Chasing a Boston Qualifier After 40: What Changes, What Doesn't

Chasing a Boston Qualifier After 40: What Changes, What Doesn't

A good chunk of the 65 runners I've coached to a Boston Qualifying standard were over 40. Here's what actually has to change in your training after 40, and what stays exactly the same.

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Should You Start Marathon Training Now? The 18-Week Indianapolis Monumental Window

Should You Start Marathon Training Now? The 18-Week Indianapolis Monumental Window

If you're thinking about running the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon this November, today is not too early to start. It's exactly right. Here's what an 18-week build looks like and how to use the summer window well.

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5 Signs You're Ready to Hire a Running Coach (And Signs You're Not)

5 Signs You're Ready to Hire a Running Coach (And Signs You're Not)

A lot of runners ask me when the right time to hire a coach is. The answer isn't about your pace or your race history. It's about where you are in your training and what's actually holding you back.

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Marathon Training Over 40: What Changes and How to Run Your Best as a Masters Runner

Marathon Training Over 40: What Changes and How to Run Your Best as a Masters Runner

One of the most common things I hear from runners over 40 is some version of "I'm doing everything I used to do but I keep getting hurt or I'm just not improving." Here's an honest look at what changes after 40 and how to train around it.

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Mid-Summer Check-In: What Your Long Runs Should Look Like Right Now for Indianapolis Monumental Marathon Training

Mid-Summer Check-In: What Your Long Runs Should Look Like Right Now for Indianapolis Monumental Marathon Training

If you're training for the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon, mid-June is when your base-building should be in full swing. Here's what your long runs should look like right now — and how to handle Indiana's summer heat.

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Boston Qualifier Coach in Indianapolis: How I Coached 65 Runners to BQ

Boston Qualifier Coach in Indianapolis: How I Coached 65 Runners to BQ

As an Indianapolis-based running coach, I've now coached 65 Indiana runners to a Boston Qualifying time — and after working with all of them, I've noticed the same pattern: most runners who miss their BQ aren't lacking fitness, they're following the wrong plan

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Westfield, Carmel & Noblesville Runners: Your 20-Week Indianapolis Monumental Marathon Timeline Starts Now

Westfield, Carmel & Noblesville Runners: Your 20-Week Indianapolis Monumental Marathon Timeline Starts Now

If you live in Westfield, Carmel, or Noblesville and you've been thinking about the CNO Financial Indianapolis Monumental Marathon, here's the number that matters: November 7, 2026 is 20 weeks away.

Twenty weeks sounds like a lot. It isn't. It's the exact amount of time it takes to go from "I think I could run a marathon" to standing on the start line downtown, fit, healthy, and ready — if you use it well. It's also exactly enough time to turn a "just finish" goal into a real Boston Qualifier attempt, if that's on your radar.

Here's the timeline I'd build if you walked into my office in Westfield today.

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Why Adult Runners Plateau (And What Actually Gets You Moving Again)

Why Adult Runners Plateau (And What Actually Gets You Moving Again)

You've been running consistently for years. You put in the miles. But your times have stopped moving — or gotten a little worse. Here's why that happens and what I do to fix it with the athletes I coach.

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The #1 Reason Indiana Runners Get Hurt Every Summer (And How to Avoid It)

The #1 Reason Indiana Runners Get Hurt Every Summer (And How to Avoid It)

Every August, the same thing happens. A motivated runner spends all summer training hard, shows up to preseason camp in great shape and within two weeks is on the sideline with shin splints, a stress reaction, or a cranky Achilles.

It's heartbreaking, and it's almost always preventable. After years of coaching at the NCAA level and working with high school runners across Indiana, I can tell you the cause is rarely bad luck. It's almost always the same mistake.

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A Deep look INSIDE College Running. The Horizon League and Mid-Major Programs: A Smart Path for Distance Runners

A Deep look INSIDE College Running. The Horizon League and Mid-Major Programs: A Smart Path for Distance Runners

Every high school distance runner has a list of dream schools — usually the programs they see on ESPN or the ones with the biggest track budgets. But for the majority of talented runners, the smartest path to a meaningful college athletic career runs straight through programs like ours in the Horizon League.


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What I Learned as a Professional Triathlete That Made Me a Better Coach

What I Learned as a Professional Triathlete That Made Me a Better Coach

Most coaches come to the profession through one lens — usually the sport they competed in. I came through a different path: running in college, then spending several years as a professional triathlete competing in the USA Triathlon Olympic Development Program, earning Olympic Training Center residency, and finishing 11th at the PanAmerican Sprint Triathlon Championships. That experience changed how I coach in ways I didn't fully understand until I was on the other side.

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How to Send a Recruiting Email That Actually Gets a Response

How to Send a Recruiting Email That Actually Gets a Response

As a former NCAA Division I head coach, I receive dozens of recruiting emails from high school athletes every week. Most of them go unanswered — not because the athlete isn't talented, but because the email doesn't give me what I need to take the next step. Here's what separates the emails I respond to from the ones I don't.

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The High School to College Training Transition: What Nobody Tells You

The High School to College Training Transition: What Nobody Tells You

The jump from high school to college athletics is one of the biggest transitions a young runner will ever make. The mileage goes up, the competition gets faster, and the expectations are completely different. Most athletes underestimate how much changes — and they pay for it in their freshman year.

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Should Your High School Runner Work with a Private Coach This Summer? A Parent's Guide.

Should Your High School Runner Work with a Private Coach This Summer? A Parent's Guide.

Most Indiana high school runners finish spring track and train on their own all summer. The ones who make the biggest jumps by August don't. Here's what a private coach actually does — and whether it's right for your athlete

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The JV-to-Varsity Blueprint: How Indiana High School Runners Use Summer to Make the Leap

The JV-to-Varsity Blueprint: How Indiana High School Runners Use Summer to Make the Leap

The gap between JV and varsity is almost entirely a fitness gap — and fitness gaps close in the summer. Here's the exact blueprint Indiana high school runners use to make the leap: progressive mileage, easy day discipline, one quality workout per week, and the consistency that only comes from structure.

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Summer Cross Country Training in Indianapolis: What the Best High School Runners Do Differently

Summer Cross Country Training in Indianapolis: What the Best High School Runners Do Differently

Spring track season ends this month — and the next 10 weeks are the most important training window of the year for high school cross country runners. Here's exactly what the athletes who arrive to preseason camp in August already fit and confident do differently during the summer.

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The Summer Baseline: What Every High School Runner Should Test Before Training Ramps Up

The Summer Baseline: What Every High School Runner Should Test Before Training Ramps Up

Most high school runners end the spring season and immediately start logging summer miles. The athletes who make the biggest jumps by fall aren't the ones who trained hardest — they're the ones who knew exactly where they stood before they took the first step. Here's the full baseline testing protocol I use with my athletes every June.

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How High School Runners Get Recruited for College Cross Country & Track — A Coach's Inside View

How High School Runners Get Recruited for College Cross Country & Track — A Coach's Inside View

I've sat on both sides of the recruiting table — first as an Indiana State Cross-Country Champion trying to figure out how to get noticed, then as Head Coach at IU Indianapolis deciding which athletes to pursue. Here's the inside view I wish someone had given me.

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