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Vol. 20 No. 4
USATF Aims at New Heights 8 Fall Shoe Review 12 Summer Mileage Program 14
Victor Sailer/www.PhotoRun.net
Visit us on Facebook at American Track & Field or at www.american-trackandfield.com/atf/
On Our Cover 1500m specialist Matthew Centrowitz at the World Championships
Doug Pensinger/Getty Images for IAAF
INSIDE
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PUBLISHER’S NOTE Vol. 20 No. 4
I
remember how proud I was of Meb Keflezighi and Deena Kastor when they won Olympic marathon medals in 2004 in Athens. I was along the course and the conditions were stifling. Meb’s run for the silver was inspiring, and ended the Olympics in great style. Deena’s last 10 kilometers en route to her bronze were brilliant—and faster than that of the gold and silver medalists. Though those medals were won at a specific race, they were only possible because Meb and Deena had invested years doing great training, receiving fantastic coaching, all through both good and bad days. Bob Larsen and Joe Vigil were both there with Meb and Deena. Knowing that, I wonder what the 2024 medalists are doing now. Will the current middle distance medalists continue to train and grow, competing in 2016? 2020? Or 2024? Is the ‘24 gold medalist in the men’s 800 meters deciding that soccer is just not for him but maybe he’ll check out his coach’s suggestion of track & field? In this issue of ATF, we have a fantastic interview with USATF CEO Max Siegel and Chief Public Affairs Officer Jill Geer. It’s the second in a multi-part series on USATF’s mission and goals. Tell us what you think!
6 ATF Special Report • Publisher’s Note
Larry Eder
Group Publisher: Larry Eder, larry@runningnetwork.com Group Editor: Christine Johnson, christinej.ssm@gmail.com Advertising: Larry Eder, larry@runningnetwork.com Writers/Contributors: Cregg Weinmann, Mark Winitz Circulation Changes: ssmcirc@gmail.com Photographers: Victah Sailer/PhotoRun, USATF Layout/Design: Alex Larsen Editor: Larry Eder Pre-Press/Printer: W. D. Hoard & Sons Co., Fort Atkinson, WI Publisher’s Rep: Larry Eder, larry@runningnetwork.com ph: 608.239.3785; fax: 920.563.7298
In loving memory of Violet Robertson, 1913–2003 www.american-trackandfield.com ph: 608.239.3785; fax: 920.563.7298 shootingstarmediabiz@gmail.com
American Track & Field (ISSN 1098-64640) is produced, published and owned by Shooting Star Media, Inc., P.O. Box 801, Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin 53538-0801. Publisher assumes no liability for matter printed. Publisher assumes no liability or responsibility for content of paid advertising and reserves the right to reject paid advertising. Opinions expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Publisher. Copyright ©2013 by Shooting Star Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or stored in any form without written permission of the Publisher. American Track & Field is not related to or endorsed by any other entity or corporation with a similar name and is solely owned by Shooting Star Media, Inc. Publisher recommends, as with all fitness and health issues, you consult with your physician before instituting any changes in your fitness program.
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Story by MarkWinitz
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USATF Aims at
NEW Heights Max Siegel, USATF Chief Executive Officer and Jill Geer, USATF Chief Public Affairs Officer
Q: Max, can we begin by discussing some of the details of your “Smart Goals” for USATF that you rolled out at the organization’s 2012 annual meeting? Your first goal? Max Siegel: To increase USATF’s membership in 2013 by 20%. USATF
8 ATF Special Report • New Heights
Max Siegel became the fourth CEO of USA Track & Field on May 1, 2012—just three months before the Olympic Games in London—after serving on the organization’s board from 2009 to 2011 and as a marketing consultant for the federation. The board voted unanimously to hire Siegel after two CEO searches that took place over a period of 16 months. Siegel has worked in various executive capacities in the sports and entertainment fields for more than 20 years, with a record of innovation, consistent financial growth, and competitive success. His additional Olympic-family experience includes sitting on the board of the USA Swimming Foundation, and work with USA Gymnastics, USA Skiing, and the Goodwill Games while he was an attorney with Indianapolis-based Baker & Daniels in the 1990s. He is a cum laude graduate of the University of Notre Dame School of Law. Last November, at USATF’s Annual Meeting, Siegel announced nine “Smart Goals” on which the federation will direct its focus (see sidebar). In May, we discussed several of these goals, among other topics, in an interview with the CEO. Jill Geer, USATF’s Chief Public Affairs Officer, sat in on the discussion and provided background information and further insights. Geer, who joined USATF’s national office in 2000, oversees USATF’s integrated marketing and communications department, with responsibility over communications, marketing, broadcasting, and membership marketing. She serves as the organization’s spokesperson and adviser to the CEO and Board of Directors. Here’s the interview.
