CJJ Media

If you're a sophomore or junior and you want to have a great program for the coming years, simply do this:

Talk to freshmen.

Learn their names.

It really is that simple.

Let's go!

You're willing to run hard on hard days. You're willing to be uncomfortable on race day.

But are you willing to go easy on your easy days?

Keep your easy days easy so your hard days - including races - can be hard.

Let's go!

High school cross-country coaches: Are you having the hard conversation in August that could help your athletes race faster in September and October?

Here’s what I mean.

Your most committed athletes may be the ones who struggle most when you lower their mileage. They’re proud of the work they’ve done, and their watch and Strava give them a number to protect every week.

That’s why August is the time to talk about what’s coming in September and October.

They built their aerobic engine all summer, and they’ll continue building it for the next several weeks. But they won’t carry the same volume into every important race.

Once you reach that first important invitational, probably in September, they need to trust you when you lower their mileage.

Lowering volume doesn’t mean lowering intensity. They’ll still run race pace that week. There may even be a greater emphasis on intensity. But you’d be doing them a disservice if you didn’t cut the total volume before an important meet.

When that week arrives, they need to ignore the chatter on Strava. They can’t look up another runner’s mileage, decide everyone else is doing more, and add work to your plan.

Sometimes the sport is painfully simple. If an athlete’s legs aren’t fresh, they’re not going to race to their capability.

Set up this conversation now so there are no surprises when you reach that meet.

Some meets are obviously important: conference, regionals, state, and probably a major midseason invitational.

Start by circling those meets. Then decide what every other week should accomplish for each athlete.

I had the pleasure of hearing Justin Wrigley, an outstanding coach in the Kansas City area, speak at a clinic in Cincinnati a few years ago. As I took notes, this framework hit me because he articulated it so well:

Race in weeks one and two.
Take week three off.
Race in weeks four and five.
Take week six off.

After the second race, the week without a meet can give your varsity athletes roughly 10 days before they race again. That’s a great time to put a long run back into the schedule or get in a harder aerobic workout. Then you can return to race-pace work before the next important meet.

You aren’t simply resting your varsity athletes. You’re creating a meaningful training window: race, race, train. Then repeat.

Another thing to consider is having your freshman star sit out one less-important varsity race and run a freshman or JV race instead. Put them in a race they can win.

They’ll still have plenty of chances to race with the big dogs and contribute in the major meets. But don’t underestimate the confidence a young athlete can gain by going to the front, controlling a race, and pulling away.

You probably have a meet where this makes sense, even if your team score is higher that day without them in the varsity race.

If you don’t like your current schedule, remember that you can change it for 2027. Talk with your athletic director and the other coaches in your conference. Excellent coaches like Coach Wrigley use this rhythm for a reason.

What are your thoughts on racing schedules for varsity and younger athletes?

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