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Rocky Mountain Distance Summit 2006

By: Uli Bromme

The second annual Rocky Mountain Distance Summit once again proved to be a hit among those in attendance on Saturday, February 18. Held at the Spice of Life Center at the Flatirons Golf Course in Boulder (site of next year's US XC championships), the day- long clinic offered insight to some of the most valuable players in the sport. Speakers this year included Jeff Johnson, co-founder of NIKE and successful High School coach; Jason Vigilante, University of Texas Head XC coach and 2005 NCAA Assistant coach of the year; Roy Benson, Elite running coach and successful High School coach; Micah Porter, head coach at D'Evelyn High School that produced four H.S. state team champions; Todd Williams, two-time Olympian and U.S. record holder in the 15k; Tim Broe, three-time U.S. 5k champ and 2004 Olympian; Karen Harvey, women's head XC coach at Illinois; Jay Johnson, former CU Buff and current Assistant coach at C.U.; and Kenny Moore, two-time Olympian and senior writer for Sports Illustrated for 25 years.

With the main focus being on improving coaching abilities, each speaker contributed a valuable amount of knowledge to the clinic, from coaching with the right mindset to motivation and nutrition and just talking about legends of the sport.

Jeff Johnson started off the day with a speech about team success and the elements involved in becoming a leading contender at the state and national level. Having been a successful coach at the H.S. level in New Hampshire, he was able to share with the crowd some of his successes as a coach. "I want athletes to recognize their potential," he stated. He believes in three components that go right in hand with being successful. They are commitment, passion and team work. Johnson took a team that had one member when it started out and raised them to be state champions over the course of a few years. In the process he realized that it is not who is the fastest, but who shows the most commitment and makes the effort to be at practice, determined rather than talented to rise to the next level. Johnson also believes that character is a huge factor in defining success. Young freshmen who see the hard work ethic of older athletes on the team will emulate that behavior and in turn contribute to the continued success.

Jason Vigilante who might be most known for his success of coaching then freshman Leonel Manzano to NCAA Gold a year ago in the 1500m, amused the audience with his light and humorous ways of educating on the art and science of coaching. From the beginning he stressed that coaching should be kept at a simple level that everyone can understand, admitting to the fact that he rarely uses technical terms such as VO2max or lactate threshold with his athletes. Most important for everyone involved is the fact that it be enjoyable. Vigilante divides his coaching philosophy into four key components, each equally as important. The first and probably most important component of coaching and running is fun. "You need to have fun to bring even the most talented kid back," he stated. "You can't pursue coaching with intensity." He says that coaches can't forget they are still dealing with kids, and in order to bring the kids back day after day, things need to be kept light and fun, even if that involves changing a workout to better accommodate the athletes that day. " In creating a fun atmosphere, the runners will get better," said Vigilante.

Secondly, Vigilante or "Vig" as he is known around the running circles, stressed that the right attitude on the coach's part plays a key role. "The attitude we bring to practice every day is what our athletes rely on." Positive coaching is integral to successful coaching and working with both strengths and weaknesses of the athlete will help them and everyone else improve. As his third component Vig mentioned the importance of having a schedule. This will help get the athlete into a regular routine and also creates a sense of consistency. Lastly, Vig stated that tenacity is necessary to be a great runner. The athlete can't be afraid of a challenge and the coach needs to foster this toughness by not giving in and staying "mean" sometimes. "This success is accomplished when taking the athletes that you have and making them better," said Vigilante.

The third speaker of the day was elite and H.S. coach Roy Benson who educated the crowds on exercise physiology. Benson believes in four phases of training that help an athlete reach his or her full potential. The first vital component of "developing fast feet" is getting in shape. This is a two to three month period of mainly easy jogging and aerobic efforts. The next phase is a four to six week period of steady threshold running that allows the body to develop stamina and gets it ready to race. The third phase, or the racing season, lasts two to four months and develops running economy. Lastly, one need not overlook the two to four week period during which the athlete develops speed to peak at the right time.

Micah Porter, a successful H.S. coach at D'Evelyn H.S. in suburban Denver, focused on developing a successful H.S program. He helped build a running culture at his own school where he admitted to constantly roam the halls looking for new recruits. His formula for success includes building passion, using proven methodology, creating tradition and of course having a little luck. By creating excitement for the sport and thus recruiting athletes, Porter's boys' 4x800m team placed fourth at the Nike Outdoor Nationals last year.

Following the lunch break was former elite runner, two time Olympian Todd Williams, who amused the audience with his many stories about "failure" (or placing second all the time) The fact that the video he had planned to show refused to work, only added to the point he was trying to make. Williams explained that to reach success, one must think in steps. "You set a goal, reach that goal and then move to the next goal," he said. In high school, his coach told him 'to go see the parks' when running Cross Country. He advised Williams to put in a certain amount of miles each summer with the promise that he would get better. And he did. He finished second at Foot Locker Nationals his senior year with a time of 14:49, an improvement from 15:42 the previous year. Williams' final words of advice? " Run as hard as you can."

Tim Broe, current US 5k record holder took the podium next and entertained the audience with stories about his lack of commitment as a young runner, which came to a turning point when he was kicked out of the Footlocker championships for not attending the pre race dinner. Broe further went into what it took for him to reach the level is now at and what sacrifices he had to make. (such as giving up golfing and going to late night parties all the time) He says that when not running, he does not think about running and that the focus of the 2004 Olympics kept him on track when he was injured for six months in 2003. His advice to young runners is to 'get out and have fun and work hard.' "It goes really quick, make the best of what you have right now."

The talk took a more serious tone when Karen Harvey, head women's coach at Illinois informed the audience on nutrition and its importance to distance runners, especially females. She said the words that every dieter dreads: " Carbs are good!" However Harvey stressed that carbs with a low Glycemic index are healthier than carbs with a higher G.I. she offered various charts that included the perfect runner's diet, including the right amount of fats, proteins, carbs and important nutrients such as iron. Harvey also took it to heart to talk about the all-too common female athlete triad, which was a highly important segment of her talk for anyone listening dealing with female athletes.

Jay Johnson was the next presenter of the day with an innovative approach to becoming a better, injury-free runner. He explored hurdle mobility exercises, which can aid a distance runner by loosening up tight hip flexors and increase strength on those areas. Although his talk focused more on middle distance, it pertained to most aspects of running in general. Johnson referenced Robert Gary's highly successful athletes who do circuit training of core exercises to improve their biomechanics and thus becoming a more efficient runner. Highlights also included Dathan Ritzenhein performing various plyometric drills. For more details, Jay offers links on his website at coachjayjohnson.com.

The last and probably most awaited speaker of the day was running legend Kenny Moore who read an excerpt from his soon to be released book, "Bowerman, on the wings of Nike." He fascinated the crowd with his vivid and descriptive ways of telling the story of Bill Dellinger and Bowerman. His soft -spoken demeanor had everyone in the room at their full attention and upon finishing his speech, drew the loudest applause of the day. Moore followed up his excerpt with a short question and answer session from the audience that had everyone feeling like they were right there in the midst of a training session with Moore, Prefontaine and Bowerman.

Upon completion of all presentations, RMDS co-founder Chris Lear invited audience members and speakers to an interactive question and answer session. It was the perfect day for loads and loads of inspiration and motivation inside, as the temperature outside did not climb above 10 degrees all day. Plans are already in the works for next year's Summit, which will surely surpass the magic of the past two years event once more.

More information on the Rocky Mountain Distance Summit can be found at their website: RMDS05.com