MPR's: Training For Distance Running

I have been a student of the sport of distance running for as long as I can remember.  As a kid back in the 1970's I remember reading and re-reading Jim Fixx's "Complete Booking of Running" and checking and reading out every book remotely related to running from the Henderson Country Public Library.  I learned the dewy decimal system specifically just so that I could find all the books on running in the library's reference card catalogs. This continued on through high school and then college and decade after decade until the present day.  It is a subject that has fascinated me: how do we prepare and train in order to get faster at distance running.  It is so simple, yet so complex, it is like an onion with so many layers, yet such a simple straight forward favor to be savored.  

I have learned a great deal about the sport from decades of personal experience and the experiences of running friends and the athletes I have coached, but also from other coaches, and researchers who have been willing to generously share their findings and philosophies.  I have read their works, I have attended their presentations and debated with them various topics in the sport.  It has expanded my thinking, and even when I don't agree with someones philosophy I never fail to learn something by hearing them out and looking at things from a different perspective.   

I believe it is this open sharing by athletes, coaches and researchers that is what keeps this sport moving forward.  With this in mind, I have prepared a 30 slide overview of my training philosophy that I want to share and make available here in this blog and on my website.  My hope is that at the very least it sparks ideas and new line of thinking in your mind, and at the very best it offers you a solid, tried and true training philosophy to embrace to help you advance in the sport.

Coach Mark Hadley's - Training For Distance Running

While it wasn't possible to cover every aspect of training in full detail (maybe that will be available in a book one day), this presentation gives you a good overview of how I think of and approach training based on my decades involved in the sport and from all the people (coaches, athletes and advisers) I have learned from along the way.    

Happy Running,

Coach Mark Hadley