Workout for Monday, June 22, 2026, Summer Mileage Program, Week 1, Day 1
We just finished the three-week pre-season build. Now, as the NIKE Outdoor and New Balance Outdoor Champs end today, June 22, 2026.
We are providing our readers (coaches and athletes) with daily suggestions for a summer mileage build to fall cross country.
We will be sending our weekly training to junior high and high school coaches, beginning next week, to 46,000 cross country coaches across the states.
In the fall of 2026, over 587,000 high school boys and girls will race cross country!
The RunBlogRun Summer Mileage begins June 22.
This is Week One, Day 1, 2026 RunBlogRun Summer Mileage Program!
RunBlogRun has provided Summer Mileage Programs since 2006, the year we started the blog, RunBlogRun. Truth is, we have done online training programs since 1996, when we began AmericanTrackandField at Runningnetwork.com. Any questions, please send to [email protected], ATT: XC training.
Our programs were developed by coaches, actual coaches who coached high school, college, and club. We focus on the long run, a couple of hill days, and a tempo day. We encourage group workouts and coaches to share them with their teams. All athletes should have physicals each year, ages 13-19, prior to the cross-country and track season.
We recommend one new pair of training shoes (go to a local running store, try the shoes on, and please support local running stores), and clean socks. Hydration is key, easy days are key. Please follow the program after sharing it with your coach.
Week 1, Day 1, Monday, June 22, 2026
- Beginners: warm up well; 48 minutes of run-walk, 5 minutes of easy jogging, 1 minute of walking, repeat 8 times; keep it relaxed; cool down; hydrate. The big theme is to keep moving. Run with other beginners. Encourage each other.
- First-time cross-country runners: Warm up well, 40-45 minutes of easy running, run thirty minutes straight, perhaps with a teammate, and then cool down well and hydrate. Run at a conversational pace. Keep it relaxed. Try running in a park or on a cross-country course.
- Experienced XC Runners: Warm up well, get a couple of teammates together, run for 40-50 minutes at a moderate pace, keep it fun, keep it light, and stay relaxed. Finish the workout with 2 sets of 150-meter stride-outs on the grass, and cool down well. Please hydrate after your run, and gently cool down.
Hydration is a state of mind. Hydration is not about drinking lots of sugary drinks; it is about getting down water, 8-12 glasses of 8-12 oz a day, carrying a water bottle, and managing caffeine intake and carbonated sugar drinks, which are absolute crap for a real athlete.
Also, stay away from the so-called sports energy drinks and do not combine them with alcohol. Why train your butt off and then mess it up by putting some junk in your mortal engine?
Think before you drink.
Picking out shoes for Summer Training!
We have been busy testing about a dozen training shoes. Watch for our reviews on IG, X, and FB, starting this week!
For the high school cross-country runner training over the summer, we really like the NIKE Pegasus 42, Brooks Ghost 17, Saucony Hurricane 25, and New Balance Rebel V 5 Fuel Cell.
The key is this: Go to your local running store, bring a pair of clean socks, and try on at least 6 different shoes from at least 3 brands. Find what is best for you. Run around the store, if they let you, around the block in them.
We suggest two pairs of training shoes: one for faster runs and one for easy, long days.
Do you want to be a better Cross-Country runner? Focus and follow our training. It is all about the consistency. Daily workouts build up.
For 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)
A new suggestion: Once A Runner, by John Parker. It is one of my favorite books on running, about a miler who wants to see just how good he can be. This book is a cult favorite.
Remember, one day at a time!!!! #crosscountryrunning, #summermileage, #preseasontraining, #crosscountry, #buildingendurance,
