Why 5 Minutes of Running on Day One Will Set Your Athletes Up for Success

You've got a new athlete standing in front of you on the first day of summer practice. Maybe they ran cross country in the fall but did absolutely nothing all winter and spring. Maybe they're an eighth grader who's never been out for cross country. Or maybe they're an upperclassman who played baseball or softball and is trying distance running for the first time.

What do ...

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 training days, whic...

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 out sprinting, but it’s also much faster th...

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 rationale for each workout. So, if you're looking for s...

 This 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 challenging, or should it 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 team. If every a...