Ep 59- A coaching masterclass with American Distance Project coach: Scott Simmons

Today on the Run Culture Podcast I had the privilege to chat with Scott Simmons a professional running coach of the American Distance Project, the US Army World Class Athlete Program and Team India, based in Colorado Springs, USA. Scott has over 30 years of coaching experience! He shared so many incredible stories and insights about training and coaching Olympians, Olympic Medalists and collegiate athletes. It felt like having a casual chat on my couch, asking all the questions I've always wanted to know! I can't wait for you all to listen and learn from his wisdom and stories. Topics covered include:-The importance of Speed development and always developing the aerobic house.-Non linear periodisation.-The myth of peaking/tapering.-Key training principles: Specificity, overload, recovery, adaptation, progression.-‘Harambee’- Swahili for ‘all pull together’ This is the official motto of Kenya, appearing on its coat of arms.-Take a step back from time to time and reflect if running is making you a ‘Better human’?-The importance of Self belief and taking a bet on yourself.-How the environment, people, traditions, culture and embedded beliefs can influence performance.-Training is as much about training one’s ability/skill to cope with pain as it is about improving one’s fitness.-What’s a Hammer rep or Predator Tempo?-Improving as a coach/athlete requires time and space to make mistakes to learn. These are the required steps to grow to get better.Thanks once again Scott. Merry Christmas everyone, I hope you enjoy this listen and the festive season!

Today on the Run Culture Podcast, I chatted to one of the most ‘well read, knowledgeable and innovative’ coaching minds in current day distance running; Brad Hudson. The interview was quite high level, it covered a lot of territory and did bounce around a fair bit, many times I didn’t know what direction it was going to go which made it fun. Since starting the Run Culture podcast some 5yrs ago, I’ve had some interviews I’ve really cherished and this one ranks right up there as one of my favorites, I had a blast trying to keep up with this running genius.   Brad is a well-known running coach (who’s currently living in LA, USA) and was a former elite (2:13 marathoner) distance runner himself.   He is recognized for coaching many top-level athletes, including; Dathan Ritzenhein, Shayne Culpepper, Jason Hartman, Parker Stinson, Benita Johnson, Allie Kieffer, Jorge Torres, amongst many others….   There were many take home messages, including:   - How Modern elite training has changed in 2024? - Why we should all be 'Experimenting, Innovating and Evolving' our training? - Some of Brad’s key Endurance Training principles. - The importance of customized and responsive training plans. - The Importance of Sleep, Psychology, Nutrition, Stress management. - His many coaching influences (too many to list, he’s a lifelong learner and learns from anyone if he feels it could be useful). Some mentioned, include; Mark Wetmore, Bill Dellinger, Renate Canova, Arthur Lydiard, Percy Cerutty, Antonio Cabral, Jack Daniels, Nick Bideau and Pat Clohessy. - And many other pearls of coaching wisdom, including his two book recommendations- Ryan Holliday’s ‘Daily Stoic’ and Marc Bubb’s book; ‘Peak: The New Science of Athletic Performance That is Revolutionizing Sports’   If anyone wanted to reach out to Brad for ‘Online Running Coaching’ Brad’s email is: ⁠[email protected]⁠   Thanks once again Brad, you were a joy to listen to and have certainly got me excited about my own coaching!

Today on the Run Culture podcast I was extremely fortunate to chat to Andy Jones. As a sport scientist he has worked with many elite athletes over the years. Including, the former womans Marathon World Record Holder; Paula Radcliffe, along with also being employed by Nike to help Eluid Kipchoge in the Breaking 2 Marathon Project. I thoroughly enjoyed this chat, Andy is a fountain of knowledge, he has devoted his whole professional life to attempting to improve our understanding of the physiology of endurance performance. We start the podcast, going over his own running career and what he learnt from his own childhood hero; Steve Jones. We then define and discuss the ins/outs of 'Running Economy' and 'Physiological Resiliency' at length, using Andy's experiences with Paula and the Nike Breaking 2 Project. Links to two of Andy's articles I refer to in this chat are below: -The 15 yr long longitudinal study on Paula Radcliff, 'The Physiology of the World Record Holder for the Woman's Marathon (2006).' Link: ⁠⁠SS 1-2-01-Jones⁠⁠ - ⁠⁠The fourth dimension: physiological resilience as an independent determinant of endurance exercise performance - Jones - 2024 - The Journal of Physiology - Wiley Online Library⁠

Today, I had an amazing chat with Peter Rae, the head coach of ZAP Endurance! We explored the history of ZAP and its mission to boost US distance running since the 90s. It was so interesting to hear his thoughts on why US distance running has made such great strides in the last 8 years and how ZAP performed in 2024! I really enjoyed learning about his coaching philosophy and how it has changed over the past 23 years. What’s he doing now that he didn’t do back then? Hearing about his mentors, like Bill Squires, Pete Pfitzinger, and Bill Rodgers, was truly enlightening! Peter also emphasized the importance of soft skills in coaching, which often doesn’t get enough attention. We wrapped up by discussing Hurricane Helene and what the future holds for ZAP Endurance. If you're curious about ZAP Endurance—whether it’s their running camps, coaching services, or insightful blogs—check out their website: www.zapendurance.com

