by Larry Eder
2025 Fall Cross Country & Racing Program, Mileage, Week 1, Day 1, September 1, 2025, an easy run on Labor Day!
The last holiday of the summer is the labor day weekend. In many places across the country, many of you have begun fall racing!
Our program will be built around a tempo run with some hills on Tuesday, fartlek on Thursday, race day or repetitions on Saturday, Long run on Sunday and easy days on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. You can juggle around if you need and also consider keeping Saturdays an easy day in weeks you are not racing! Ask you coach before adding something to your daily training.
Wednesday, warm-up, 45-50 minutes of moderate to easy running, 6 x 150 meter stride-outs, cool-down well.
In this hot weather, remember to hydrate. 2-3 liters a day of water, watch out for carbonated beverages, and caffeine (in moderation). Do not take sports drinks with caffeine, ginseng and things that you have not discussed with your coach and family physician. Those drinks can cause heart issues. They are not a joke!
Cross Country experiences of Eliud Kipchoge and Sifan Hassan
Eliud Kipchoge ran three kilometers to school each day as a schoolboy. His first experiences in running was with cross country. As a junior, Eliud won the Junior cross country at the World Cross Country Champs in 2003. Later that year, racing as an 18 year old, Eliud won his first gold on the track in the 5,000m at the Paris World Championships. Watch the You Tube video, he was racing Hicham El Guerrouj, world record holder in the mile, and Olympic champion, and Kenenisa Bekele, 10,000m WC gold. With 200 meters to go, eighteen year old Eliud was with Hicham El Guerrouj and Kenenisa Bekele. Eliud Kipchoge went by, to take gold in the 5,000m at the age of 18! He would go on to win bronze at the 5,000m in Athens Olympics (2004), and silver in Beijing (2008 Olympics). Eliud also took silver in Osaka (2007) World Champs at the 5,000 meters. Eliud would move to the marathon in 2013, winning 15 of his 23 completed marathons, including Rio 2016 Olympics and Tokyo 2021 Olympics plus four London marathons and five Berlin marathons. In 2016, in London, Eliud told this writer how important cross country was in his development. This coming weekend, Eliud Kipchoge is racing the marathon distance at the TCS Sydney Marathon in Sydney, Australia.
On Sunday, August 31, 2025, Eliud Kipchoge, at age of 40, finished ninth in 2:08.31 in the TCS Sydney Marathon.
Sifan Hassan came to Holland as a political refugee with her family in 2008. Sifan ran a half marathon in Eindhoven, her first race in 77:10 for a win. In 2013, Sifan became a Dutch citizen, and won the European U23 Cross Country Championships in 2013. In 2015, Sifan Hassan won the European Athletics Cross Country senior title.
In 2015, Sifan won the bronze at the 1,500m in Beijing WC. In 2017, Sifan took the bronze at 5,000m in London 2017. In 2019, Sifan won gold at the 1,500m and gold at the 10,000m in Doha! In 2023, Sifan collapsed with fifty meters to go in the 10,000m in Budapest 2023, taking silver in the 1,500m and 5,000m. In the Tokyo Olympics (2021), Sifan won bronze in the 1,500m, and gold in the 5,000m and 10,000m. In Paris in 2024, Sifan took bronze in the 5,000m and 10,000m and won a crazy tough Olympic marathon. Sifan has won the London marathon, and placed third there as well. A versatile athlete, Sifan has European and Dutch records at the 1,500m, 5,000m and 10,000m, plus world record at one hour run (2020). This weekend, Sifan Hassan will race the marathon at the TCS Sydney Marathon in Sydney, Australia.
Both of these great athletes began their running with a solid cross country background. How do you see your cross country experience?
On Sunday, August 31, 2025, Sifan Hassan won her third World Marathon Masters marathon at the TCS Sydney Marathon in 2:18.33, becoming the first women to break 2 hours, 20 minutes in Australia!
#SummerMileage, #hillrunning, #RunBlogRunSummerMileage, #running, #crosscountry,
Will. you be ready? Follow our daily training suggestions, and daily athlete stories and you will be ready to race in the fall!
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.
If you need a more cushioned shoe, try the Vomero 18 and the Vomero 18 PLUS, for great cushioning, a more sophisticated ride. Check them out at your local NIKE retailer or NIKE running store.
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.
For Great Summer reading! Self Made Olympian by Ron Daws, A Clean Pair of Heels by Murray Halberg, Pre! by Tom Jordan, Quicksilver, The Mercurial Emil Zatopek, by Pat Butcher, The Destiny of Alain Mimoun, by Pat Butcher (a monograph)
Remember, one day at a time!!!! #SummerMileage, #CrossCountry,
