Published November 2, 2025

Hello!

This is always a tricky time of year for me to write a post.

Some states, like the state I'm in, Colorado, had their state championship yesterday. Other states, like California, still have a long way to go. And state like Nebraska have been done for over a week.

But at some point, no matter what state you're in, you likely have kids who are doing one of two things:

1. They're going to run at a postseason meet...

Published October 26, 2025

Hello!

In the state of Colorado, the state meet will be happening next week. If your state doesn’t have state on November 1st, then it’s coming up soon after that.

Last year, the Niwot boys won the Nike Cross Nationals championship. I’m blessed that Kelly Christensen of Niwot is a close friend, and I’m fortunate that he’s willing to share his training approach in the new edition of Consistency Is Key, which came out ...

Published October 19, 2025

Hello!

I know this is a busy time of year, so today's blog is short and sweet. I’ve got one piece of advice for your athletes and one piece of advice for you.

Here we go...

One Piece of Advice for Your Athletes

I shared the following on Instagram and I think your kids may benefit from it...

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 ...