Aisha Praught Leer, Jeff Benjamin, Will Leer, photo by Jeff Benjamin
Aisha Praught Leer, 2018 Commonwealth Games and Will Leer, now Coach, former US champion, provided some fine ideas on how to deal with training in the current age.
Awaiting The Baton In The Relay Exchange Zone – Profiles Of Athletes, Coaches & Legends During The War Against Corona
Profile # 17
Elite Runners & Coach Will & Aisha Praught Leer
By Jeff Benjamin
How is your daily training/coaching regimen going and how challenging has it been for you in this environment?
“We are lucky in Boulder that because of the easy access to trails and dirt roads our training routine has not been that drastically affected. The hardest part is finding a place to work out wherein your number one concern is not maintaining a safe distance from others. With the advent of GPS watches and/or the archaic method of measuring distance with a wheel, finding a measured, flat locations to replace a track is not too difficult.”
“Aisha and their group have switched to doing workouts solo so as to minimize any potential exposure and respect the local and national government mandates for social distancing. The greatest challenge has been missing the social component of distance running. We both really miss getting out on runs with our friends.”
What advice can you give to runners, especially youth, HS, and collegiate athletes who are challenged during this time?
“The important thing to know is that this will pass. We are all missing races, practice, the comforts of our routines. And while it has certainly been frustrating to give up some of these liberties, we should also feel lucky that as runners we are still mostly able to get out and do what we love to do. One tactic we have been exploring is just to put something on your calendar. Whether it ends up being a race or a time trial, having a goal often makes the arduous task to training a bit more manageable and can give us some purpose. Also, FaceTime, Skype or any other video service have proven to be amazing at scratching the itch for some socializing. Most of all, stay safe. The risks of having company for a run is not worth contracting or spreading this disease. The better we all do now, the sooner we can return to some semblance of normalcy.”