Today on the Run Culture podcast I chat to renowned exercise physiologist and running coach; Greg McMillan. We specifically talk about the importance of individualizing training. Over the years Greg has used a simple evaluation to help thousands of runners train more effectively, avoid injury and peak when it counts! He shares how you can do this too!Here are three questions every runner should answer:-How do I respond to certain training? Runners respond differently to different types of workouts and mileage. Are you a speedster, endurance monster or a combo runner?-How do I recover from certain training? Recovery isn't static. What workouts do you recover quickly from, what workouts do you take longer to recover from?-How do I adapt to certain training? What workouts give you a quick fitness boost (fast-adapting), what workouts take a bit longer (slow-adapting)?Greg McMillan is a renowned running coach, exercise physiologist and founder of McMillan Running. Greg has had some incredible mentors, including; Arthur Lydiard, Joe Vigil, David Martin, Gabriel Rosa and Jack Daniels. For a number of years Greg coached an Adidas sponsored pro team in Flagstaff, Arizona called 'McMillan Elite' or 'Team USA Arizona'. As you will see Greg has been a student of the sport his whole life, he is an incredible wealth of running knowledge and I am so grateful that he could share some of this with us today! If you want to learn more about; Greg's coaching services, try his world famous pacing calculator or just continue to be well informed about running, be sure to go to; www.mcmillanrunning.com

Today on the Run Culture Podcast I was very lucky to chat to Paul Laursen. Paul is a renowned sports scientist and expert in high-intensity interval training (HIIT). His extensive research and practical experience (as a runner, triathlete and coach) have made him a pivotal figure in the understanding of how HIIT can be effectively applied to endurance sports. Paul is the co-author of the; ' The Science and Application of High Intensity Interval Training: Solutions to the Programming Puzzle.' with Martin Bucheit. Here he explored the physiological mechanisms and benefits of HIIT. In todays episode, Paul defines what HIIT is and we discuss the 'decision tree' you should use to more effectively prescribe it. If you liked this episode and you want to reach out to Paul, be sure to go to: https://athletica.ai

Yesterday I caught up with Pete Dutton after we both ran the 2024 Melbourne marathon! We chat about; the preparation, how the race went, his mindset throughout both and what’s next!Pete finally can call himself a marathoner! Like many people’s journey it’s been a long time coming. I have coached Pete now for five years; so many of the training decisions over that time have been made with this ultimate goal of the marathon in mind. Three or four years ago after a couple of stress fractures off low mileage it seemed a long way off. This marathon was certainly the summation of a big body of work and growth. There were as always, many learnings to come out of it and there are many more to come. It certainly has instilled an exciting layer of confidence for the future knowing Pete’s body cooperated and he ran as well as he did Sunday off a relatively conservative marathon build!I hope you enjoy this honest reflection and chat between coach and athlete!

Today, I had the distinct pleasure of engaging with the insightful John Davis on the Run Culture Podcast. We ventured into his coaching techniques, influenced by the greats like; Arthur Lydiard, John Kellogg, and Renate Canova. Our dialogue then largely focused on the groundbreaking concept of 'full spectrum training'—a vital approach for runners looking to enhance their training methods and understand the nuances of periodization. I specifically reached out to John to discuss this topic, as I believe it holds the potential to empower many runners in their training journeys. A huge thank you to John for generously imparting his wealth of knowledge! John is a runner, coach, scientist and author of the book: "Modern Training and Physiology for Middle and Long Distance Runners" He also has an amazing website called; www.runningwritings.com Be sure to explore his outstanding book and blog for more invaluable insights (links below): Newsletter: https://runningwritings.com/news Website: https://runningwritings.com/ Book: https://www.amazon.com/Modern-Training-Physiology-Long-Distance-Runners/dp/0615790291/ X: https://x.com/JDruns Here’s a link to the percentage-based training article we discussed: https://runningwritings.com/2023/12/percentage-based-training.html

Peter Dutton is one of the Run Culture Owl athletes I coach, we have worked together for the past 5 years! The hidden advantage of doing a podcast with an athlete you have coached for that long is that you have an incredible audio time capsule to re-visit! In fact, as I write this blurb I am re-listening to the very first podcast we did together (S1-Ep. 30 Feb 2020), it's quite an interesting process as a coach; he's definitely the same person but a little bit different...as am I! It has been a year to the day since the last time Pete was on the podcast! So, please do yourself a favor and listen in to hear; -How Pete's 3 month US trip went (he trained at Altitude in Boulder and Flagstaff!). -Or how he salvaged, in his words; 'the track season from hell!' .... -and how I have finally given him the green light to try to make the 2024 Melbourne Marathon start line!

🎙️🏃‍♂️ In today's episode of the Run Culture Podcast, I had an enlightening conversation with Dr. Phil Bellinger, a researcher and teacher from Griffith University in QLD, Australia. We delved into the fascinating world of muscle fiber phenotypes and how understanding them can revolutionize individualized training for athletes. 🏋️‍♀️⚡️ Dr. Bellinger shared insights from his groundbreaking study on 24 middle-distance runners, highlighting the diverse responses they had to overload training. He also revealed a non-invasive test he uses to accurately predict an athlete's muscle fiber phenotype. 🧪💪 We explored how athletes with different ratios of fast twitch, slow twitch, and hybrid fibers generally respond to training, debunking the assumption that coaches always get it right. Discover the adjustments you can make to training schedules to better cater to an athlete's specific phenotype. 📊🏃‍♀️ Ever wondered if fast twitch intermediate fibers can transform into more oxidative fibers over time? We tackled this question and discussed the types of training that encourage such adaptations. 💥🔋 Finally, we wrapped up by exploring the distinctions between acute fatigue, functional over-reaching, and non-functional over-reaching. It's crucial to understand these nuances to optimize training and prevent burnout. 💤🔄 Tune in to this episode to gain valuable insights into the science of muscle fiber phenotypes and how it can enhance athletic performance. 🎧🔬 #RunCulturePodcast #AthleteTraining #MuscleFiberPhenotypes