Interviews: Patrick MacDonald of Hendrix College
(Photo courtesy of the Hendrix College athletics website)
Coach MacDonald is in his 3rd year as the head coach of the cross country and track and field programs at Hendrix College. In his first two years at Hendrix he has produced five All-SCAC conference performers and a two-time All-American in recent graduate Julie Coats, who became the first All-American in the programs Division III history when she finished 6th in the steeplechase as a junior. Last year at the 2005 NCAA Division III South/Southeast Region Cross Country Championships Coats and current sophomore Laura Broederdorf qualified to Nationals by placing 1st and 9th, respectively, helping the women’s team to a 7th place finish.
By: Derick Lawrence (10/12/2006)
What made you want to become a collegiate cross country coach and what steps did you take in achieving this goal?
One day I decided that my formal education was more of an education about life rather than preparation for a career. That’s a tough thing to realize at a school that isn’t a liberal arts college.
I had two coaches in college, and they both heavily influenced me in different ways. Jeff was a great coach and mentor, and I appreciated his advice in actions along the way. I think he pushed me away from the trap that is hiring from within the program. He also humored me as I took a weekend off from competing to go to UW-Platteville to do USATF Level 1.
In your profile on the Hendrix College athletics website it states that you were a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, where you were a four-time National Championships Qualifier and UAA Champion. Also, I heard that a 2000 DePauw University Cross Country Invitational win is quite possibly the highlight of your running career. Could you tell us a little bit about your years at Washington University in St. Louis (i.e., most memorable experiences, progression of your training each year, etc.)?
It’s true. The DePauw meet represented a pretty high point in my career, but it is outranked by a few accomplishments. My friend Eric [Fruth], who was second, would tell you that the battle on that course was pretty intense. I remember putting him away around the halfway mark, and being so tired and aggravated at the course I didn’t want him near me because I wanted to run easier. That course was definitely one of the more challenging we raced on. The important thing to remember is that Eric didn’t win that day…
As an athlete I wasn’t always the most consistent. I remember that there were days I just didn’t have it. But on those that I did, I was pretty solid. Personally, my highlight was probably the individual conference title from my junior year. That was a really bizarre race at times and the last kilometer was totally wild.
As a teammate I was probably tougher than I should have been. I was hard on my teammates. At the time I thought I was demanding excellence, but that sometimes crossed a line. We did, while I was there, win 6 UAA team titles, including three straight in cross, but it wasn’t the team environment I strive to create now. I think those team accomplishments trump many of my individual ones.
Training wise, for three years it was low volume, high intensity. I think that led to much of my inconsistency. My senior year, when Jeff Stiles arrived, it all changed and became much more based on aerobic work. I really took to it well, although my body had been accustomed to such a different way it never really took 100%. That’s nothing against Jeff, it’s hard to erase all that history.
Prior to your arrival at Hendrix College you were an assistant coach and assistant athletic director at Trinity University (TX). Could you tell us a little bit about your experience there?
I had a pretty good gig at Trinity, I was given my own group of kids to work with, a good/trusting boss, and freedom to give them any work that I wanted to. Most of them took to it pretty brilliantly. Out of that group came a few national qualifiers and a few conference champions.
After my first year I was hired as the Assistant Athletic Director of Facilities and Events. I took to the events portion easily, but I never figured out the facility as well as my predecessor. Ultimately, it wasn’t what I really wanted to be doing with my time, as I wanted to coach, not look after a weight room. And I looked around at jobs after that first year. I didn’t really apply to but two or three.
Would you briefly describe your program's training philosophy (volume, intensity, frequency, etc.)?
I’m a big believer that volume is most often the answer. It’s the foundation that anything gets built upon. It’s not the quick fix though...
We’re very careful about the introduction of any sort of speed into our training program. It’s difficult for the freshmen to understand right away. Most of them grew up running quarters and halves as hard as they can. But, since we’re now in October, we’re finally starting to get to the point in the season where it all comes around on the other side, it all starts to click and make sense.
The volume isn’t always huge, but if you can handle it, and want it, I’ll let the reigns out and allow anyone to get up in the 80s and beyond. I had two girls each averaging about 80-85 MPW last year. With younger athletes the first year is spent getting the accustomed to the amount they need to run more than focus on the speed they should. We rarely do work faster than race pace.
As anyone progresses along we concentrate more and more on weaknesses that could be exploited in a race. But this is typically for someone looking to master other people rather than just his or her self.
Who has influenced you the most in your coaching?
My athletes. Watching them as they attempt and succeed/fail has definitely changed me as a coach.
This is not say that I assign the same work now as I did 3-4 years ago. That has grown and changed thanks to a handful of trusted brains. But as a coach I’ve grown into someone a whole lot different than I was 4 years ago. It’s almost funny to reflect back upon it, but the circumstances surrounding any given season are very different.
Could you give us an example of a typical microcycle in your training program from September to mid-October of a cross country season?
