Coaching Cross Country: Summer Training Plan

with Scott Christensen,
Stillwater Area High School (MN) Head Girls Track & Field / Cross Country Coach;
Stillwater Area High School (MN) Head Boys Track & Field / Cross Country Coach from 1980 to 2023;
2024 NHSACA Boys Track & Field National Coach of the Year recipient;
5x Minnesota State Boys Track & Field team champions;
5x Minnesota State Boys Cross Country team champions;
3x MN True Team Track & Field State Champions;
1997 USA National Cross Country champions;
has coached 23 individual state track & field and 2 individual state cross country champions;
USATF National Endurance Special Projects Instructor;
USATF National Level 2 Endurance Lead Instructor;
IAAF Level 5 Academy Instructor;
USTFCCCA Endurance Master's Course Instructor;
at Stillwater, has coached Ben Blankenship (2016 USA Olympian, 1500 meters), Luke Watson (1999, 2004, 2006 USA World Cross Country Championship Teams), and Sean Graham (2006 USA National Team);
only coach/program in U.S. high school history to produce four alumni sub 4:00 milers

Developing a successful summer training program for a high school cross country program has evolved over time and must take into account several factors. Summer training must be structured, focus on quality, include functional strength, expect plateaus, and include working hard to build your team's culture. It is a combination of all these new tools and fresh ideas that can lead your team to fall success.

Scott Christensen provides many years' worth of running knowledge and success to explain the how, what, and why of summer training. He uses his sports science background and years of team success and applies it to the importance of summer structure. He encourages all coaches to not only rely on their trusted tools, but to also be open to new ideas to maximize both team and individual athlete success.

Methods and Reasoning

Charts provided throughout this video support the "WHY" of Coach Christensen's instruction and emphasize the key takeaways. Christensen refers to "reversibility", a training principle that supports improvements in a runner's "blood volume change" and how it will decrease quickly. Without summer training, athletes could lose all the gains they have worked so hard for during track season.

Coach Christensen provides you with five primary physical performance concepts and how to blend them effectively to maximize athlete skill development. Although endurance is the key, he maintains that the combination of flexibility, speed, strength, and coordination should never be left behind.

Training Schedule

Christensen shares how to periodize training from June through November and explains the polarized training model that he advocates for and uses at Stillwater High School. This model is a good guide to follow and Coach Christensen recommends that you set your training to follow the 75/25 formula.

Next, you'll learn a variety of workouts designed to improve essential elements during the early season, late summer, and championship phases of cross-country training. Base runs, long runs, hills sessions, aerobic power, max speed, fartleks, and special endurance are all addressed in detail.

Coach Christensen provides you with great insight into preparing for summer training and shares what has led his program to unbelievable yearly success. You will learn the science, various stimulus types, and specific workouts that should be included to provide your team the best chance to have a successful season.

54 minutes. 2021.