Why Summer Training Is A Must For Elite Runners Or Those Who Want To Be

Finals are just about over and the summer fun is heating up. Are you dreaming about the days of sleeping in or lazy afternoons? Probably not, as you're a cross country runner. You'll be pounding the ground with summer training...or at least you should be!

Many of the top high school coaches believe summer training will make or break your cross country season. If you want to be the best in the fall, your training should start now.

Justin Leonard is the Head Cross Country coach at Southlake Carroll High School in Texas. His boys and girls teams have won 11 State Championships and have run at Nike Nationals 21 times. As Coach Leonard tells MileSplit, "Summer training is vital. The key to summer training is building a strong foundation or base. This is crucial for success in the fall." By building your base, you'll be improving your speed, strength, and stride, all of which are key components to elite running.

Reed Brown, headed to the University of Oregon this fall, has trained under Coach Leonard for the past four years. He was one of the top high school distance runners in the nation, and he's a big believer in summer training. "You can either get in pretty good shape for the season or really out of shape for the season," he says. "[It] can have a big impact on your entire season."

Coach Doug Soles from Great Oak High School in Temecula, California, couldn't agree more: "The mileage base you build during this time makes you more injury-resistant during hard workouts common later in the season."

Coach Soles would know, as his teams have won 9 state championships and appeared at NXN eight times, his boys winning the national title in 2015. Coach Soles believes the most important thing in the summer is mileage, followed by consistency.

"Not all workouts are hard," he says. "In fact, most are just recovery-type runs, but the consistency factor helps a lot at burning calories and training your body to be a more efficient runner."

Finally, both coaches believe in getting extra sleep during the summer. Just what you were looking for: proof to convince your parents to let you sleep.

"During the summer, athletes need to learn to nap and find ways to get in eight-plus hours of sleep a night. Committed athletes can make big jumps and stay healthier by getting more sleep. It is especially important for younger guys that are going through big physical growth changes during this time."

Besides running all summer long, what else should you be doing? Coach Soles recommends core, cross training, swimming and plyos (jump training). At the end of the article, you can find an example of the plyos training that Coach Soles uses!

Coach Leonard also reminds his runners to make sure they hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!

"We recommend our runners drink water and Gatorade," he says. "We like for them to constantly sip water throughout the day to help with hydration. We also want our runners to mix in Gatorade to help with their sodium levels. Hydration is something that needs to be addressed on a consistent basis and not just one hour before practice."

Coach Leonard also likes to serve up chocolate milk with one chocolate chip cookie. Not so much as a treat but, as he says, "We drink chocolate milk within 30 minutes post hard workout because it contains a beneficial carb-to-protein ratio to help aid in muscle recovery." Coach Leonard also wants his runners to remember to focus on nutrition during the summer. "You wouldn't put the cheapest gas in a fine-tuned car."

A lot of this applies to sprinters as well.

"If you want to be good at your craft," Coach Soles says, "sitting on your butt all summer isn't going to help you improve. At the very least, sprinters should have a consistent gym workout."

Both coaches encourage runners to use the summer as a time to set season goals. And finally: have fun! Coach Leonard and Coach Soles suggest to spend time with your teammates and friends. Find time for team-bonding activities like swim parties, pasta parties, sleepovers, and movies. If you work hard as a team, you should play hard as a team. If you do, there's a good chance you'll be running better than ever in the fall.

Coach Soles' Plyos Workout