Visiting Bucknell

I went up to Bucknell this past weekend so Mollie could take a look at the school. As always, it was neat to be back and get to run on the hills and roads.

I got to see the opening meet for Bucknell. I loved seeing the top guy from Bucknell turn around in the chute and shake hands with the 2nd place guy from Susquehanna. I also love the video wrap-up and the winning women's and men's runner talking about running in a pack together and helping each other.

I did a nice run early Saturday morning on Turtle Creek/Pheasant Run/Old Schoolhouse Rd. 7 miles and only 9 cars. Real hills. And of course a lot of great memories.

The Right Way to Run

There is an article in today's Philadelphia Inquirer by Gina Kolata from the New York Times News Service with the title "The right way to run? There isn't one".

She articulates one of the discussions we were having last weekend at the store about how the winner of the women's marathon, Constantina Tomescu, had terrible looking form. Paula Radcliffe, the world record holder at 2:17 also has a bobbing, jerky motion that looks very inefficient. Haile Gebrelesassie runs on his toes. Steve Prefontaine wasted energy when he ran.

My Coach always said that if you ran enough miles, your stride would eventually smooth out to be right for your body. Maybe for Paula Radcliffe, bobbing her head is what makes her most comfortable.

The author of the article sites a couple of different researchers. William Kraemer of the University of Connecticut did a study of top marathoners. 62 percent are heal-toe runners like Deena Kastor. 36 percent are midfoot runners like Olympic 5K and 10K champion Kenesia Bekele. 2% are toe runners like Haile Gebreselassie, world record holder in the marathon, and my daughter Allison.

To me the answer always comes back to - go run more miles if you want to get better. It will be the key to building your cardiovascular system and pumping more oxygen to your muscles more efficiently - the key to improving your running. As Peter Cavanaugh, head of orthopaedics and sports medicine for the University of Washington, said of his tests he ran on Pre back in the early 70's - "Pre made up for it (wasted motion) with a tremendous ability to pump blood to his muscles. He had the biggest engine."

South Jersey Returning Runners

We are getting the 2008 South Jersey Cross Country website ready at www.runningco.com. One of the early pages we have done is to put together a list of returning runners and what their times were at Holmdel.
Returning Boys
Returning Girls

Let us know if you see any updates or corrections we can make.

Getting in Shape

Each year the same thing happens. A new runner comes out for the team. The team starts together and all of a sudden they are breathing hard and falling behind, while the veterans of the team seem to be talking and hardly breathing at all, and running faster. The coaches say “just get your miles in and you’ll get into shape”.

But what does getting in shape really mean?

Well, to push your body forward you need two basic things – muscles and oxygen. Muscles make sense. Just like when you do pushups every day for a couple of weeks, you can do more at the end of two weeks than when you started, the same is true in running. Your muscles become more toned to push your body forward, and you can go further and faster.

Oxygen delivery is the really important factor in distance running though. Every time your muscles contract to push yourself forward another step there is a little chemical reaction between the glucose and oxygen in your body creating that energy. People generally have plenty of glucose – especially for a 5K race or under an hour of running – so that is not the limiting factor. Oxygen is the limiting factor. It is why you get short of breath so easily when you are starting to get in shape.

The best way to improve the oxygen delivery system is to run. Every day. At an easy pace.

Running too fast is one of the most common errors made by new runners (and even veteran runners). Running too fast makes muscles sore and limits the ability to go out and run every day. Running too fast increases the risk of injury as you are stretching your muscles and ligaments to their limits. Running too fast limits the distance that you can go on a single run. Your heart and oxygen delivery system get built up a lot more by going for a slow 5 mile run than a fast 3 mile run.

Coach used to tell us that we did not get the elite level runners at Bucknell, and the only way we could compete with these other schools was to build up our base. We ran 100 miles a week most of the year. Over four years this had an accumulating effect of building very high capacity and efficient oxygen delivery systems. We may not have been as talented as other teams, but we had built up to the point where we could compete with them.

We take a similar approach on the MXC team. We recommend the following template for runners:

Freshman/Year 1: 25-30 miles per week.
Sophomore/Year 2: 35-40 miles per week.
Junior/Year 3: 40-50 miles per week.
Senior/Year 4: 50-60 miles per week.

To optimize this, the mileage should be done on a year-round basis. With some variation of lowered mileage towards the end of a season and a week or two off when the XC and track seasons are over and a gradual rise back up to this mileage level.

While some elite high school teams train in the 70-100 mile per week range, we do not recommend it except for the unusual athlete. We think most high school boys are still growing and developing, and too much mileage can cause injury or burn-out on the sport.

MXC Guiding Principles

We have 4 Guiding Principles on the Moorestown Cross Country Team:

1. We are a Team. Most people think running is an individual sport. However, MXC is a team. We run workouts in packs. We run races in packs. When one of us has a bad day, the other guys pick him up. We are always there for each other. We can always count on each other. We trust that we are each putting our best efforts forward for the sake of the team.

2. We Work Hard. From the Championship Squad thru the guys trying to earn a Varsity letter by running 19 minutes thru the guys trying to earn their first Mileage T-Shirt. We all know that to be our best, we have to put in the miles – year round.

3. We Learn. While Cross Country seems like such a simple sport (run as fast as your body will allow for 5 kilometers), the fact is we all learn something from the sport every day. What is the best way to get in shape? How do I avoid injuries? How far can I push myself? Can I make the Championship Squad? What does it take to wear the Bumble Bee Shirt at Meet of Champions? How is what I learn running useful in school, in life?

4. We Have Fun. We like running. We like competing. We like seeing far we can push ourselves. We like our teammates. We like seeing our team progress during a season. We like Psych Parties. We like Summer Camp. We like cheering on our teammates.

The MXC 2008 team has the chance to be our greatest team yet in terms of fulfilling our guiding principles. I can’t wait for the real season to begin!

Summer Mileage

There is one overwhelming key to a successful high school cross country season - a summer full of running.

The chart is of the mileage and performance compare for the MXC team of 2005. It shows that the more mileage run, the better the times.


The only real way to get enough miles in for a season is to run all summer long - starting in June.

I'll do another post at some point to give the physical reasons for this, but the basic principle is that with each mile run, the cardivascular system is built up a bit more. Making the delivery of oxygen to muscles more efficient and effective.

This is not a secret, and most good high school teams have their top runners logging 40-80 miles per week during the summer.

There are a wide variety of summer programs out there. Here are some quick links to give ideas on how different schools approach summer training:
WWP South, NJ - 40-80 miles per week
Flathead, MT - 40-50 miles per week
Claremont - 40-60 mpw
Washington Lee - 40 mpw

Joe's Eugene Pictures

Joe Halin, the manager for the Moorestown Running Company, went out to see the Olympic Trials. You can see some of his photos on our store website. He has pictures with Ryan Hall, Alan Webb, Gabe Jennings, Nick Symmonds, and Anthony Famiglietti. Very cool...