Posts Tagged: Trail Running Coaching

Coach Alex Nichols

Photo Credit: Irunfar

We could not be more pumped to have Alex join the Trails and Tarmac coaching team!  He brings with him a depth of racing experience covering all types of terrain and distances. Alex’s  racing style is something that we have respected for a long time. He always runs his race, pacing impeccably well, and usually ends up dismantling fields in the second half. His intelligent thoughtful style spills over into his coaching. Alex has been the women’s distance track and assistant men’s and women’s cross country coach at Colorado College for the past six  years. There he has coached 7 out of the 9 conference champions in the schools history. He’s coached women to school records in the mile, 5k, and 10k! We know that with Alex’s incredible experience in training for and racing all distances as well his years of successful coaching at Colorado College that he’s the perfect fit as our newest Trails and Tarmac coach. We did a short interview where you can find out a bit more about Alex, what he’s bringing to the table, and why you want him to coach you! If you are interested in learning more about being coached by Alex or any of the Trails and Tarmac coaches you may fill out this questionnaire.

 

Imagine you’re planning your next 100 mile race, you’re writing the training, planning the long runs, figuring weekly mileage, detailing the specifics of the taper and deciding if any shorter tune up races would benefit you. The process is a lot like cooking Thanksgiving dinner–there is a lot to think about, and everything has to be timed perfectly. If you forget something the result will leave a bad taste in your mouth and might make your friends not want to come over again (OK hopefully not). Speed is the salt of any training program. You do not need much, but a little will make a big difference.

TNF 50 Mile 2015

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As the sun rose to the East and the Pacific broke to the West, I was caught in between running up the ridge dividing these two worlds.

Every year for the last four I have raced The North Face 50 mile in the Marin Headlands, CA. It has become an ultrarunning proving ground for me, and a lot of other guys and gals. The course is somewhat smooth, but consistently hilly making the race tough enough to be considered a solid trail race, at least by American standards. The trend of younger runners trying their hand at the 50 mile distance at TNF was more true in 2015 than ever. It’s the norm for 21-24 year olds to be out in force.

This summer there were some major successes and major failures, or nicely put, learning experiences.

From these experiences I learned a lot of lessons that made me, and will continue to make me a better runner. I think a couple of them can make you a better runner too. I’ll share a few and hope that they will be applicable for anyone running a mountain ultra distance trail race.