Q: From your perspective, what benefits can USATF can offer—now or in the future—to attract new members? Participation in high
school track & field and in road racing has steadily been on the rise. How can you encourage these participants to want to become members? Siegel: We found in our research that the majority of members we have now are members because they have to be. There’s a big segment of the population that are general participants in our sport that don’t make a connection between the sport and USATF as its national governing body. We also know that the vast majority of our members are youth. So the first thing we did was look at the value proposition of membership. You have to create value so people really want to be members. In addition to things that add value from a commercial standpoint—such as lifestyle discounts for the different age demographics—we will be offering things like training and nutrition tips, and content that is exclusive to members to enhance their active lifestyle. Jill Geer: Also, we hired (in March 2013) an Associate Director of Constituent Services. Her name is Desiree Friedman. She previously worked for the CIF (California Interscholastic Federation, the governing body for high school sports in the state) and has an impressive marketing background. Right now, she and her team are essentially tearing down and rebuilding our member benefits: who they’re for, what would attract people who don’t need to have membership, and how we encourage people to want a membership. We’re in the process of building these benefits based on the data that USATF gathered in a grassroots study that went to ten cities around the country where we polled people who know the sport and who don’t know the sport. Also, we’re looking at where our biggest areas for membership growth are. Obviously, we’ve been talking about the LDR community for years. First, we have to put the right membership package together, and then we have to market it to people, which we’ve never really done. Q: With the diverse constituents in our
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Q: How do you propose to do this? Through new sponsors? How do you create new commercial opportunities and sell the sport to new sponsors? Siegel: No, it’s not primarily through new sponsorship, although that’s an important component. USATF’s Bylaws state five purposes of the federation: development, management, performance, marketing, and diversity. Using these purposes as a foundation from a grassroots level, if we market, promote, and develop interest in the sport, drive new participation and membership, then that incremental revenue is significant. It can help our Associations and our [national] federation. We are doing the same thing with our sanctioned events. Event sanctions are another revenue stream and a huge opportunity. What benefits can we offer sanctioned events and what value can USATF offer them, from the standpoint of the presentation of the event, being part of a national marketing pool, and budget relief for race promoters? The Neustar, Inc. sponsorship that we sold for the U.S. National Road Racing Championships—a high six-figure, multiyear sponsorship—is an example of how we are creating and selling sponsorships to event properties. It’s the most significant sponsorship that we’ve sold in the last 10 years in a brand new sponsor category. Q: What do you think about Hy-Vee’s sponsorship of the Drake Relays—nearly $1 million—that was rolled out this year? What can
Q: Tying athlete visibility into these partnerships and branding makes a lot of sense. I’m not sure that USATF has ever done this before in a consistently meaningful way. Siegel: In fact, Adam Schmenk [USATF’s Associate Director of Broadcasting] and I just got back from Los Angeles, meeting with a lot of cable networks and other production companies and partners. We’re about to start producing a television series called “USATF 36” which follows athletes 36 hours before, during, and after they compete. We’re going to do a number of these television shows and use them as half-hour specials to really educate people about the sport, the athletes, and personalities. We’ll take some of this content and use it before and after track & field broadcasts, on our web site, etc. We’ll be building a brand to the athletes, creating an emotional connection between the fans and the profiled ath-
9 ATF Special Report • New Heights
Q: Your second ‘Smart Goal’ is? Siegel: To generate $1 million in new revenue each year over the next five years.
