11 Keys
To A Successful Distance Running Program
By Russ Ebbets, Editor, Track Coach
You may not agree
with all these pointers, but they have worked for your humble editor and
have been developed over years of running and working with distance runners. Speed is the orientation. Don't overwork them
or over race them. Try it, you'll like it.
Distance running is a simple thing. The key to success is putting
one foot in front of the other faster than your opponent. The complexity of distance running is its simplicity. As one's involvement
increases, the nuances of tactics and strategies evolve. Pace, physical preparation, mental focus and a host of other factors
combine to spell either success or failure.
I lecture frequently in USA Track & Field's Coaching Education program.
One of my areas is distance training. At the end of the lecture I summarize the presentation with these "11 Keys to a
Successful Distance Running Program." These points are the result of personal study over a decade of coaching and the
good fortune to have been blessed with athletes whose faith in the program and motivation towards accomplishment synergistically
combined to produce some great results, The simple thing was never simple.
1. WINNING IS A LEARNED SKILL
There are many factors that go into the mix of a champion. Some are measurable-speed, strength and endurance,
while dedication, perseverance and decisiveness are more difficult to quantify.
The Bible says, "Many
run the race, but only one will win; run so as to win." One needs to prepare as a champion would. Goal-oriented behavior,
personal sacrifice, an action oriented mindset, discipline, dedication and a directed willfulness are all "skills"
that can be modeled, molded and learned. These are the skills of a champion. Run so as to win.
2.
RUN ON GRASS AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE
Although few of us consider this the days of our lives
are numbered. We can influence "the number" by how we live our life. Food selection, personal habits, exercise patterns,
environmental and genetic factors all playa role.
It is a logical extension that the number of strides
in our competitive running career are also "numbered." Training factors such as shoe selection, workout content,
the type of training we do (distance runs, speed work, etc.), coupled with our restoration and regeneration means (flexibility,
chiropractic, massage, vitamin supplementation, hydration) are all factors that can influence both the quality and length
of a running career.
Another factor is training surface. Running is a "ground contact sport."
Though our bodies are resilient there is a wear and tear that results from athletic participation. A 150-pound runner places
about 35 tons of stress on each leg per mile. That doesn't count the ground reaction forces that can multiply the stress four
to seven times.
Hard, level surfaces offer little shock absorption and create increased wear and tear.
Grass is a more forgiving and less stressful surface. The fact that grass surfaces are slightly uneven enhances one's balance
and proprioception playing a secondary role in injury prevention.
3. LIMIT YOUR RUNNERS TO THREE
HARD EFFORTS PER SEASON
I cannot point to any studies to justify this statement. Experience
has taught me this. Even trying to define a "hard effort" can be tough. A race with a long kick, a hot day, a race
double, a fast race with a significant time drop-all these factors may make for a hard effort.
Why
three hard efforts? My experience has taught me that performance becomes erratic when there are more than three hard efforts
per season. There will be good races and bad races that are impossible to plan for, which erode confidence and create doubt.
Doubt is a cancer of the mind. Race so as to win, with three hard efforts per season.
4. REST YOUR BEST PEOPLE
IN UNIMPORTANT RACES
Cross country seasons are generally too long. It is a bad idea to have
a high school runner compete more than 11-12 times. The frequent race schedule does not allow for adequate recovery between
races. Scheduling commitments may require more racing. Because of this it becomes necessary to periodically and systematically
rest runners.
This will be a difficult rule to follow if you are coaching a team with only seven to
ten runners. For a successful season everyone must run every race and do well. It becomes a long season for everyone.
Study the race schedule. What are the dates one can rest people and still do well without a full team effort? Resolve to strategically
sit out a runner. This makes rule #3 easier to implement.
This will also develop the leader ship
by others on the team. They might win or at least they will know that they have produced under pressure. Leader ship
is a learned skill. See rule #1.
A coach once told me, "You have to let them run all the races
they want to!" Using his logic I countered that we should let them "drink and drive" because they want to.
He looked at me like I was an idiot, but he did not have anything else to say. And his teams never beat mine.
5.
AVOID THE "KILLER DOUBLE" OF MILE-TWO MILE
Steve Prefontaine has been all but deified
since his death. He was the national high school 2-mile record holder with a time of 8:41 and change. That is back-to-back
4:20 miles. As a high schooler he made international teams. He was a man.
Pre ran the killer double
three times in high school. He doubled in the 880 mile four more times. He doubled seven times in high school. His other
high school marks were a 4:06 mile and a 1:51 half. I don't get what coaches don't see. What is the long-term goal of a coach
who lets a kid double seven times in a month?
There is a cumulative stress to distance running Excessive
doubling diverts energy used by the body for growth and development to recovery and survival. The future is spent on the present.
Most coaches are quick to use Pre as a model of performance excellence. Unfortunately for some reason
they can't see his high school career as a model for good sense.
6. NEVER DOUBLE A STEEPLECHASER-- LOBBY
TO CHANGE THE HIGH SCHOOL DISTANCE TO 2000M
The 3000m steeplechase is an exhausting event.
It is a commonly held belief that the fatigue created by
running the 3000m steeple is equivalent to that of running 10,000m
(6.2 miles). The reason for this is that not only does the steeple require one to run fast but also the immovable barriers
and water jump require one to jump and forcefully land over 30 times during the course of a race-from one leg to one leg.
The race not only exhausts one's aerobic abilities but also one's strength qualities with all the jumping.
Watch most any high school race. For three or four laps the barriers are negotiated smoothly. As fatigue sets in around 4+
laps each barrier is followed by a lengthening recovery period. The strength stores in the athlete are exhausted. The runner
struggles to regain momentum for 3-5 seconds and another barrier occurs. The last two laps are done in fits and spurts.
