The Longest Fall - Book Review

"While cross country was the epitome of a team sport, each runner was always alone. In all the grueling runs, practices, workouts, and races they were always on their own. The decision always came down to one person: The runner. The real enemy was not another runner or the team - it wasn't outside the runner. The real battle took place within."

The Longest Fall by Lee Krinsky follows a cross country team who struggles together and as individuals after the loss of their team leader and number one runner. Take the journey with them throughout the fall as they strive to accomplish what was set out for them over the summer by their captain and friend.

Winter Break

Cross Country is now over and track season doesn't start up for another two to four months, depending on whether you run indoors or not. Many of you take this time to rest, kick back and forget about running for a while. What you might not realize is that this is the most important time of your track season.

This is the time when you build up the strength to handle a long, intense track season.The nice part about winter base building is that you already have a foundation from cross country. Therefore, you don't have to spend as much time building up your miles at a slower pace, like in the summer. You can spend more time maintaining what you already have established while at the same time resting your body from the cross country season. This is done by A) slowing down a bit a few days a week and running easy miles (resting your body), B) throwing in one to two threshold workouts a week (maintaining what you built up in cross), and C) continuing or adding a long run each week (building strength and endurance).

A winter week might look something like this:

Sunday - 12 mile easy run.
Monday - 6 mile easy run.
Tuesday - 8 Threshold run (3 miles easy, 3 miles at 75% effort, 2 miles easy)
Wednesday - 6 miles easy run.
Thursday - 8 mile progressive run (start at easy pace and work down to moderate pace).
For example, 8:00 pace down to 6:00 pace.
Friday - 6 miles easy.
Saturday - 6 mile Fartlek run (2 miles easy, 10 x 1minute hard x 1minute easy, remainder easy)

For pacing purposes a good rule to follow is to take your current 5k time (probably your best 5k time in cross country if you finished at your best) and add 1:30 to 2:00 to get your pace range.

For example, if your best 5k during cross country was 16:00, that equates to around a 5:10 pace. Your range would then be 7:10 for easy days down to 6:40 for moderate days. It's important to stay close to this range to keep your body from overworking and defeating the purpose of base training. You can always go slower, but leave the faster running for your threshold workouts and progression runs.

Cross Country Courses

Is the exact measurement of a cross country course important? Does it make a difference if a course is 5k, 3.0, or 2.95? For comparison reasons, having all courses the same length makes the most sense. This way, you can compare how everyone is running in your conference, region, state, or even around the nation. You can take teams and individuals, crunch the numbers, and see how you or your team stacks up against everyone else. The times will tell, right? Not really.

All cross country courses are different. Some are flat, some have hills, some gut muddy when it drizzles, some have sidewalks, some have water, etc... How can you compare someone who ran 15:50 for 5k on one course to a runner who ran 15:50 on another? You can't. Yes, their times are the same, but the performance wasn't.

The way courses are measured also becomes a factor. To begin with not all courses are measured accurately. You can not measure a course with a GPS unit for accuracy. On the other hand, if you measure a course with a tape measure, it still might not be accurate. The total distance might come out to 5k, but the runners may not run exactly how the course was measured. If someone cuts the tangents, they may run 3.04 instead of 3.1. Yes, minor difference, but not the completely accurate 5k distance.

In Illinois, most courses are not the same distance. 3.0 miles is the standard, but many courses are anywhere from 2.9 to 3.0. For some reason, 5k doesn't exist out here. The State course is 2.95 and has been debated for years on it's accuracy. Yet, Illinois does extremely well in the post season competing in Footlocker Nationals and Nike Nationals. The course lengths do not seem to effect performance outcome.

Point being, this is cross country and course distance is not important! It's about the challenge of lining up side by side to take on individuals, teams and challenging courses. Time does not matter. Performance is based on how you place. If you are obsessed with time, compare yourself or team to how they competed on the same course in years past. But most importantly, enjoy the competition and effort and leave the "exact" distance events for the track.

Midwest Distance Gala Tonight

The Midwest Distance Gala is tonight!!! If you are in Illinois, get out to the meet. If not, watch the races online.