USATF do to help facilitate sponsorships on this level for other events? Siegel: Hy-Vee is the perfect example. I won’t say that USATF was instrumental in selling the sponsorship, but definitely we were involved on the [sponsor] fulfillment side. Drake became a part of our USATF championship series. We provided TV, which added value to the sponsorship. Irrespective of the type of event and where it is, all event organizers and promoters look to put people in seats, get as much exposure as possible, have budget relief, and underwrite it. Often when you go to a national sponsor, they’re looking for ways to stitch together major events across the country. So as the federation and national governing body—who, as a partner, collaborates in both the promotion and competitive opportunities for events—we look at attracting high level sponsors across [a series of] events. Also, we’re becoming extremely active in creating commercial opportunities for our athletes and working with them to build their brand while reinforcing the partnerships that USA Track & Field has with events, and frankly, with everyone in the industry. Geer: Hy-Vee is a great example of how sponsors work, especially with individual meets. The local meet works with, and for, their local corporate partner to get them on board [as a sponsor]. Hy-Vee is a Des Moines, IA-based company. (Note: The Drake Relays are held at Drake University in Des Moines.) Then USATF can help deliver a national platform. In Drake’s case, it’s via television and branding, and being part of the USATF national championship series. We were talking to Drake going back to the late fall [2012].
USATF
Story by MarkWinitz
sport, putting together a membership benefits package that has appeal to all seems like quite a challenge. Siegel: We’re looking at different categories of membership to address that challenge. Things like a fan membership for people who want to support our national teams, age-group memberships, affinity group/corporate memberships. Even in the area of diversity and inclusion, there are groups like Black Girls Run, which has [a membership of] 100,000 African-American females. So rather than put together an arbitrary set of benefits, we’re listening to our current members and potential members about the things of interest to them. Actually, we have a 50% attrition rate every year. It’s pretty amazing that we sustain 115,000 members when there’s that much turnover. So we’re also looking at the things we can do to retain our existing members.
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10 ATF Special Report • New Heights
letes, and then driving viewers to our events. So we’ve begun to be very active in the media space beyond our live events. This allows us to put the sport’s various assets on different marketing platforms. Editor’s Note: USATF launched its first “USATF 36” episode, featuring Sanya Richards-Ross, on NBC Sports Network last June during the 2013 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, leading into the ESPN2 broadcast of the meet. Q: This ties directly into another one of your Smart Goals: To identify partners to engage in efforts for direct event promotion. In these partnerships, we share risk, control commercial rights and share efforts. Can you tell me more? Siegel: Yes, three examples are the Millrose Games, adidas Grand Prix [New York], and Drake. Since I’ve been here, we’ve changed the business model from underwriting the entire event and taking no upside to jointly selling sponsorships together. We may cover television and event promotion costs. We help enhance the fan experience and try to drive ticket revenue. This past year has been a really great one for moving into this new model. We not only share risk, but everybody is excited and is committed to make sure the event is successful. Another reason for partnering with our different major events across the country is to coordinate calendars to ensure that the best athletes—both competitively and commercially—show up. We’re committed to a win-win for everybody. So, in my opinion, we have some unprecedented communication with stakeholders in all these individual events. Geer: Also, by restructuring the way we partner with events, and by reducing broadcasting costs through our negotiations with the network and our broadcasting company, this year we will reduce our annual costs related to the USATF championship series by $1 million. Q: Max, your next Smart Goal reads, in part, To enhance popular engagement through a 15% gate increase for events over comparable events from 2011... The popular view is that the general public’s interest in track & field comes primarily in Olympic years. How can we change this perception? What can we
do in the presentation of the events that will attract larger attendance? Siegel: For the last five years I’ve listened to a number of people talk about changing the way we present events, and upgrading their production value. While maintaining the integrity of the competition you need to present it in a way that’s fan friendly, and not necessarily athlete or purist friendly—such as doing some entertaining things related to event broadcasts. Again, I can’t stress enough that shoulder programming (such as the “USATF 36” episodes I’ve already mentioned) is a great way to attract fans. We talk all the time about how to produce a live event in a way that keeps it efficient from the competition standpoint, and shooting and presenting it in a way that’s easy to follow, engaging, and attracts core fans as well as casual fans. Geer: There are no easy