A 2000m race would allow the high schooler to run hard virtually the whole way. Were they to continue
at that pace they would produce an excellent 3000m steeple time, With two years maturity and developmental training, they
will.
Why never double? If it takes one day to recover for each five minutes raced and the race produces
the fatigue associated with a 33-34-minute race (a good high school time) it would take close to a week to recover from one
3000m steeple race. Doubling in the steeple is more of a killer double than the mile-two mile.
7.
LIMIT THE NUMBER OF HIGH SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY RACES TO 11-12, IN COLLEGE TO 7
Racing should
be used for performance and development. The body will adapt to the stresses placed upon it. There is a cumulative stress
to distance running. If the stress is so great or the recovery inadequate energy stores marked for development are shifted
towards survival, the result being stunted growth.
The stress accumulates because of inadequate recovery
time. This can be shown with numbers. Most high school XC races are 5000m, with a good male time being 17 minutes, 21 + for
females. If it takes the body one day to recover for every five minutes raced it would take a male 3.4 days and a female 4.2
days to recover from each 5000m race.
The average high school program races twice per week beginning
in the last week of September and ending about the second week of November. This presents the opportunity to race 15 times
using a twice-weekly schedule. The male race schedule barely allows recovery for two races per week and the women are on a
negative spiral right from the start. What makes this argument more compelling is that the stress and recovery from hard training
days is not even factored in.
All this underscores the importance of rule #4-periodically resting
runners from unimportant races. This would allow a 15-date schedule for the team, but individuals would have a lesser schedule.
8. RUN HIGH SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY DUAL MEETS AT 2.5 MILES
There are several
reasons for this. First go back to rule #7. A 2.5-mile race for a male might average 14 minutes to complete requiring 2.8
days of recovery or about 14 hours quicker recovery than a 5000m race. For a female a 17-minute race would require 3.4 days,
more than 19 hours quicker or almost a full day less than needed for a 5000m race.
There will also
be less stress over the course of a season. Ten races at 14 minutes v. 17 minutes (5000m) for males would mean 30 minutes
less race stress on the body over the course of a season. The difference is even greater for women. This produces the equivalent
of two fewer races per season.
A second point is speed. The object of racing is to run fast. Any race
over three minutes requires endurance. On a championship level speed always wins out over the last 400-800m. Would it not
make sense, on the developmental level, to make speed the preeminent quality to train for?
Once upon
a time the course record holder for Van Cortlandt Park at 2.5 miles was a guy named Marty Liquori. He broke four minutes for
the mile while still in high school. Jim Ryun held the high school mile record at 3:55 and change. His high school cross country
races were two miles. Neither Ryun or Liquori ever raced 5000m in high school.
9. MAKE THE HOME COURSE
FLAT AND FAST AND TRAIN FOR SPEED
Endurance is an easier quality to develop than speed. In
fact, physiologists would argue that speed is genetically determined by muscle fiber type, the fast glycolytic fibers. Nonetheless,
speed is a technique that can be done right or wrong. And the difference between right and wrong is 10% as it relates to time.
Improving neuromuscular function can influence this 10% differential by coordinating the body to quickly
execute the desired actions. Part of this coordination is leg turnover rate. Reducing the time of single support ground contact
by 1/100th of a second in a 2.5-mile race reduces the total race time by 20 seconds. Reducing the time of ground contact support
is a speed action.
Shorter, flatter courses allow for faster running. This allows runners to win with
speed. Speed endurance will develop as will pure endurance. Use endurance as a secondary tactic.
This needs to be said:
All things being equal (which they never are) the faster runner will win. Note the word faster.
10.
DO NOT LET HIGH SCHOOL KIDS RACE FARTHER THAN 5000M
There are (but they are few) high school
runners who are strong enough to aggressively race 5000m. The rest must submit to the race and become passive in part. Champions
are not passive.
We have discussed recovery times-which are more of a factor in a five-mile, ten-mile
or longer race. Another thing to consider is leg speed. Long races train slow actions. This is inconsistent with the philosophy
of speed. Tactics are generally simpler and take longer to implement. The races unfold slowly; the need to think quickly is
less necessary.
A long run, a steady state run, can have a positive training effect. A long race does
little to prepare one for the rigors of a cross country or a track season.
11. LET FROSH BE FROSH-DON'T
MOVE THEM UP
I always dressed the freshman team in large t-shirts. They were too big and
never fit. In the pictures the frosh team looked like hell. One time a mother brought this to my attention, "You brought
the wrong shirts," she said. I told her I didn't. I told her that everything I did with the team had a reason. I told
her I was encouraging them to grow. That is a true story.
Winning is a learned skill and competition
is intimidating. Large invitationals, with the flurry of activity, the colors and sounds, can be terrifying to a freshman.
Varsity competition will simply overwhelm them. Freshmen need time to get used to this.
A strong developmental
program gives the freshman something to grow to, something to hope for, something to dream about, to develop an expectancy
for. Freshmen identify more with their frosh teammates than with seniors. They make plans together and will motivate each
other, now and in the future. This develops a sense of cohesiveness and team spirit. Great teams have great spirit.
Let the varsity be a goal. Goal achievement generates excitement. Excitement breeds enthusiasm. Enthusiasm precedes success.
Success comes with growth. Encourage them to grow.
Athletic development should be the result of managed
control. The coach can control most all the "rules" on the list. Doing enough things right allows great things to
happen. Train for speed. Don't over race. Develop the patience to let development come with the turn of a calendar page and
not the sweep of a second hand. Winning is a learned skill, so run and train and live so as to win.
FROM: TRACK COACH 166
