Published October 12, 2025 

Hello. I hope you and your team are thriving and ready for the championship meets.

Today I want to talk about expectations for your team in these final weeks.

It’s so easy as a coach to say...
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​“If we can just have everyone run a great race on the same day, we’ll win the conference meet.”​
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Or...
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​“We’ll advance to state for the first time if everyone has their best race on the same day.”​
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But the truth is, you don’t...

Published October 5, 2025 

First, registration for the 2026 Boulder Running Clinics is ready!

The clinic is January 16-17, 2025, in Boulder, Colorado. Click ​here​ to learn more and read about the experience your peers have when they make the trip to Boulder.

Okay, on to today’s email…

Considering Sharing This with Your Athletes

You can find a useful article - 10 Keys for a Great Race in October and November - that you can share with your at...

Published September 28, 2025

The long run is a staple workout for cross-country runners during most of the year, providing significant fitness benefits from a weekly or bi-weekly long run.

However, as we head into October, this workout should be scaled back or even eliminated. Here's why.

When to Scale Back on Long Runs

A weekly long run, a long run every 10 days, is a fantastic way for high school runners to build their aerobic engines. And ...

Published September 21, 2025 

Quick question: Can an athlete race faster than their fitness level?

While high school athletes often figure out in races that they can endure more discomfort than they have in the past, the technical answer is "no."

If an athlete can’t run better than their fitness level, then their goal should be to run as close to their fitness level as possible.

So the question for you is, "How can I help my athletes I coach ...

Published September 14, 2025

In the last blog post, I talked about a workout you can use this week – 6 x 1000m, with short recoveries. You can read it here if you missed it.

I’d like to propose that when it comes to your “coaching energy,” you break up the rest of the season in the same fashion. Specifically, a hard push for 5-6 days, followed by a 24-hour break from XC.

Let’s start with the recovery period.

Saturday Afternoon to Sunday After...

Published September 7, 2025

Hello!

It’s a big week in Colorado, with some of the best teams in the state racing at the Liberty Bell Invitational, one of the fastest courses in the state. I’m excited to watch all the athletes on Saturday morning.

Before I dive into today's training topic, make sure to read through the entire email to learn about a special offer I'm excited to share with you as one of my subscribers.

Okay, let’s talk training!

Published September 3, 2025

Hey there!

It's early September, and you no doubt have the workouts planned. But the question today is, what are you going to do with the kids who trained all summer but are already dealing with race-day anxiety?

Related, do you have a resource you can share with your kids that will guide them on how to eat in preparation for a 4 pm meet after school versus a morning meet where they'll race at 9 am?

You don't need ...

Published September 1, 2025

Today I want to talk about mental skills.

Have you heard coaches (or parents) say, "Running is 90 percent mental."

That's a silly idea. If that were true, there would be tens of thousands of aspiring high school athletes lying on their backs in bed visualizing their way to PRs (though there is a ton of value in visualization, which I'll get to in a moment).

However, there is truth to this: fit athletes often fail t...

Published August 31, 2025

Two weeks in a row, and I’ve gotten to watch some early season cross country.

The first week was a small, humble meet. The second meet was an big-ish invitational, with some great competition. I can't wait to see what my HS and MS daughters' teams can do this year!

If you took the time to open an email on Labor Day weekend, you’re clearly committed to having a great season. So let’s get clear about what’s actually in ...

Published August 17, 2025

Hello. Cross country has begun here in Colorado with races starting this week. I’m fired up to watch my daughter and her teammates race next Friday.

Just like coaches in Colorado, you no doubt have kids who have put in a great summer of training.

Now the questions in mid-August are...

“Will they be able to race to their fitness level this year?”

“Will they run their best 3-4 races in the last 3-4 meets of the year?”...

Published August 10, 2025

I'm excited to start sending you these newsletters on Sunday mornings. I think it will be a great way to think about training before the week starts.

You missed the last three emails. I think they're really important:

​This one talks about coaching your "middle group" of kids​

​This article talks about the three types of athletes you'll coach this year​

​This final one talks about whether you should be training thro...

Published August 6, 2025

I've got two questions for you today.

Does your team make it to state every year, have you won a state trophy, or are in contention for one every few years?

If the answer to those questions is “yes,” then today’s email may not be for you.

But I hope you’ll continue reading and get value from my advice to coaches who are working hard to get to your level.

If you didn’t answer yes to that question, then consider this o...