answers. We’ve been involved in trying to do this for the last few years. I think this question really applies to invitational events because in our championship events you can’t mess with the number of rounds and that kind of thing. Max comes from an entertainment background, so [building the fan base and viewership] is very important to him. Q: The next Smart Goal is: To develop a comprehensive event strategy that includes, rather than segments off, youth, long distance running, masters, and administrative events. What’s your rationale behind this goal? Do you feel that some of these sport groups are currently being under-served? Siegel: No. But the way we’ve been structured as an organization is that youth oversaw youth events, LDR oversaw LDR events, etc. Jim Estes (formerly USATF’s Associate Director of Marketing and Long Distance Running Programs) has been promoted to Director of Events. We want to have some continuity and uniformity [across all events] with respect to the fan experience—all the elements of how they’re presented—maximizing the commercial value of the event for the LOC and USATF as a partner. So we want everything—such as the merchandise experience, the fan experience, the competition—to have as much continuity as we can [across events], and accountability with one person. Frankly, sometimes we get efficiencies by combining things. We’ve had some positive dialogues with gymnastics, for exam-
ple, about doing some combined events in the Junior area. We really want to reach out to develop relations with markets across the country. When people want to support our events, they look for economic impact studies and demographic data. When I tell people that 8,000 athletes and their families come to the USATF National Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships for ten days, it raises their eyebrows. It’s economic impact for the city’s Convention and Visitors Bureau. In the media space, whether it’s broadcast or webcast, perhaps it’s packaging the broadcast rights and getting a partner on board that will start to expose the sport on a wider basis. Geer: It’s really providing more administrative support across the board for events, which we haven’t done consistently in the past. Now, all USATF’s oversight [of championships and USATF-owned properties] is within our Events Department instead of [individual USATF sport committees]. Our Events staff people then bring in other people on our staff to work with the committees, the local organizing committees, and everything else. So it’s all more centralized than in the past, and we’re more consistent across events. This also helps us to better market the events to potential sponsors. Q: A couple of more questions: What additional things can the federation be doing to support our elite and emerging elite athletes whose basic needs are to pay the bills and have a good coach? Also, what can USATF do to get coaches more involved in USATF affairs? Siegel: Let me give you the top view answer. It’s crystal clear that we’ve gotten better, more efficient, and effective with taking our resources and investing them in the development of our elite athletes, resulting in better performance. We’ll continue to go down the path in terms of economic support, sport science, and investments in high performance training centers. We’re also launching efforts to create commercial opportunities for our athletes. These things should benefit not only our top tier, high visibility, elite athletes, but also our emerging elite athletes where a few thousand dollars really matters in their lives. In fact, I’ve just signed off on some high performance grants to some of our most visible
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Q: Can you comment on USATF’s current relationship with the USOC and how USATF might be able to facilitate better relationships with them? Siegel: I’ve been around the Olympic movement since 1989. I’ve served on the USA Swimming foundation board and had a great relationship with the USOC. I’ve also served on the board for USATF. I don’t know how it’s been in the past, but we have a fantastic relationship with the USOC. Without giving you any hype, I think they’ve been a extremely collaborative and supportive partner of ours. They’ve certainly supported me and my administration. We don’t have any issues. Geer: Last March, Scott Blackmun [USOC CEO], Lisa Beard [USOC Chief Marketing Officer], and Kelly Skinner [USOC Sport Performance Team Leader] met with us and several key athlete team leaders about athlete commercial marketing opportunities. They were thrilled with our performance in London. Q: I understand from conversations with other USATF administrators that the USOC bases its funding to sports federations for their elite athlete programs based on medal earnings in Olympic Games. Do you think there’s room for USATF to expand upon support from the USOC so it’s not tied so closely to medals? Siegel: We’re already having these discussions. I don’t know that it’s completely based on medal earnings. Their philosophy is to invest in ways so they see a return on their investment. And, a big part of it is medals. The USOC has increased their support of USATF’s high performance programs. The purpose of the USOC’s meeting when they came to meet with us in Indianapolis was to talk about ways that we can collaborate to expand the resource pool— whether we were selling sponsors together, or going after new sponsors. I feel that there are creative things that USATF can do in this arena—as one of the most diverse sports in the Olympic movement with some of the most celebrated and diverse athletes. Q: What can USATF do to facilitate more coordination and cooperation with the NCAA and collegiate athletic departments and programs to help transition collegiate athletes to the post-collegiate ranks? Siegel: At the time the USOC was in town there was a lot of discussion about how the
