This is probably one of the most important pieces of running related literature that has ever come out. As a coach, this was an absolute gold mine. I could feel all the different pieces of information floating around my brain start to crystallize and organize and gain a structure and flow. I am simply a better and more informed coach after having read read this.
Fascinating read, Steve. I can barely run one 11-minute mile or a three-hour half-marathon, and I still found it highly educational and interesting as I try to get my 53-year-old tail back in shape.
Please consider doing some posts for people who aren't in a position to do the full training regimen experienced runners follow. Beginners who are slow, or triathletes who are volume-limited, are two good examples of populations who need to understand how to apply this to their specific circumstances.
It was a pleasure Reading this! And, as a Norwegian; so good to read that this 4 x 4 training is old news, it is often advertised as the Norwegian method with a picture of Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who never use this method. But What I Would like to Challenge you with; I have the feeling that stress fractures have exploded in the Norwegian society after introduction of double treshfold, espesially in women. Do you know if this is the case in other running societies introducing this training?
Wonderful overview of the history and evolution of training! Thoroughly enjoyed reading this and would be thrilled if you did decide to undertake a more massive long format review in the form of a book! I have several of the originals, including the science of running :) - and reference them from time to time but an updated overview from an expert like you- that would be invaluable! (okay, maybe only the nerds would purchase but it would be impactful nonetheless). I am a bit older than you and was one of those 90s teens who did a LOT of intervals. We did some easy longer runs on occasion, and AMs were always 3-4mi easy but it was also a ton of track work. Super fun.. I love the track- but did I reach my potential? Probably not. I don't remember a whole lot of periodization to be honest.
Wonderful read Steve, hopefully someday you can bring out the long version with no limit, so I can continue to enjoy and dig even more of all the annotations you have pulled out of the attic. More than kudos, I would like to ask you a question. How you mentioned at the beginning that most of the examples would be based on the 1500's, and at the end the mention you share that the advice from people we follow on social media try to advise the "best workout", how does all the history and evolution translate but focused on the "amateur-elite" population or the population looking to be "Always ready and fit beyond just being fit" which is what I very vaguely feel is what the people mentioned at the end are referring to. Best regards steve, and thanks for the article.
Amazing text through the running history! Thank you. I, as a runner (3h04 in chicago marathon 2019) / dietitian and future physical educator, would like to ask you to talk a bit about how we put all this history and learnings in womens periodization. Im 41 years old and since my last marathons's workout program (2022) i feel that my body and my hormones cant handley it anymore, at the same time i want to stay running well and happy (and want to teach this to others women!). If you could help... :)
Just perfect timing - I’ve just recently gone back to the books and started writing myself a summary of training physiology and principles, so this has been so useful in helping me crystallise my thoughts and ideas.
Beautiful overview. Why does Schul’s workout have meters and yards?
Also, precision is easier with gps watches. Gone are the days that you drove your route to get the mileage and figured out the overall pace from your Timex once the run was done. We really only had feel to go by unless you went to a track.
It's how Schul wrote it! Probably because of time period (1960s) where some tracks were converting to meters and because he had a european coach, but was american.
Super well written, as always! I’m curious how much you’d say training theory has evolved in the past decade? I bought your Science of Running to coach myself as a senior in high school and recently returned to it for some workout to train for a fast track 5k. Do you incorporate double-T workouts now, or is the bulk of your training theory the same as it was?
Hi Steve. Love all your work, but I'm curious to know your thoughts on the 400m and 800m. Tony Holler I think is the best thought leader for the 400m and advocates 0 aerobic base for it. His high school is #2 in Illinois under his Feed The Cats program.
I'm not a fan of this approach for 400, and definitely not for 800m. It just goes against everything we know. Even sprint based 400 training include aerobic training.
At Houston, which was very much a sprint based approach with Carl Lewis and Leroy Burell, the 400m guys would do grass fartleks in the fall and then aerobic 200s and other things. They'd even do a mile time trial.
And they set the indoor 4x400 world record and had an NCAA champ in the 400m.
You've got to balance the demands out. Where that falls will vary. But to totally disregard a tool in the toolkit is foolish to me if you're looking at optimizing performance.
https://www.substack.com/@tonyholler786727 He is the only coach as methodical as you that I study, has a long history of success and fast growing influence, beyond just the 4x400.
To over simplify, his 400m guys do 3x200 2-3x a week. No jogging, no lifting, no hills, never run tired, never run against the wind.
They do plyometric speed drills , 10m flys, etc.
There is a huge emphasis on rest, short practices, and maximizing happiness. They never jog, not even to warm up. The only "lactate" work is the meets themselves. Max velocity is more important than acceleration. He does not consider the 400 a hybrid event.
I would love to see a discussion between the two of you on the 400m specifically. I know this his approach is not traditional. But his long track record at multiple schools, as well as his rationale is very convincing.
Thank you, Steve. Absolute legend in your field. My sport is amateur boxing which is 3x2 min rds, 1 min rest. Maybe closer to 800m in terms of energy systems...
Both you and Tony have been very inspiring to me even though I've never ran track.
This is probably one of the most important pieces of running related literature that has ever come out. As a coach, this was an absolute gold mine. I could feel all the different pieces of information floating around my brain start to crystallize and organize and gain a structure and flow. I am simply a better and more informed coach after having read read this.
Thanks so much! So glad it helped. That’s the goal!
Fascinating read, Steve. I can barely run one 11-minute mile or a three-hour half-marathon, and I still found it highly educational and interesting as I try to get my 53-year-old tail back in shape.
Please consider doing some posts for people who aren't in a position to do the full training regimen experienced runners follow. Beginners who are slow, or triathletes who are volume-limited, are two good examples of populations who need to understand how to apply this to their specific circumstances.
