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From motivational mantras to effective training advice, here’s the wisdom that sticks with you.
“Eyes up, shoulders down!”
“Run the tangents!”
“Garbage in equals garbage out!”
It feels like my last cross-country meet ended ages ago, but I still recall Coach Jeff Kho’s enthusiastic shouts whenever I’m running or training for a race. He’s the reason why I never touch soda and why I feel guilty skimping on a cooldown after an event (because I’m heading straight to brunch instead).
High school cross country fostered my love of distance running, so it makes sense the wisdom my coach imparted would stick with me as I transitioned to half and full marathons as an adult.
These unsung mentors often dole out important lessons in persistence and teamwork, inspire runners to gain confidence, and demonstrate what it means to be extremely patient. Here, former cross-country runners share the advice from their coaches that they’ll never forget.
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“Coach Stan Ziolkowski’s point was that the real benefits—both physical and psychological—came from having the second half of a hard workout be at least as fast as the first part. Three and a half decades later, I still think about that when I'm struggling and thinking about cutting an interval session or tempo run short.”
—Scott Douglas, contributing editor for Runner’s World, ldquo;Garbage in equals garbage out!&rdquo.
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“I ran cross country in college and my coach, Toby Schwarz, would always say this—his point being instead of letting the situation control you, control the situation yourself.”
—Savanna Atherton, former collegiate runner, attended Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington.
Every drop in the bucket.
“The most influential coach in my life always went on and on about how every day we were adding a drop into our bucket of success. He would always ask questions like, ‘How full is your bucket? 3/4? 1/8? 4/5?’ And included some sort of strange ratio that left you trying to figure out if he was proud of you or if you needed to whip your butt into shape.
“I’ve gone from running 5Ks to training for marathons, so the ‘every drop in the bucket’ has become even more meaningful. If every drop is a mile, you have to accumulate a gargantuan amount of drops in your reservoir before you're prepared for race day.”
—Alyssa Carpenter, blogger at Just Stalling, Every drop in the bucket.
Maximize the terrain that suits your body.
“For me—tall and lanky in high school—that meant making the most out of downhills because my longer stride meant I could more easily get to a faster speed on downhills.”
—Andrew Bernstein, regular cyclist, attended Packer Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn, New York.
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Visualize your race.
“The Friday before races we would meet after school for visualization. We would lay on the floor, do some deep breathing exercises, and Coach Pete Lisi would talk us through the entire race. This helped us prepare for the way our race would go and how to react in certain situations. I do the same sort of visualizing before any big life event or challenge that I am nervous about.”
—Rachel Stephens, regular runner, attended Coldwater High School in Coldwater, Ohio.
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“Although my high school cross-country career ended 23 years ago, I still clearly remember the words of Coach Tom Sexton before every road race that I run. The idealistic goal would be the time you thought you could run if you felt great, the conditions were perfect, the course was fast. The realistic goal would be the time you should at least be able to reach if one or more factors didn't go your way. To this day, I always have two different time goals (basically a time I’d be satisfied with and a time I’d be really happy about). Great advice from a great coach.”
—Brian Ferrie, regular runner, attended Cheltenham High School in Wyncote, Pennsylvania.
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“This was the foundation of my running, but [meant] even more as I grew to love yoga, the depths of childbirth, or when I need a quick calming. I’ve even taught my children this method when they are upset and need to calm themselves (and when they are running).”
—Erin Pelicano, regular runner, attended Damascus High School in Damascus, Maryland.
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“Meaning, use the corners to your advantage and use your turning momentum for some speed. To this day, I think about Coach Jon Novak’s advice at every corner in a race, whether it’s a 5K or marathon.”
—Lora Johnson, blogger at How I Keep Exercising at 105 Years Old, Download Your Training Plan.
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“Coach Doug Hensinger’s words still haunt me. … We always thought it was the most hilarious thing ever when he said it. I think the way I’ve internalized his advice in running and in cycling is to maintain my effort throughout the hill. I find, especially in racing, our inclination is to begin to ease up toward the top of a climb in anticipation of [the downhill], but that’s ultimately time lost. In running specifically, the longer and steeper a hill gets I find my stride shortens up, and keeping those words in the back of my head allows me to stay relaxed and be more efficient.”
—Ryan Smolko, regular cyclist, attended Salisbury Senior High School in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
Life isn’t full of glamorous tape-breaks.
“The finish line is often messy. Often, you’re gasping for air with piss streaming down your leg when the ‘I did it!’ moment happens. Embrace that.”
—Savannah Peterson, a regular runner, attended Morro Bay High School in Morro Bay, California.
It’s okay to run with a runny nose.
“Coach Gus Pacheco said that it was okay to run with a runny nose as long as it didn’t get into our lungs. This has helped me to get out and run more over the past 20 years. He also told us that it was okay to have cold arms and legs as long as our core was warm.”
—Kathleen Lisson, regular runner, attended Ygnacio Valley High School in Concord, California.
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1 Health & Injuries