Final Meet Schedule
6:00 PM - Gates open and Packet Pick-up begins

6:30 PM - Open 5,000m (all ages race)

7:38 - Frosh Mile B Heat

7:44 - Boys Mile C Heat

7:51 - Boys 800 C Heat

7:55 - Boys 800 B Heat

8:00 - Opening Ceremony

8:07 - Boys Two Mile

8:20 - Boys Steeple

8:30 - Frosh Mile

8:37 - Boys Mile B Heat

8:44 - Girls 800

8:48 - Boys 800

8:52 - Girls Mile

9:00 - Boys Mile

9:10 - Awards

13 Under 4:10 in Mile!!!

Wouldn't this be a great headline Sunday morning. Well, there are 13 boys entered in the Midwest Distance Gala mile on Saturday night that can go under 4:10 on a perfect day. The pacer for the race will be taking them through at 4:00 pace. Can anyone break 4:00?

Gala Boys Mile Field (Fastest Section)

Jeff Thode (Sr., Conant, IL) - Thode enters Saturday's mile race ranked US#1 in both the 1,600m (4:05.17) and 3,200m (8:51.30). All season long Thode's focus has been on breaking the four minute mile barrier, and on Saturday he'll have that opportunity. The University of Iowa-bound senior also won the state title in cross country last fall.

Michael Atchoo (Jr., Troy, MI) - Ranked US#4 for 1,600m, Atchoo's winning 4:07.71 performance at the Michigan State Meet, not only gave the junior a new personal best, but also shattered the state meet record, held by Olympian Dathan Ritzenhein. Atchoo placed second in the NSIC mile during the indoor season.

Patrick McGregor (Sr., Hoover, AL) - All year, McGregor has tested himself against the country's best milers time and time again at very prestigious meets. After a great indoor season, which saw him dip under the 4:10 mile mark, McGregor competed at the Arcadia Invitational, placing second overall in 4:09.13 for the mile.

Andrew Springer (Sr., Westerly, RI) - Last weekend, at the Rhode Island T&F Championships, Springer produced perhaps the most thrilling performance the state has ever seen. Springer won the 800m, 1,500m and 3,000m races, while guiding his team to a 4x800m relay state title, not to mention the fact that the 4x8 set a state record, and his 1,500m and 3,000m performances were state records as well. Springer's goal Saturday to is to push the four minute mile mark.

Drew Shields (Sr., Fishers, IN) - One of the most experienced Gala veterans ever, Shields returns as the top Gala mile finisher from 2008. Last spring, Shields ran one of the fastest times in the country for a junior, placing third in the Gala with a 4:09.64 effort. The University of Wisconsin-bound senior has had a big senior year thus far, but he's far from finished. Last weekend at the Indiana State Meet, Shields won the 1,600m run in 4:11.36.

Zach Dahleen (Sr., Sandburg, IL) - After running a solo 4:11 1,600m race a few weeks earlier, Dahleen seemed poised for a big performance at the Illinois State Meet. The senior closed out his regular season with a new PR of 4:10.25, placing second behind Thode.

Andrew Nelson (Sr., Geneva, IL) - Few athletes surprised more at the Gala in 2008 then Nelson. The Geneva H.S. senior placed sixth overall in a big PR of 4:14.43. At the Illinois State T&F Championships two weeks ago, Nelson helped his team's 4x800m relay squad place second in 7:45.86, then came back later in the day to earn all-state in the 1,600m run.

Lukas Verzbicas (Fr., Lincoln-Way Central, IL) - The national indoor 5,000m record holder, and NIN two mile champion, will compete in the two mile and the fastest mile heat at the Gala on Saturday. Sitting out most of the spring season, competing in triathlons instead, Verzbicas is hoping to push the 4:10 barrier.

Walter Schafer (Jr., Cherry Creek, CO) - Schafer's future looks very, very bright. The junior placed second behind Foot Locker all-American Evan Appel in the 3,200m and 1,600m events at the Colorado State T&F Championships. Schafer is poised to push the 4:10 barrier Saturday.

Chris Hayek (Sr., Prospect, IL) - After guiding his team to a fourth place finish in the 4x800m relay at the Illinois State T&F Championships, Hayek came back later in the day to place fourth in the 1,600m with a time of 4:13.57.