Last week, most of the group did the following:
Monday – Long run 80-100 minutes
Tuesday – 3 Skyline Hills (250m hard incline) – 18-27 minute tempo (Warm up and Cool down total 30:00)
Wednesday - Easy-Medium run, 45-65 w/ strides
Thursday – 2:00/1:00/0:30 Fartlek on the course, even off portions, 3 cycles. (Warm up and Cool down total 30:00)
Friday – they were on their own
Saturday – Raced in Memphis Twilight Classic
Sunday – they were on their own
Could you tell us about your team this cross country season (returning upperclassmen, incoming freshmen, how your season has been going so far, upcoming meets, etc.)?
Well, last year, most of the kids on the team were seniors. I basically had to replace the entire crew, which was daunting. Thankfully, this year we have no seniors, and only one junior, so I’ve got the core group for the next few years to come.
Obviously, this means a lot of freshmen and sophomores, but mostly freshmen. They’ve come from all over and with a lot of different training backgrounds. Most haven’t been in really serious/guided program, which means there’s a lot that can be done. If they can continue getting past the initial shock of the volume and workouts, they’ll be good to go.
The number one guy for the last few meets is a frosh who was actually brought in to play soccer, I don’t think it really agreed with him too much, and I was glad to pick him up. The number two guy is from Massachusetts and is the third brother to come to Hendrix, his older brother high jumped for me the last two years.
My top returning female is a sophomore, and has been our top runner whenever she’s run. A couple of weeks ago she started feeling very tired and we had some tests done, only to learn she had a very low ferritin level and was suffering from iron deficiency. That has definitely been the biggest stressor of the last month. Injuries are one thing, but they heal after time and proper care, but with this blood stuff it's a step away from voodoo at some points.
I was able to tell something wasn’t really clicking properly, but who’s to say why. When the results came in from the lab it was actually a big relief, knowing what it was that was bothering her. She was instantly on a therapeutic plan and has since started to recover little by little. But she hasn’t raced in three weeks.
Before the season I’d say she was among the favorites to contend for the conference and regional title, but now, who knows. She hasn’t done any high output work in a long time.
Miracles happen though. This time last year I didn’t think there was a snowball’s chance that she’d make it to the National meet. But she had a stout race at the Regional, after some really solid tempo work, and then she caught the worst cold imaginable, and had to run through it at Nationals. Who knows?
Is there any running related training material (books, scientific journal articles, etc.) that you commonly refer to throughout a cross country season?
Nah. I’ve memorized the few formulas I use regularly. Beyond that, I feel many books are arbitrary.
Are there any motivational techniques that you incorporate in your program to prepare your team for a meet?
I don’t think that we do anything too extraordinary, but I try to do small little things along the way. It’s a lot of “inward focus” ideas. With the exception of someone competing for a championship title, I try to focus my athletes on figuring out what is best for them.
To me, someone who really needs motivation is uninformed about the circumstances surrounding a competition. If I, as a coach, choose to blow off a meet, how can I expect my kids to be anything but uncaring about it? This kind of work is set in foundations weeks before the event. And it’s a lot more in depth than reminding them we got a big meet in two weeks and it is highly individualized.
To that end, last year I spent a lot of time trying to figure out our conference meet’s distance events. We got there with specific strategies for every race, with the intent on taking every point we could. But with most, it’s a simple how do we do better than last time.
What are your thoughts about the new qualifying procedures for the 2006 NCAA Division III Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships?
I think it’s the best option out there. The old system was archaic and anti-intuitive. I think a lot people have forgotten how there was ZERO safety net. You could, in one year, lose all your “historical” bids, but only gain one back at a time.
In some ways, it’s the popular thing to say “I hate it, the old way was better” Well, that was great, but now we get 8 more teams… You really still like the old way?
If you’re fourth in a regional like the Great Lakes that typically gets only three bids, you’ll change your story pretty quick.
When you compare our system to any other sport, we still have the very best deal for team participation. It’s not the “absolute best possible” in the sense that it promises the very best teams at the National meet, but that isn’t what D3 is about, read the mission statement. Seriously, type in “Division III Philosophy” at Google, hit “I’m feeling lucky” and read.
I do think we should raise the “cap” to 6 teams per region, but beyond that I think we should be glad we’re allowed to have people with brains pick the remaining teams rather than a computer or formula which claims to be fair, but is always biased.
What are 2 key workouts that you incorporate into the peaking period of a cross country season?
Well, I hate the term “peaking” because it’s an oversimplification. But as we get ready for a big race we’ll do a workout like 5x1000m at race pace with a 2:00 jog in between, followed by a few hard 300s and 500s. It’s the kind of workout that reminds you are still able to work. That’s early in the week before a Saturday race.
Along similar lines we’ll do a fartlek along our usual tempo route. Again, it’s more of a mental cueing other than anything specific physiologically. We’ll do something like this two days before a race.
What concepts do you believe are necessary for success of a collegiate distance runner?
I think the mindset of a college distance runner is different than most any other college athlete, save a varsity swimmer. It takes a supreme balance of aggression and patience, learning when to switch from one to another. If my athletes are trying to run each other’s legs off every day, they’ll end up burned out and injured, but if none of that is there, they’ll never be able to push themselves past their own limits.
Consistency is far and away the most important physical idea behind it successful running. If anyone tells you otherwise, tell them you left the stove on and back away slowly.
For those that are aspiring to become a collegiate cross country coach, what would be the best piece of advice you would give them?
Be a student of the sport.
Thanks to Coach MacDonald for a great interview.
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