Season Planning Hub

A Map of Content for all season planning and periodization content — from summer base building through championship peaking. Covers XC macrocycles, mesocycles, practice structure, and transition planning for both cross country and track.

The season is won or lost before it begins. This hub covers how to structure the entire training year — from the June reset through November championships.

Video & External Resources

Cross Country Training Overview

  • High School Cross Country Training — The championship blueprint for high school XC: Lydiard/Daniels/Vigil philosophy, four-phase season structure, key workouts, sample week, and the most common XC coaching questions answered.

The XC Season in Three Parts

The definitive three-part series for structuring a high school cross country season:

  1. XC Pre-Season Guide Part 1 — Building the aerobic foundation. Summer mileage, team culture, establishing training groups. June–August.
  2. XC Mid-Season Guide Part 2 — Managing the stress of simultaneous volume and intensity. Dual meets as workouts. September–early October.
  3. XC Championship Season Part 3 — Tapering, peaking, mental preparation, and race-week logistics. Championship month.

Macrocycle & Periodization Framework

  • XC Periodization Macrocycle — The master framework: four phases (Base → Early Season → Competition → Peaking), how they fit into the calendar, and what each phase trains physiologically.
  • Running Mesocycle Training Guide — Deep dive into 3–4 week training blocks. How to sequence stress and recovery, what adaptations each block targets.
  • Building the Championship XC Season — 13-week case study working backward from a November state meet. Concrete week-by-week structure with specific workouts.
  • High School XC Base Building Plan — The 6-month macrocycle from March track through the November championship. Big-picture arc for an entire program year.

Summer & Preseason Planning

  • Safe Summer Base Mileage — The step-by-step summer mileage framework. The mandatory 10-day post-track reset. Progressive loading with injury red flags built in.
  • Preseason Training for Cross Country — FAQs on preseason structure, volume, and what “base building” actually looks like in practice.
  • Early Season Distance Training Plan — The first two weeks of track season: structural goals, workout types, and how to bring athletes back from an off-season.
  • Indoor to Outdoor Track Transition — 6-week and 2-week transition plans for moving from indoor to outdoor. Gravel running as bridge training.
  • Gravel Running — Why unpaved surfaces serve as a natural bridge between indoor and outdoor seasons, and how to structure gravel running weeks.

Mileage Progression

  • Progressive Mileage Guidelines — Year-by-year mileage targets: freshmen through seniors. The four-year staircase model.
  • Freshman Mileage Progression Guide — Running-age assessment, stride introduction, and week-by-week volume for year-one athletes.
  • Missing Week Running Training — How to handle vacation weeks, illness gaps, and missed training without derailing the season.
  • Mileage Manifesto — The philosophy behind progressive volume and why consistency trumps any single big week.

Practice Structure

  • XC Practice Structure — The 2-hour daily practice template: warm-up, workout, cool-down, coaching zones, and time management.
  • XC Practice Structure (Extended) — Full-week breakdown by workout type. What Monday through Sunday should look like at each phase of the season.
  • High School Track Organization Guide — First four weeks of spring track: staffing, uniform distribution, event groups, and daily schedule templates.