Olympic family and the NCAA can more closely align with one another to make each other’s jobs easier and be more integrated. Jill and our staff have had a number of meetings with different leaders at the NCAA about things. We’ve taken a proactive approach to figure out how to make this happen. On the coaches’ side of things, I’ve talked to our staff as recently as two weeks ago about constantly refining what we’re doing in coaches’ education. Philosophically, we’re trying to be the organization that adds value to our relationships, not what we get out of it. I talk regularly to college coaches about their interest in having access to information, elite coaches, resources, and tools that they need to help them with their athletes. In the last three or four years, I’ve seen improvement. Geer: Last year, at the U.S. Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Des Moines we conducted a grassroots study in the athlete area and specifically gathered data from collegiate athletes to see what USATF can do to help them. For instance, would a post-collegiate scholarship program make USATF membership useful and appealing for them? We’ve also had meetings with the NCAA and athletes this year about us helping to promote them. Q: Last question, Max. Your predecessor set a goal of 30 U.S. medals in track & field for the 2012 Olympic Games, and you stuck to that goal. (The U.S. took home 29 medals.—Editor) Are you set on exceeding that count in 2016? Siegel: I’m certainly not going to lower the expectation of how we perform in the 2016 Games. I think this has given us a good baseline. We’re looking at the programs that we think make us effective. We have a great [administrative] team in place in the high performance area. My expectation as the CEO of the federation is that we do that well or better in the next Olympic Games. Geer: Also, we had nine 4th-place finishes in London. I point this out because there are two things that are coupled: One is the medal goal. The other is: What defines success and failure? We won 29 medals and not 30. No one viewed that as a failure. Instead, it was viewed as a success.
A longtime writer for American Track & Field, Mark Winitz sits on USATF’s national men’s Long Distance Running Executive Committee and the Law & Legislation Committee. He also sits on Pacific Association/USATF’s Board of Athletics and is a certified USATF master level official and referee. t
Siegel’s Smart Goals for USATF 1
To increase membership in 2013 by 20% with no decrease from 2011 in net income.
2
To generate $1 million in new revenue each year for the next five years.
3
To identify ways to make existing opportunities more efficient, resulting in financial savings between 1–3%.
4
To identify partners to engage in efforts for direct event promotion. In these partnerships, we share risk, control commercial rights, and share profits.
5
To enhance popular engagement through a 15% gate increase for events over comparable events from 2011. Then increasing TV ratings by 20% and social media by 50%.
6
To develop a comprehensive event strategy that includes, rather than segments off, youth, long distance running, masters and administrative events.
7
To establish goals for operating reserves with a five-year goal to have nine months of operating reserves.
8&9 Working in tandem to raise $20 million over the next five years to create an endowment with proceeds going to support USATF operations.
11 ATF Special Report • New Heights
coaches. I don’t know that the world knows that the Bobby Kersees, John Smiths, and Dennis Mitchells of the world get the kind of support [they need] to train their athletes.
ATF-SpecialReport-3_Layout 1 10/15/13 1:39 PM Page 12
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t the recent Outdoor Retailer trade show in Salt Lake City, I came face to face with how much our world of running has changed. The show is a celebration of year-round outdoor activities, from adventure to trail, from camping to environmental concerns, to running. You’ll see investment bankers walking the show on the hunt for the next “cool” thing, and then there are the aging hippies who helm their own small running apparel brands. Cregg Weinmann, your footwear guru, and I spent a day checking out footwear and apparel brands. We visited a Brooks launch party for the Transcend, a new concept shoe coming in Spring 2014, and an ASICS media event where I was reminded of the intense competition in running footwear. Right behind the ASICS booth was the Saucony booth, where the Saucony lightweight running products continue to astound. In front of ASICS was the Brooks traveling trade show that takes a humorous look at advertising and communications and displays its fine performance running gear. I also enjoyed spending time with Jim Van Dine, president of HOKA ONE ONE, a young shoe company gaining cache in the ultra running community and among age 40+ runners who find that these shoes are helping them return to running. The Running Network team puts this review together twice a year to provide a synopsis of the best you’ll find on the retail shoe walls. Give it a read and then you’ll be ready to visit your favorite local running specialty store to select the running shoes that will serve you best.
