by Larry Eder
This is the first day of the third week of summer mileage for cross country. This is about your future. This is July 21, 2025. Our focus is on Jakob Ingebrigtsen, one of the sports most popular athletes.
This is the third week of RunBlogRun’s Summer Mileage Program, day one and we focus on Jakob Ingebrigtsen
I first met Jakob Ingebrigtsen in Dusseldorf in 2019. I was seeing how cheaply I could hit six meets in 3 weeks (Ibis budget hotels, trains, planes as little as possible, you name it), Dusseldorf was my third stop on the Tour de Larry (Indoor WA meets in Europe). It was a blast. I met Jakob after he and his brothers had run in the meet.
The Sporthalle in Dusseldorf seats about 3500, and was sold out. I loved the German pretzels and good beer post meet. I loved walking around the facility, speaking with coaches and athletes. In the mixed zone, right after I had interviewed Marie-Jose Ta Lou, I met Jakob, all of 19 and really a nice guy. He was guarded a bit, yes, but he was happy to talk post race and we chatted for five minutes, which I appreciated.
I watched Jakob come up through the ranks, coming oh so close to medals in 2019 at the World Champs. Jakob is a gutty runner, who loves the motivation that racing gives him. He trains at a very high level. ” I train to race comfortably at 55-56 seconds for the 1,500m, ” Jakob told me, ” to take the kick out of my competitors.
In 2021, Jakob won the Olympic 1,500 meters. In 2022, Jakob took silver in the World 1,500 meters and won the 5,000m. In 2023, Jakob took the silver in the 1,500m and won the 5,000m again. And in 2024, Jakob gave it all he had, taking 4th in a brilliant men’s 1,500m won by Cole Hocker, and then, won the 5,000m. In between years, Jakob runs the European Cross Country European Indoors and Outdoors. Last March 2025, I spent two weeks in The Netherlands with my girl friend and we were the only Americans at the European Indoor Champs. I intereviewed Jakob twice and he was very happy after his 1,500m and 3,000m gold medals, giving him 4 titles at the 3,000m and 3 titles at the 1,500 meters. Then, his achilles acted up. We are happy to hear that he is back to training at full scale and we hope to see him in Tokyo.
I recall a fun conversation in 2023, at the NIKE Pre Classic. Jakob and I were chatting about the 1,500 meters, and mile, which he loves to race, knowing his challenges. ” To be honest, the 3,000m may be the perfect distance for me. I can run 57-58 with less challenges than 55-56, so the 3,000m could be pretty special. Make sure you watch it.” Jakob smiled. That weekend, Jakob ran 3:43 for the mile and 7:22 for the 3,000m, both European records (he has since run 7:17 for the 3,000 meters.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen races cross country each season and supports a lot of small events. He is a class act and a great ambassador for our sport. Jakob Ingebrigtsen runs for NIKE. Watch his You Tube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3ubbgQcHt9Jhpt6JWbSRWw
The road to 2025 Cross country is just beginning
Time to build some mileage for fall cross country!
Today is July 21, 2025
Week Two, Day Seven, Summer Mileage.
Sunday, warm-up, 65-70 minutes of easy running, coold-down.
Some thoughts on summer mileage program.
Have you considered cross country?
Cross Country is offered in over 16,500 high schools and many junior high schools. It normally goes from mid-August to November for most. To prepare for cross country, we at RunBlogRun encourage you and your 550,000 closest friends who like the 400m to 5,000m, consider cross country!
It is a great way to stay in shape and it builds your fitness so that you are ready for the challenges of cross country.
What motivated Steve Prefontaine in the summer between his sophomore and junior year?
Was it the knowledge that he had not done his very best in track and field? Perhaps, he had not taken his commitment as serious as he thought he should?
When you have not achieved what you expected, how do you respond? Are you being called to put in some more effort? Many of us have had those challenges, and Summer mileage is a great program to get one self focused.
Think about five things you can do better for fall cross country, write them on a post card, and tape it to a place in your room where you will see it at least once a day!
Remember to drink 8 glasses of water, 12 ounces each a day!
When Pre was in high school, after he failed to make his State track meet as a sophomore, he became obsessed with daily training. These were not just easy runs, they were bone-churning, gut-wrenching efforts focused to make him unbeatable. In his junior year of cross country, Pre saw that his summer of running made a huge difference.
Do you want to be a better cross country runner than you were in the past? Focus and follow our training. It is all about the consistency.
Other book suggestions include Self Made Olympian by Ron Daws, A Clean Pair of Heels by Murray Halberg, and Pre! by Tom Jordan.
The Nike Pegasus PLUS is a great entry shoe for high school cross country. You should consider it, and learn more about it at nike.com. It is light, cushioned, a good summer mileage shoe. If you need a little more cushioning, try the Vomero 18. The Vomero 18 has more cushioning that the Pegasus PLUS. If you like NIKE, I would suggest high schoolers use the NIKE Pegasus PLUS for Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. I would suggest the Vomero 18 for Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I always suggest two pairs of training shoes. Why on Vomero 18? It is a cushioned shoe that feels great and is good on the roads and trails.
