2025 Fall Cross Country & Racing Season, October 16, 2025, Week 7 Day 4, Thursday is a tough day!

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2025 Fall Cross Country & Racing Program, Mileage, Week 7, Day 4, October 16, 2025, Thursday is a tough day!

Our program will be built around a tempo run with some hills on Tuesday, fartlek on Thursday, race day or repetitions on Saturday, Long run on Sunday and easy days on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. You can juggle around if you need and also consider keeping Saturdays an easy day in weeks you are not racing! Ask your coach before adding anything to your daily training.

Thursday, warm-up, 40 minutes of fartlek, 2 minutes times 10, hard/easy, THEN, 5 times 90 seconds hill racing, 90 seconds easy between each, 5 times 1 minute hill charge, 1 minute easy, 5 times 45 second hill, 45 second easy running, cooldown.

Always about a kick!

Are you a good kicker? One of my favorite workouts, about once a month during my college career was 200 yard repeats. I did them on a baseball field or soccer pitch on the outside of the field in baseball or two sides on soccer. The idea was to run about 25-40 seconds hard, jog a couple minutes and repeat. I did this up to 20 times, but for high school athletes I would suggest 6-8.

Another trick is to, in all repeats or intervals, increase pace over last 1/3 of distance. I did this all season in Junior year in high school, and it really helped my kick! Perhaps it will help you!

BELGRADE, SERBIA – MARCH 30: Berehanu Tsegu of Ethiopia, Jacob Kiplimo, Leonard Chemutai and Joshua Chptegei of Uganda, Samwel Chebolei Masai and Benson Kiplangat of Kenya cempetes in the Men’s Senior race during the World Athletics Cross Country Championships Belgrade 2024 on March 30, 2024 in Belgrade, Serbia.(Photo by © Adam Nurkiewicz for World Athletics

#SummerMileage, #hillrunning, #RunBlogRunSummerMileage, #running, #crosscountry,

In his sophomore year of track, Steve Prefontaine did not make the state meet. He was embarrassed and upset with himself. That summer, he planned, with his coaches, a ruthless series of training runs over the summer. He not only did mileage, he made himself stronger. He made himself tougher. That fall, Steve Prefontaine was ready for his junior season of high school cross country.

Steve Prefontaine, during summer of his sophomore year in high school, photo courtesy of Marshfield High School/TFN News

Are you ready to race this Fall? Follow our daily training suggestions, and we will help you be ready to race!

NIKE Pegasus PLUS, photo courtesy of NIKE running

The NIKE Pegasus PLUS may be the perfect NIKE shoe for summer and fall high school running. It is light, sturdy and built for miles! I would recommend it for speed days, fartlek days, hill days and if you have just one shoe, a good trainer/racer. Nike is back on track with this shoe, part of the Pegasus 41 evolution. I recommend two pairs of training shoes for the fall, such as a NIKE Pegasus PLUS and a NIKE Vomero 18 (shown below) for easy days and long days. The Pegasus PLUS is well constructed, can handle dirt and mud and gives you a stable, comfortable ride without overdoing the cushioning. As always, we do not recommend that you buy your running performance shoes remotely, but go into a real live running store. If you need a suggestion, email me at [email protected] and I will help you find one!

One of the shoes we are liking in Summer 2025 is the Vomero 18! Check it out at #NIKERunning

If you need a little more cushioning, try the Vomero 18. The Vomero 18 has more cushioning that the Pegasus PLUS. If you like NIKE, I would suggest high schoolers use the NIKE Pegasus PLUS for Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. I would suggest the Vomero 18 for Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I always suggest two pairs of training shoes. Why on Vomero 18? It is a cushioned shoe that feels great and is good on the roads and trails. Learn more on www.nikerunning.com.

If you need a more cushioned shoe, try the Vomero 18 and the Vomero 18 PLUS, for great cushioning, a more sophisticated ride. Check them out at your local NIKE retailer or NIKE running store.

Do you want to be a better cross country runner than you were in the past? Focus and follow our training. It is all about the consistency.

For Great Summer reading! Self Made Olympian by Ron Daws, A Clean Pair of Heels by Murray Halberg, Pre! by Tom Jordan, Quicksilver, The Mercurial Emil Zatopek, by Pat Butcher, The Destiny of Alain Mimoun, by Pat Butcher (a monograph)

Remember, one day at a time!!!! #SummerMileage, #CrossCountry,

Larry Eder has had a 52-year involvement in the sport of athletics. Larry has experienced the sport as an athlete, coach, magazine publisher, and now, journalist and blogger. His first article, on Don Bowden, America’s first sub-4 minute miler, was published in RW in 1983. Larry has published several magazines on athletics, from American Athletics to the U.S. version of Spikes magazine. He currently manages the content and marketing development of the RunningNetwork, The Shoe Addicts, and RunBlogRun. Of RunBlogRun, his daily pilgrimage with the sport, Larry says: “I have to admit, I love traveling to far away meets, writing about the sport I love, and the athletes I respect, for my readers at runblogrun.com, the most of anything I have ever done, except, maybe running itself.” Also does some updates for BBC Sports at key events, which he truly enjoys.

Theme song: Greg Allman, ” I’m no Angel.”

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