It was a pleasure Reading this! And, as a Norwegian; so good to read that this 4 x 4 training is old news, it is often advertised as the Norwegian method with a picture of Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who never use this method. But What I Would like to Challenge you with; I have the feeling that stress fractures have exploded in the Norwegian society after introduction of double treshfold, espesially in women. Do you know if this is the case in other running societies introducing this training?
Wonderful overview of the history and evolution of training! Thoroughly enjoyed reading this and would be thrilled if you did decide to undertake a more massive long format review in the form of a book! I have several of the originals, including the science of running :) - and reference them from time to time but an updated overview from an expert like you- that would be invaluable! (okay, maybe only the nerds would purchase but it would be impactful nonetheless). I am a bit older than you and was one of those 90s teens who did a LOT of intervals. We did some easy longer runs on occasion, and AMs were always 3-4mi easy but it was also a ton of track work. Super fun.. I love the track- but did I reach my potential? Probably not. I don't remember a whole lot of periodization to be honest.
HELL YES! Thank you, Steve. This helps me make the case that the soccer community is in the 1950s with their interval only running.
Exactly! When we know the history we can place it in context. Glad to help.
Wonderful read Steve, hopefully someday you can bring out the long version with no limit, so I can continue to enjoy and dig even more of all the annotations you have pulled out of the attic. More than kudos, I would like to ask you a question. How you mentioned at the beginning that most of the examples would be based on the 1500's, and at the end the mention you share that the advice from people we follow on social media try to advise the "best workout", how does all the history and evolution translate but focused on the "amateur-elite" population or the population looking to be "Always ready and fit beyond just being fit" which is what I very vaguely feel is what the people mentioned at the end are referring to. Best regards steve, and thanks for the article.
Amazing text through the running history! Thank you. I, as a runner (3h04 in chicago marathon 2019) / dietitian and future physical educator, would like to ask you to talk a bit about how we put all this history and learnings in womens periodization. Im 41 years old and since my last marathons's workout program (2022) i feel that my body and my hormones cant handley it anymore, at the same time i want to stay running well and happy (and want to teach this to others women!). If you could help... :)
Just perfect timing - I’ve just recently gone back to the books and started writing myself a summary of training physiology and principles, so this has been so useful in helping me crystallise my thoughts and ideas.
Thank you Steve!
Beautiful overview. Why does Schul’s workout have meters and yards?
Also, precision is easier with gps watches. Gone are the days that you drove your route to get the mileage and figured out the overall pace from your Timex once the run was done. We really only had feel to go by unless you went to a track.
It's how Schul wrote it! Probably because of time period (1960s) where some tracks were converting to meters and because he had a european coach, but was american.
This was a great read Steve, and brought back great memories of reading Marius’s blog and following your own sub 4 chase. Thanks for writing it.
Super well written, as always! I’m curious how much you’d say training theory has evolved in the past decade? I bought your Science of Running to coach myself as a senior in high school and recently returned to it for some workout to train for a fast track 5k. Do you incorporate double-T workouts now, or is the bulk of your training theory the same as it was?
Another comment if I may—it seems insane the 800m WR was as low as 1:46 in 1939 and it still took another 15 years to reach a sub 4 mile.
That’s because if you look at the training done at the time it lacked the endurance/aerobic strength!
Now a days we see an 800 guy with 146-7 speed and think, with a bit of endurance they’re sub 4 no problem.
Back then, the training programs were not able to optimize the endurance side enough. So you had a bigger gap between 800 and mile ability.
Hi Steve. Love all your work, but I'm curious to know your thoughts on the 400m and 800m. Tony Holler I think is the best thought leader for the 400m and advocates 0 aerobic base for it. His high school is #2 in Illinois under his Feed The Cats program.
I'm not a fan of this approach for 400, and definitely not for 800m. It just goes against everything we know. Even sprint based 400 training include aerobic training.
At Houston, which was very much a sprint based approach with Carl Lewis and Leroy Burell, the 400m guys would do grass fartleks in the fall and then aerobic 200s and other things. They'd even do a mile time trial.
And they set the indoor 4x400 world record and had an NCAA champ in the 400m.
You've got to balance the demands out. Where that falls will vary. But to totally disregard a tool in the toolkit is foolish to me if you're looking at optimizing performance.
https://www.substack.com/@tonyholler786727 He is the only coach as methodical as you that I study, has a long history of success and fast growing influence, beyond just the 4x400.
To over simplify, his 400m guys do 3x200 2-3x a week. No jogging, no lifting, no hills, never run tired, never run against the wind.
They do plyometric speed drills , 10m flys, etc.
There is a huge emphasis on rest, short practices, and maximizing happiness. They never jog, not even to warm up. The only "lactate" work is the meets themselves. Max velocity is more important than acceleration. He does not consider the 400 a hybrid event.
I would love to see a discussion between the two of you on the 400m specifically. I know this his approach is not traditional. But his long track record at multiple schools, as well as his rationale is very convincing.
I’m very familiar with his work. Have spoken to him before.
Sorry but it goes against everything we know in training. I
It can work in high school because it keeps them engaged and doesn’t overcook them. It can work for the 100. Though I’d argue not ideal.
But the further up you go you’re just being dogmatic and neglecting stimuli for no logical reason.
There’s a reason that just about every high level 400m athlete does some sort of aerobic conditioning, even if it’s in the style of Igloi intervals.
Thank you, Steve. Absolute legend in your field. My sport is amateur boxing which is 3x2 min rds, 1 min rest. Maybe closer to 800m in terms of energy systems...
Both you and Tony have been very inspiring to me even though I've never ran track.