Cross Country Assessment of the Primary Physical Components To improve athletic performance in any sport requires ongoing development of the five primary physical components: speed, endurance, strength, flexibility, and coordination. Balanced development in these five bio-motor skills is sport specific with the training emphasis on each of the five determined by the demands of the…
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Endurance as a Primary Physical Component in Cross Country
Endurance as a Primary Physical Component in Cross Country It can be said that a high level of endurance is the most important of the five primary physical components found in a cross country runner. The danger in making such a statement is that it may diminish the importance of the other four: speed, strength,…
Scott Christensen’s 2 Favorite Cross Country Workouts
Most cross country coaches have been running since high school and college, or newly enjoy running now. There are some workouts that seem to always go very well for you, but others that result in an endless struggle. From these workouts emerge favorites, but they may not be the best type of work for your…
Fatigue: Part 1 – Energetics
The onset of fatigue in certain systems of the body is what causes running performance to deteriorate and degrade. Too much fatigue and exhaustion occurs, with the inability to continue an activity. Fatigue can be acute, as in a single race or training session, or chronic, as in inadequate day to day regeneration of the…
The Genius of Frank Horwill
Frank Horwill was a middle-distance coach in Great Britain during the heyday of the British Milers Club, a training group that he founded. Before there was David Rudisha and Asbel Kiprop of Kenya, there was Steve Cram, Steve Crabb, Sebastian Coe, and Steve Ovett of the British Milers Club in the 1980’s and early 1990’s…
Finishing the Race
One of the most frustrating aspects of analyzing cross country running training is the post-race reflection of an athlete’s sub par performance. Even the really great performances have something sour that catches the coaches’ critical eye. As in any analytical, cause-result relationship, the result is more obvious than the cause. One of the more…