Cross country running is a simple sport, and so it makes sense that cross country runners need fun cross country workouts that they can do in any environment.
I’m going to share the best high school cross country workouts that every cross country runner should run in the summer. Several of these workouts should also be done during the cross country season as well. If you're looking for some guidance on how to...
One of the biggest – and maybe the biggest – concerns for cross country coaches is “How am I going to keep the new athletes injury-free?” We all know that shin splints, tight IT-bands and Achilles tendons, and tight hamstrings can all be a problem for new athletes.
I put this group of athletes – who either didn’t run track or haven't done a sport prior to joining the cross country team – into the...
If you’re a high school coach, you know that excellent cross country races in October and November are directly related to runners putting in intelligent training in the summer.
I want to help you help your athletes with training that will a) keep them injury-free and b) have them fitter for the first important meet of the cross country season than they’ve ever been. Plus, I want to save you time in planning a progression of...
Coaches and parents want middle school cross country training to be fun and to lead to a lifelong love of running. But to do this a coach can’t simply take high school training and water it down. Nor should they expect a sixth grader to demonstrate the same commitment to training expected of a ninth grader.
My goal in this article is three-fold...
- To explain why a conservative approach to cross country training in the...
Almost every serious distance runner will end the track season saying, “I know I could have run faster.” Even if the season ended with multiple PRs and great races in the final two weeks, serious runners always want to make the next jump in performance, which is why summer training has always been so important for distance runners.
But before athletes start training for cross country, they need to fully recover from the track...
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...
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...
