Training Principles

Every training cycle should be built around a primary objective.

Whether that goal is a first marathon, a Boston Qualifier, or a personal best, the training, workouts, and intermediate races should all support that larger goal. Tune-up races can provide valuable feedback and fitness gains, but they should never come at the expense of the race that matters most.

I believe athletes perform best when there is a clear purpose behind each phase of training and each race on the calendar.

Successful marathon training requires both patience and flexibility.

I maintain a long-term vision for each athlete's development, but I generally provide training in one- to two-week increments rather than prescribing an entire cycle months in advance. Fitness changes, life happens, and athletes respond differently to training than expected.

Having a roadmap is important. Adapting to what is actually happening is even more important.

The biggest improvements don’t come from a single workout or a single training block.

They come from months and years of consistent training.

For most athletes, that means running six or seven days per week throughout the year, while incorporating recovery periods after major races and training cycles. Fitness is built by compounding consistency, both through mileage and workouts.

Mileage is one of the most powerful tools available to distance runners. In my own development, gradual increases in training volume played an important role in helping me reach new levels of performance.

However, more mileage is not always better. The right mileage is the amount an athlete can consistently absorb while remaining healthy, motivated, and able to execute quality workouts.

When appropriate, I believe in gradually pushing mileage beyond previous levels to unlock new fitness. At the same time, every athlete has a different training history, injury profile, and capacity for recovery. What is productive for one runner may be excessive for another.

My goal is not to maximize mileage. My goal is to maximize sustainable progress. If an athlete is showing signs of excessive fatigue, struggling to recover, or experiencing early warning signs of injury, I would rather adjust the plan and preserve long-term consistency than force additional volume.

Healthy training is productive training, and no single week of mileage is worth sacrificing months of future progress.

One of the most common mistakes runners make is trying to train hard all the time.

I believe in structured periodization, typically building through two or three demanding weeks before incorporating a down week. These down weeks allow fitness to consolidate while reducing the risk of injury and burnout, and can be the perfect time to taper for a tune-up race.

In longer marathon builds, I will often prescribe more substantial recovery periods when an athlete is showing signs of accumulated fatigue or struggling to absorb training.

Recovery is not a sign that training is failing. Recovery is part of the training itself.

I place a strong emphasis on running the appropriate effort each day.

Workout days should have a purpose, and easy days should remain easy enough to support recovery and future training. Most runners improve more by executing quality workouts at the proper intensity than by forcing the pace at an effort that’s too high.

Workouts should reflect a purpose, whether that be improving running economy through 5k paced intervals or practicing running marathon pace on tired legs. However, I emphasize keeping workouts under control, and only leaving it all out there on race days.

My athletes spend relatively little time in the "gray zone" between easy running and workout intensity. Instead, we focus on being intentional with both recovery and quality sessions

While every athlete's training looks different, marathon preparation becomes increasingly specific as race day approaches.

Earlier phases of training often emphasize VO2 max development, speed, and running economy through track workouts and shorter intervals. As the marathon approaches, the focus gradually shifts toward threshold work, marathon pace training, and long-run workouts that closely replicate race demands.

For marathoners, the final twelve weeks of training are often where the most race-specific work takes place.

The long run is one of the most important components of marathon preparation.

As athletes gain experience and demonstrate the ability to handle additional volume, I generally look to increase both the length and quality of long runs. For more experienced marathoners, long runs may regularly extend into the 23- to 25-mile range, with many including significant portions at marathon pace.

These sessions build not only fitness, but also confidence and familiarity with the demands of race day.

No training system works forever.

One of the biggest lessons from my own running career is that the training required to reach one level is often different from the training required to reach the next.

I constantly evaluate what is working, what is not, and how training can be adjusted to fit the individual athlete. The goal is not simply to follow a plan. The goal is to continue improving.