Larry Eder President, Running Network LLC
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s you can imagine, I spend a lot of time around runners and attending running events. Lots of people know about my work with the Running Network’s shoe reviews, so I frequently field questions about the state of the running shoe industry and trends in product development. Here, as a Q&A, are how those exchanges usually go. Where is Minimalism going? In a nutshell, Minimal shoes help runners develop stronger feet. Minimalist shoes will continue to have a place in the market; Some estimates place it at about 5% of the overall running shoe market, which seems about right to me. The findings of researchers, developers, and runners working and running in this category—everything from shoe geometries to spare designs and lighter-weight materials—have penetrated the other categories. Minimalism has reignited the quest for innovation in what had become a stagnant industry. How has the Lightweight trend changed the running industry? Let’s face it: Light shoes are fun to run in. The technologies and engineered solutions we’ve surveyed over the last 20 years saw shoes that were heavy. We’re at a crossroads where new, lighter-weight materials and a paradigm shift in what runners need and want are making way for lighter shoes in all categories. What’s happening with traditional running shoe categories? A funny thing happened in all this tumult: The industry achieved some equilibrium. Minimalism was everywhere and growing, but now Neutral and Stability (especially lightweight, stable shoes) have come back with a vengeance. Every shoe in this review has some motion-stabilizing features, and the shoes are more evenly distributed between categories than we’ve seen in the past 5 years or more. Categories may blur some as full-contact bottoms and geometries (midsole shapes) that enhance the gait play a larger role in shoe design and as runners adapt to these simpler design solutions. There will be a little bit of the hydrid in most shoes (that blurring of the categories that I mentioned), so we’ll see more similarity among running shoes. The only real exception is the higher-end shoes where plushness reigns supreme: They are better cushioned and have a more luxurious feel. This rebalancing and innovation reinforce what we in the Running Network have been saying in our reviews since 1998: Know your feet and what they need. Educate yourself about how shoe companies are addressing your needs. Then head to a running specialty store to get its assistance in selecting a quality running shoe. —Cregg Weinmann, Running Network Footwear Reviewer
; American Track & Field www.american-trackandfield.com Athletes Only www.atf-athlete.com Athletics (Canada) www.athleticsontario.ca Austin Fit www.austinfitmagazine.com California Track & Running News www.caltrack.com Club Running www.rrca.org/publications/club-running Coaching Athletics Quarterly www.coachingathleticsq.com Colorado Runner www.coloradorunnermag.com Get Active! www.healthclubs.com Greater Long Island Running Club’s Footnotes www.glirc.org Latinos Corriendo www.latinoscorriendo.com MarathonGuide www.marathonguide.com Michigan Runner www.michiganrunner.net Missouri Runner & Triathlete www.morunandtri.com Running Journal & Racing South www.running.net RunMinnesota www.runmdra.org RUNOHIO www.runohio.com Track & Field News www.trackandfieldnews.com USATF’s Fast Forward www.usatf.org USATF–New England’s Exchange Zone www.usatfne.org The Winged Foot www.nyac.org The Winged M www.themac.com Youth Runner www.youthrunner.com '
BEST SHOE MOTION STABILIZING
BEST SHOE
BEST SHOE
FALL 2013
FALL 2013
PERFORMANCE
NEUTRAL
FALL 2013
Nike LunarGlide+ 5
Mizuno Wave Sayonara
ASICS Gel-Nimbus 15
BEST NEW SHOE
BEST RENOVATION
FALL 2013
FALL 2013
adidas adiStar Boost
Saucony Cortana 3
Reviewer: Cregg Weinmann Project Coordinator/Editor: Christine Johnson Designer: Kristen Cerer Proofreader: Marg Sumner, Red Ink Editorial Services Shoe Photography: Daniel Saldaña, Cregg Weinmann Advertising Sales: Running Network LLC, Larry Eder, President, 608.239.3785, larry@runningnetwork.com Publisher: Larry Eder, 608.239.3785 Website: www.runningnetwork.com For a Media Kit, please visit our website. This 2013 Fall Shoe Review is produced independently by Running Network LLC for its partner publications. All shoes reviewed were tested by experienced, competitive runners who were matched to the biomechanical purpose of each shoe model. Copyright © 2013 by Running Network LLC. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be stored, copied, or reprinted without prior written permission of Running Network LLC. Running Network LLC and its partner publications suggest that, as with all fitness activities, you meet with a healthcare professional before beginning or changing your fitness regimen.
