2025 Summer Mileage, August 16, 2025, Week 6, Day 6, an day at the races!

2025 Summer Mileage, Week 6, Day 6, August 16, 2025, Saturday is a race day! 

Saturday, warm up well, race a fast 5k, or a hilly 5k-10k, and give it a good effort, cool down well.

In this hot weather, remember to hydrate. 2-3 liters a day of water, watch out for carbonated beverages, and caffeine (in moderation). Do not take sports drinks with caffeine, ginseng and things that you have not discussed with your coach and family physician. Those drinks can cause heart issues. They are not a joke!

Racing early season 

Racing during the summer is a test for your fitness. I suggest a race with lots of hills, so you do not worry about the time and get in some good hill work.

In my college days, I would race on Thursday nights much of the summer, racing 2 miles six or so times, getting a bit of speed in with my miles. At the end of the summer, I would race a 5,000 meters, and then, target a couple of 10ks and perhaps Wharf to Wharf, a historic race from Santa Cruz to Capitola (5.8 miles then).

Let’s be clear, high schoolers do not need high mileage, 40-45 miles a week is about what I would suggest. Advanced. high schoolers might consider 60 miles a week, but please check with coaches.

I ran way too many miles my sophomore summer, and I learned from it. That was the era. In college, I built up over five years, thanks to my coach, Dan Durante, who taught me about hills, road mile repeats, improvising and checking my recovery.

Your training is coming along well, if you have followed our program since early July!

You will evolve, so be patient!

#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.

Will. you be ready? Follow our daily training suggestions, and daily athlete stories and you will be ready to race in the fall! 

The Nike Pegasus PLUS is a great entry shoe for high school cross country. You should consider it, and learn more about it at nike.com. It is light, cushioned, a good summer mileage shoe. 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.

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.”

View all posts