When you think of a long distance athlete what do you see? Do you see a solitary individual logging in lonely miles along some forgotten highway? Do you see someone who looks like they could use a good meal? Do you see someone who looks like they're running 150 miles a week?

Well it isn't that way anymore. The days of the solitary long distance athlete have gone the way of waffle trainers and nylon running shorts. Today's long-distance athlete is much more likely to be a man or woman with job and family responsibilities who is lucky to squeeze in 25 miles a week in between everything else they have to do.

If you don't believe me, all you have to do is hang out at a half or full marathon finish and see for yourself who is out there running, walking and waddling across the finish line. They are, for lack of a better word, normal people. They are young and old, tall and short, male and female, thin and not so thin. And each one of them deserves our best coaching and our respect.

What's important to remember, from my perspective, is that the modern long distance athlete is trying to balance lots of competing pressures and activities. For the most part, they are not able to devote anything like full time to the process of training and racing. As enthusiastic as they may be at the information sessions and kick-off meetings, life very often intervenes. And when it does, the first part of their life to be sacrificed will be their training.

As coaches, it's important to be flexible in your own thinking so that you can help the participants be flexible in their thinking. Too often, training seems like an all or nothing proposal to the participants. They believe that they either get in all the miles that we recommend or they are doomed to fail. It's incumbent on all of us to help them understand that if they keep their expectations realistic and their race goals in line with their training volume, most will be able complete the distance.

They can't finish what they don't start. They can't succeed unless we give them the opportunity to line up and do their best. As important as the training schedules are, what's more important is helping each participant learn to be honest with themselves, aware of their strengths and weaknesses, and able to choose for themselves what success means.

Waddle On, friends.

More Articles

One very long day