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You’re now three months into your cross country training and racing is upon us fast and furious. While we all love to break the tape, there can be only one who does. However, there are other ways to evaluate your progress and successes: your team position, beating your course time, strength of your finishing kick, overall finish place, etc. Be proud of your achievements, identify ways you can improve each time out, and remember to focus. As always, special thanks to our partner, Saucony.
14 ATF Special Report • Summer Mileage
By now, most of you will have raced at least once or twice, and are getting into the racing groove. If you're doing early a.m. runs and need to cut one out, do it. If you're feeling good but not sure about your leg speed, try the change we suggest on Thursday for the next 3-4 weeks. Monday: Warm up; 45–50 minutes easy running; 8x150 yards relaxed strideouts on grass, jogging back to the start after each, no rest between; cool down. Tuesday: 1-mile warm up, 20-minute tempo run, 1-mile cool down. To determine your tempo run pace, add a half-minute to your present mile pace for a 5K. So if you can run 18:00 for a 5K now, that means a 5:50 pace. Add 30 seconds and your tempo run pace is 6:20 per mile pace. Wednesday: Warm up; 45–50 minutes easy running; 8x150 yards relaxed strideouts on grass, jogging back to the start after each, no rest between; cool down. Thursday: 1-mile warm up, 10 hill repeats (run 200 yds uphill, turn, jog downhill to start. Repeat nine more times, no rests); on the flat at the bottom of the hill, try for 8x150 yards as easy strikeouts, jogging to start, no rest between; 1-mile easy cool down. Or, if a race happens on Thursday and Saturday, finish up with the 10x150 yards and then do your 1-mile easy cool down. If you need some speed work, try doing the warmup; 6x800 meters at your race pace for the mile split in a 5K. (i.e., if you can run 18 minutes for 5K, your half pace would be 2:45 for 800 meters.) Friday: Warm up; 45–50 minutes easy running; 8x150 yards relaxed strideouts on grass, jogging back to the start after each, no rest between; cool down. Saturday: Easy 30-minute run, or a race of 5K for high schools, 8K for college. Sunday: Long, easy run, 65-70 minutes, on grass or dirt with friends.
Early season races are all about getting yourself into racing condition. It normally takes 3–4 races or more to feel ready to race, so don’t worry. The key races are conference and later. Monday: Warm up; 45–50 minutes easy running; 8x150 yards relaxed strideouts on grass, jogging back to the start after each, no rest between; cool down. Tuesday: 1-mile warm up, 20-minute tempo run, 1-mile cool down. To determine your tempo run pace, add a half-minute to your present mile pace for a 5K. So if you can run 18:00 for a 5K now, that means a 5:50 pace. Add 30 seconds and your tempo run pace is 6:20 per mile pace. Wednesday: Warm up; 45–50 minutes easy running; 8x150 yards relaxed strideouts on grass, jogging back to the start after each, no rest between; cool down. Thursday: 1-mile warm up, 10 hill repeats (run 200 yds uphill, turn, jog downhill to start. Repeat nine more times, no rests); on the flat at the bottom of the hill, try for 8x150 yards as easy strikeouts, jogging to start, no rest between; 1-mile easy cool down. Or, if a race happens on Thursday and Saturday, finish up with the 10x150 yards and then do your 1-mile easy cool down. Or if you need some speed work, try doing the warmup; 6x800 meters at your race pace for the mile split in a 5K. (i.e., if you can run 18 minutes for 5K, your half pace would be 2:45 for 800 meters.) Friday: Warm up; 45–50 minutes easy running; 8x150 yards relaxed strideouts on grass, jogging back to the start after each, no rest between; cool down. Saturday: Easy 30-minute run, or a race of 5K for high schools, 8K for college. Sunday: Long, easy run, 65-70 minutes, on grass or dirt with friends.