Anthony Manfrin (So., Dundee-Crown, IL) - As a freshman, Manfrin came to the Gala and placed second in the "B" heat of the mile, running a great mark of 4:19.98. He then went on to win the Nike Outdoor Nationals freshman mile. This season he's showed he's one of the top milers in the Midwest.

Peter Callahan (Sr., North Shore Country Day, IL) - Few athletes have had a better state meet this season. Callahan's Illinois State T&F Championships went quite well. First, Callahan helped his North Shore Country Day teammates earn all-state in the 4x800m relay. Then, Callahan broke the Class A state record in the 800m with a 1:51.22 performance, while coming back shortly after to win the 1,600m race in 4:15.30.

Moise Frisch (Sr., Whitmer, OH) - Focusing more on the 800m this season, Frisch will be running his second mile race of the year. The first time around, the Ohio senior won in 4:15, while also earning a top mark in the 800m with a 1:51 performance. He placed fourth in a highly competitive 800m race at the Ohio State T&F Championships.

Haile vs. Verzbicas - Midwest Distance Gala

Press Release

Haile v. Verzbicas Clash Headlines Gala Boys Two Mile Field Lisle, IL - Many of the top distance runners in the country will converge on Saturday evening at Benedictine University, taking part in the fifth running of the Midwest Distance Gala. The first event of the evening, the boys two mile run, is poised to be one of the premier races of the evening, headlined by national champions Solomon Haile (Sr., Sherwood, MD) and Lukas Verzbicas (Fr., Lincoln-Way Central, IL).

Haile comes to the Gala riding the wave of winning two state titles at the Maryland 4A State T&F Championships. Haile won the 3,200m and 1,600m events. During the indoor season, Haile broke the national 5,000m record at the National Scholastic Indoor Championships (NSIC), running 14:22.88, only to see it be broken by Verzbicas only a few hours later, when the freshman ran 14:18.42. Haile then came back to win the national two mile title in 9:02.67, while Verzbicas won the Nike Indoor National (NIN) two mile title in 8:57.44. The indirect competition between these two creates quite the match-up.

While Haile has shown consistent top form on the track this spring, this will be Verzbicas' first outdoor track race of the season, after focusing this spring on triathlons. Verzbicas' triathlon accomplishments were quite high, as the 16 year-old earned a spot on the U.S. National Team, which competes at the World Championships in September in Australia.

The clash of two great national champions, both with incredible all-American stories, should make for a fast, competitive race Saturday evening. As the gun goes off at 8:07 p.m. (CST), all eyes will be focused on these two and how they race one another, as both athletes battle to break the meet record and dip well under the nine minute barrier.

Top Boys Two Mile Athletes

Lukas Verzbicas (Fr., Lincoln-Way Central, IL) - Verzbicas won the Nike Indoor Nationals 5,000m run in a national indoor record of 14:18.42, then coming back and winning the two mile in 8:57.44. Verzbicas did not compete on the track all spring, rather competing in the triathlon. Note that the national freshman outdoor two mile record is 9:04.4 set by Eric Hulst in 1973, while the outdoor 3,000m national freshman record is 8:26.91, set by Billy Harper in 1993.

Solomon Haile (Sr., Sherwood, MD) - The University of Arkansas-bound Haile gained national attention his junior year by winning the Nike Indoor National and Nike Outdoor National 5,000m races. He then came back to win the prestigious Foot Locker National Cross Country Championship, while winning the NSIC 5,000m run in 14:22.88 and two mile in 9:02.67.

Steve Sulkin (Sr., York, IL) - Sulkin placed second at the Illinois State Cross Country Championships in the fall, then helping his team place in the top three at Nike Cross Nationals, while also earning a spot at Foot Locker Nationals. Sulkin then came back to win the Prospect Invitational 3,200m run in 9:01.11 this spring. Two weeks ago Sulkin won the Illinois State T&F Championships 3,200m run in 9:03.91.

