Steve Scott started out as a basebal player. His mom got Steve into running, encouraging him to join her morning jogs. In high school, he ran 1:52 for the 800 meters and 4:15 for the mile in high school. Steve Scott went to UC Irvine and was coached by Len Miller. Coach and athlete worked well together for many years. Steve had PBs of 1:45.05 for 800m, 2:16.01 for 1000 meters, 3:31.76 for 1,500 meters, 3:47.69 for mile, 7:36:69, and for 5000 meters, he ran 13:30.39.
Steve Scott, photo by PhotoRun.net
Steve was from the truly golden time in miling, with the likes of Seb Coe, Steve Ovett, Thomas Wessinghage, Steve Cram, Ray Flynn, Ray Wicksell, John Walker. These men would race against each other (well, most of them) every third or fourth night during the Summer season.
Jeff Benjamin caught up with Steve and here is what the coach of UC San Marcos suggested for young athletes.
Training tips from Mile Legend Steve Scott -by Jeff Benjamin-
136 Sub-4 Minute Miles. World-Class Cross Country, Indoor, Outdoor and Road Racing Competitor. 1983 World Champ 1500 Silver Medalist. American Mile Record Holder for almost 25 years (3:47.69)!
There are so many more accomplishments and records in competition by Steve Scott that they would not be able to fit into this piece!
These days, Scott coaches at Cal State San Marcos, where he shares his passion and wisdom.
Recently, Scott was gracious enough to share 7 tips to improve one’s running for youngsters-
1. Work on speed, not endurance. You build speed until you are a teenager, you can build endurance the rest of your life.
2. Keep it short and sweet. Run short intervals to keep the quality up, sending kids on a 5 mile run most likely will turn into a death march.
3. Work on flexibility. Make a stretching routine part of your daily program.
4. Drill, drill, drill! Work on running mechanics, if you create bad habits young, they will stay forever.
5. Become a forefoot striker. Heal striking will just slow you down and be more damaging to your body.
6. Learn to race the competition, not the clock. If you win every race you run, eventually the time will come.
7. Once or twice a week, play games that will build other muscle groups.