ATF-SpecialReport-3_Layout 1 10/15/13 1:39 PM Page 15
After this week, we'll provide a three-week championship training program, where we'll cut back a bit on hard days. Monday: Warm up; 45–50 minutes easy running; 8x150 yards relaxed strideouts on grass, jogging back to the start after each, no rest between; cool down. Tuesday: 1-mile warm up, 20-minute tempo run, 1-mile cool down. To determine your tempo run pace, add a half-minute to your present mile pace for a 5K. So if you can run 18:00 for a 5K now, that means a 5:50 pace. Add 30 seconds and your tempo run pace is 6:20 per mile pace. Wednesday: Warm up; 45–50 minutes easy running; 8x150 yards relaxed strideouts on grass, jogging back to the start after each, no rest between; cool down Thursday: 1-mile warm up, 8 hill repeats (run 200 yds uphill, turn, jog downhill to start. Repeat seven more times, no rests); on the flat at the bottom of the hill, try for 8x150 yards as easy strikeouts, jogging to start, no rest between; 1-mile easy cool down. Or, if a race happens on Thursday and Saturday, finish up with the 10x150 yards and then do your 1-mile easy cool down. Or if you need some speed work, try doing the warmup; 6x800 meters at your race pace for the mile split in a 5K. (i.e., if you can run 18 minutes for 5K, your half pace would be 2:45 for 800 meters.) Friday: Warm up; 45–50 minutes easy running; 8x150 yards relaxed strideouts on grass, jogging back to the start after each, no rest between; cool down. Saturday: Easy 30-minute run, or a race of 5K for high schools and college. Sunday: Long, easy run, 65-70 minutes, on grass or dirt with friends.
Photorun.net
You're in great shape, and should feel the difference between the early season and where you are now. To add some variety, consider replacing the Tuesday workout with repeat miles (say, 3 miles at 5K pace with 800m jog for HS or 4 x mile with 400m jog for college athletes. Monday: Warm up; 45–50 minutes easy running; 8x150 yards relaxed strideouts on grass, jogging back to the start after each, no rest between; cool down. Tuesday: 1-mile warm up, 20-minute tempo run, 1-mile cool down. To determine your tempo run pace, add a half-minute to your present mile pace for a 5K. So if you can run 18:00 for a 5K now, that means a 5:50 pace. Add 30 seconds and your tempo run pace is 6:20 per mile pace. Wednesday: Warm up; 45–50 minutes easy running; 8x150 yards relaxed strideouts on grass, jogging back to the start after each, no rest between; cool down. Thursday: 1-mile warm up, 8 hill repeats (run 200 yds uphill, turn, jog downhill to start. Repeat seven more times, no rests); on the flat at the bottom of the hill, try for 8x150 yards as easy strikeouts, jogging to start, no rest between; 1-mile easy cool down. Or, if a race happens on Thursday and Saturday, finish up with the 10x150 yards and then do your 1-mile easy cool down. Or if you need some speed work, try doing the warmup; 6x800 meters at your race pace for the mile split in a 5K. (i.e., if you can run 18 minutes for 5K, your half pace would be 2:45 for 800 meters.) Friday: Warm up; 45–50 minutes easy running; 8x150 yards relaxed strideouts on grass, jogging back to the start after each, no rest between; cool down. Saturday: Easy 30-minute run, or a race of 5K for high school and college. Sunday: Long, easy run, 65-70 minutes, on grass or dirt with friends.
We’ll be wrapping up with a 3-week championship program in our next issue and at www.runblogrun.com
15 ATF Special Report • Summer Mileage
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