Athlete Development Hub

A Map of Content for long-term athlete development — the four-year high school arc, freshman-specific programming, progressive mileage, and special considerations for female runners and multi-sport athletes.

You’re not just coaching a season. You’re developing a runner across four years. This hub covers how to think about the long arc — and how to customize training for different athletes.

Video & External Resources

  • Jonathan Dalby – Training Freshman — Conservative progression framework for first-year runners. Practical guidance on running age, mileage introduction, and what not to do in year one.
  • How the 1600m Is Different from XC — Year-round mile pace work, gear-changing drills, and event-specific speed development. Bridges XC training into track season.
  • How to Train Strengths and Weaknesses — Identifying athlete type (aerobic vs. anaerobic dominant) and adjusting the development plan accordingly.

The Four-Year Development Framework

The single most important concept for avoiding burnout and building durable athletes:

  • Progressive Mileage Guidelines — Year-by-year mileage targets: ~25–30 mi (freshman) → 50+ mi (senior). The four-year staircase model with rationale for each step.
  • Developing Young Distance Runners — Talent identification, youth periodization, and why the freshman year is about engine-building, not racing.
  • Zone 2 Training for High School Runners — The 80/20 principle applied across the four-year arc. Why the burnout epidemic is a coaching failure, not an athlete failure.
  • Mileage Manifesto — The philosophical underpinning: what mileage actually builds, and how to think about volume as an investment.

Freshman-Specific Development

  • Developing Freshman Distance Runners — Speed-first approach: why freshmen who run fast now build better senior athletes. Career-arc planning from day one.
  • Freshman Mileage Progression Guide — Running-age assessment, stride introduction, and week-by-week volume for first-year athletes. The difference between “training age” and “biological age.”

Coaching Female Runners

  • Coaching Female Distance Runners — Science-backed training shifts for girls: bone stress, hormonal fluctuations, the Female Athlete Triad/RED-S, and how to structure workouts around the menstrual cycle.
  • Iron Deficiency in Distance Runners — The #1 nutrition crisis for female distance runners. Symptoms, testing, dietary sources, and supplementation protocols.
  • Jane Hedengren – Blueprint for Female Runners — Elite case study. Patient progression, training philosophy, resilience-building, and what exceptional female development looks like.

Managing Mileage & Transitions

  • Missing Week Running Training — How to handle vacation gaps, illness, and disrupted training without panic or compensatory over-training.
  • Indoor to Outdoor Track Transition — Managing the structural demands of the seasonal shift. Surface changes, volume adjustments, and gravel running as bridge work.
  • Swimmer to Track Runner Transition — 12-week protocol for athletes crossing over from aquatics. Tendon load management and aerobic carryover.
  • High School vs Club Team — Navigating the dual-program dilemma. When running for both is beneficial, when it becomes dangerous, and how to communicate with club coaches.

Special Topics