Jordan Herbert (Sr., York, IL) - After finishing third at the Illinois State Cross Country Championships this past fall, Herbert had an excellent spring, finishing second in the state 3,200m run, finishing only behind teammate Steve Sulkin. Herbert finished the season with a personal best 3,200m time of 9:04.83.

Graham Bazell (Sr., Atholton, MD) - Last spring, Bazell finished second in the Gala two mile in 9:04.55. This year, Bazell returns, looking to break nine and compete for the win. The Stanford-bound senior won the 3,200m and 1,600m at the Maryland 3A State Meet earlier this season, running a 9:13 in the 3,200m and winning the event by 32 seconds.

Andrew Larsen (Sr., Marmion, IL) - Larsen, who'll be attending the University of Minnesota next fall, is an experienced Gala competitor. At the 2008 edition, Larsen finished sixth in the two mile. This year, he's taken a big step forward, finishing eight at the Illinois State Cross Country Championships, then placing fourth in 9:10.04 in the 3,200m run at the Illinois State T&F Championships.

Phil Fairleigh (Jr., Cary-Grove, IL) - While Fairleigh had a rough state meet two weeks ago, he has run very well the majority of the season, including a 9:05.13 3,200m performance at the Prospect Invitational. Fairleigh finished second in that race behind eventual state 3,200m champion Steve Sulkin.

Others to Watch: Matt Perez (Sr., Hoffman Estates, IL), Andrew Palmer (Jr., Walt Whitman, MD), Danny Nicolls (Jr., Regis, CO), Logan Rosenberg (Sr., Carmel, IN), Tom Ohlman (Jr., Carmel, IN).

Distance Gala Weekly

Registration is now open for the 2009 Midwest Distance Gala! Distance Gala Weekly's Top 10 Countdown Of The Week. Distance highlights and articles from around the country. Get it all here!

The Freshman 10

Going over old coaching plans from the past I came across a runner from 1995. This kid was a freshman I coached when I spent two years at my old high school trying to develop a program. He was not your typical cross country runner, in fact, he was built more for football than for running.

Each kid on the team had individual goals and training plans. This kids was completely different from all of the others. While the others were setting goals of obtaining All-Conference, making it to State, etc... this kid was just trying to put one foot in front of the other. When we sat down to discuss what he wanted out of cross country, he stated that he just wanted to be able to run without stopping. So we set the bar high. We made a goal of running 10 miles without stopping by the end of the cross country season. And you know what, he did it and it meant the world to him.

So why am I bringing this up? I have noticed that most of what I have posted on this blog has been about runners throughout the country who are at an elite level. While they are exciting to watch and read about, they are not the only type of runner that motivate us. Watching the kid I coached achieve his goal (which may seem simple to most cross country runners) was as, or more exciting than seeing some of my other runners make All-Conference. It was inspirational to see someone work so hard at a sport he was told he would never succeed in.

I would love to end the story by telling you that he ended up getting in great shape and becoming an All-State runner, but that's not how it happened. He ran another year or two and then moved on in his life. But I can bet, as an adult, he looks back on that season and the 10 miles and gets the same feeling inside that the All-State runners does as he looks back as well.

Run The Roads

A new website for road racing has emerged. Run The Roads is a place to go to see what's going on with road racing around the country. There is also track related content, interviews, and much more. While the site is brand new, there is already a video interview with Evan Jager that is worth a peek!

50/50

It's getting toward the end of the track season and sharpening/tapering is on the mind. Here is a good workout for any distance from 800m. to 3200m..

Warm-up with anywhere from 1 mile to 2 miles.

Hit the track and run laps where you alternate 50 meters hard by 50 meters easy. One lap around the track will give you four repeat 50's. You can run the hard 50 at race pace and the easy 50 as slow as you want (but keep running). Doing it this way makes the workout more endurance based. Therefore, you can handle more repeats.

If you want a more speed based workout, run the hard 50 under race pace and the easy 50, again, as slow as you want (it's for recovery). This way, you will do less repeats.

Warm-down with anywhere from 1 to 2 miles.

The small bursts of the 50 meters will keep your legs sharp and strong, while at the same time not heavily tiring you out. The goal of tapering is to keep sharp and rested at the same time, which is very tricky. This workout is a good one to fulfill that purpose.