To become a successful middle-distance or long-distance runner one must possess or learn several key personality traits and abilities, including dedication, endurance, concentration, relaxation, pacing, stamina and a work ethic. Some athletes have these qualities naturally, while others must try to learn them through individual training, team practice and competition. At Monmouth our middle-distance and long-distance runners train throughout the year under a system that incorporates a variety of concepts -- endurance, strength, flexibility, speed -- which are designed to produce a healthier, faster and more complete athlete. The resources and opportunities for participation, competition and personal success are provided equally to everyone but it is each individual athlete who ultimately determines his or her own level of commitment, dedication and improvement.

Running should be an integral and important part of a runner's daily routine and therefore a true runner's training should be a year-round process. This does not necessarily mean we run every day of the year but the athletes are always in a specific phase of training with certain objectives. Our runners actually begin their cross country training in the summer months, which is seen as an important and critical base-building period. The main objective in the summer is to run a comfortable, confident number of miles to prepare for the fall cross country season and much of this is done on an individual basis. Some runners can handle high mileage and choose to race often over the summer, while others do not. Whatever their individual situation may be, they are expected to send in regular reports of their training/racing progress. The key is to maintain contact and communication over the summer and to come into the fall competition season ready to train and race on a regular basis. Suggested practice workouts are mailed to each runner in early August to help focus on the early weeks of the cross country season. By late August they are expected to have a decent training base upon which to build with team workouts.

The fall cross country season begins on the first day of the fall semester and usually features eight to ten weekend invitational races. With our major races in late October and early November, the first few weeks of the season are based on summer conditioning and are dedicated primarily to endurance training. We try to increase the endurance component with overdistance runs (longer than race distance/time), longer intervals and varied-pace workouts. We run most of the early practices together as a group so our runners get to know and become comfortable with each other and build team unity! These workouts are usually done either on grass surfaces or road routes. We also schedule a few practices on nearby forest trails and in the pool for some variety. Race-specific workouts, tempo runs and faster-paced interval runs are introduced after the first few meets as well as speedwork. The primary early season objective is endurance, mid-season is pace training time and speedwork is increased for the major late-season races. Rest days are needed for optimal running performance and are factored into the seasonal plans. The team pack concept is always emphasized and strengthened in daily practice workouts -- we run together, we run as a team!!

The time between the end of cross country and the start of the indoor track season (mid-November to mid-January) is a chance for our runners to recover and rest from a hard schedule of racing. This time is used to rebuild a solid endurance base with longer distance runs. The amount of training time and the intensity of running/lifting workouts varies with the individual but all of the athletes are expected to record their training. Racing and daily team practices are over for several weeks and the athlete can devote more of his or her energy to steady-state runs (for endurance) and weight training (for strength). We strongly encourage a more focused approach in the weight room during this off-season time to work on strength gains. Suggested running workouts and mileage goals are posted for the athlete's consideration. This is also an important time for our athletes to focus on their academic studies and prepare for semester final examinations.

If a runner continues to maintain fitness during the off-season period, he or she will be able to make a smooth transition back into a daily team practice and weekly racing routine for the track season. Our athletes meet as a full track and field team (all events, men and women) at the start of daily practice for team stretching, flexibility exercises and biomechanical drills and then break into smaller event-specific workout groups. The typical workout schedule is very similar to cross country in terms of progression and quality, however the number of athletes in each group is smaller. Track racing allows for more specialized event training than cross country and workouts are designed for specific events depending on the individual's interests and abilities. Each athlete has input into the racing schedule and usually is exposed to a variety of different distances through the course of the spring season. Middle-distance runners typically range from 400 to 1500 meters and long-distance runners from 1500 to 10,000 meters. Indoor track racing strategies are discussed in the early weeks of the spring season and the schedule includes 4-6 indoor meets in January and February. The indoor conference meet is in early March and the runners transition from indoor to outdoor track racing over a three-week period. The outdoor schedule usually features 6-8 meets prior to the outdoor conference championships and NCAA National Meet in May. As in fall cross country, the workouts taper to shorter distance/high intensity and weight training is reduced prior to both indoor and outdoor conference and NCAA meets.

With a full track season behind them, our runners head into the summer months needing some time off from racing. They are encouraged to take advantage of the break in the schedule but advised to resume their individual running routine in June to begin the base-building process again for the fall cross country season.

(A) Typical Practice Schedule -- Our system follows the hard-easy approach of alternate workouts. A typical week during the season includes one long run, two quality days, two steady-state runs and a race. Most of the quality workouts are on specific surfaces (grass for cross country, track in the spring) with care taken to change the terrain to keep the runners' legs and minds fresh for training. Long distance runs are done on road routes or off-campus forest trails. Most of the running and training workouts fall into one of the following categories: strength, distance (endurance), threshold (slower than race pace), interval (at race pace) or sprint (faster than race pace). The frequency and intensity of each type of workout changes according to the time of season, training goals and conditioning.

(B) Warmup/Cooldown -- Pre-workout and post-workout activities are just as important as the main portion of the workout. We run and stretch with a variety of exercises before and after the main workout to increase flexibility, prevent injuries and teach proper running mechanics. Easy warmup runs, accelerations, strides, and cooldown runs ease the body in and out of hard training and are included in the daily plan. Running drills and pillar strength exercises are done daily to reinforce proper mechanics and to increase overall strength.

(C) Weight Training -- Our runners lift regularly throughout the entire school year (usually 2-3 days per week) to increase cardiovascular and muscular endurance and to improve total-body strength. We believe in the motto that "a stronger runner is a faster runner". We do not do many lifts but instead concentrate on major muscle groups which need to get stronger for improved running performance. The progression goes from endurance to strength to specific muscle training and is tapered near the end of each competitive racing season for optimal effort.

(D) Additional Activities -- Morning runs are done through the first half of each season to supplement the daily afternoon practices. These are on an individual basis depending on each runner's personal schedule and are designed to increase the aerobic cardiovascular component of training. Other aerobic activities can include swimming, biking and deep-water running. These are encouraged to be done in a relaxed and conversational atmosphere and the emphasis is on efficient, smooth movement. The pace and intensity are relaxed and the runners usually plan these workouts together in small groups.

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