll see me most days posting content.