Interviews: Mark Krueger of SUNY Brockport
(Photo courtesy of the SUNY Brockport athletics website)
Coach Krueger has been the head coach of the men’s and women’s cross country programs at SUNY Brockport since 2002. He was awarded Atlantic Region Coach of the Year for the 2005 outdoor track and field season. Last year at the 2005 NCAA Division III Cross Country Atlantic Region the men’s team finished 7th and the women’s team placed 8th overall. At the SUNYAC Cross Country Championships the men’s team finished 3rd and the women’s team finished 5th overall.
By: Derick Lawrence (11/02/2006)
What made you want to become a collegiate cross country coach and what steps did you take in achieving this goal?
I can’t remember an exact time when I realized I wanted to coach, but I know it was early on while I was attending SUNY Brockport. The difference was that I had every intention of going into coaching football, not cross country or track & field. It wasn’t until after my sophomore year at Brockport that I decided to stop playing football and the next year I “ran” cross country. I wasn’t very good, but I really enjoyed the team atmosphere and experiences that I was a part of on the cross country team. This really got me interested in coaching cross country and track & field and this is when I started reading and learning as much as I could about the sports.
After I graduated from SUNY Brockport, I got a job at Brockport High School teaching physical education and coaching track & field. My wife was the cross country coach, so I helped out with that also. We coached together in track & field. She worked with the distance runners and I coached the sprinters and hurdlers. We were always bouncing ideas off each other and when we had our first child, she took a leave of absence from teaching and coaching and I took over coaching cross country and the distance runners in track. I continued coaching at the high school through the spring of 2002. I got a call from the SUNY Brockport AD during the summer, asking if I was interested in coaching at the college. It was something that was in the back of my mind, to coach in college, so I took the interview and was eventually offered the job. Basically I was in the right place at the right time.
You are a 1999 graduate of SUNY Brockport. Tell us about your collegiate athletic career (most memorable experiences, what you learned, etc.).
I ran track for 4 years and cross country for my final 2 years. I focused on the 400 meter hurdles in outdoor and the 500 during indoor and occasionally ran in the 4x400, 4x800 and DMR. I was a decent athlete who was better known as a harder worker than a really talented runner. My lone honor can during my senior year with a 4th place finish at the outdoor SUNYAC championships. That race alone really taught me a lot about how I coach now. It took place at SUNY Geneseo (when they still held races on their track) on my 23rd birthday. I grew up 10 minutes away from Geneseo and this was the only race my mom got to see me run. I was in 2nd place approaching the final hurdle and I was in lane 6 (on their 6 lane track), while Chris Verkey of Plattsburgh, a multiple time All-American, was in an inside lane. I actually looked over at him and saw that we were pretty much even. Of course, I lost focus, hit the 10th hurdle and fell, but I was able to get up and was fortunate enough to pass 1 guy to finish 4th. The one thing I really gained from that experience is if you have a goal in mind, never take your eyes off of it, or you’re going to miss the opportunity to accomplish that goal.
For the most part, my college experience was much different than my teammates. I was married right out of high school and always lived off campus. My focus was much different than many of them as well. I wasn’t going to win any championships or do anything competitively after college, so I took it as an opportunity to learn as much as I could. I have some great memories and things I’ll always remember. Most of which happened during the trip, rather during the competitions. My best friend, Ned Powers was always involved in any memorable moment. He was and still is a great friend and teammate.
Would you briefly describe your program's training philosophy (volume, intensity, frequency, etc.)?
I truly believe that to be a successful distance runner, you have to reshape your lifestyle. I’m not saying you have to devote your entire life to running, but you need to make certain adjustments to ensure you will continue to improve and be the best you can be. I believe that each person is different and this is shown in how I handle the team. Each person has a different volume and training pace. Most of the athletes run everyday, but some do take a day off or do cross training. For the type of athlete we usually get at Brockport, I believe the number one focus is to increase their aerobic development. A gradual increase in mileage over their course of their 4 years of collegiate running is what we are working toward. It’s my belief that if you can handle more mileage, without breaking down, then that will be a huge benefit. Our women run from 30 to 80 miles a week, with most in the 40 to 55 mile range. The men are anywhere from 45 to 100, with the majority in the 60 to 80 mile range. We also incorporate a lot of workouts that will simulate how you may feel in a race. For example, if we’re doing a mile repeat workout, we’ll do some surging in the middle of the run, then settle back into their pace.
Most of the team doesn’t take too many days off during the year. We try to build consistency and have a gradual progression of both volume and intensity through the course of their training career.
Tell us about the running environment at SUNY Brockport? Where does the team train?
The bridge at Stony Brook State Park leading into the trail
(Photo courtesy of the SUNY Brockport cross country team)
Most of our runs are done off campus, in and around the town of Brockport. It’s a nice, Victorian village with a lot of older homes that are nice to look at while on local runs. We also run to some of the neighboring towns, like Holley. The canal is probably the most used area that we run on. It is a gravel path that runs the along the Erie Canal. We do some workouts here as well as use it for our easy runs. We also use a small hill on campus in our workouts and run on our campus cross country course.
Occasionally we’ll travel somewhere for a day to run. Some of the local parks, such as Northampton Park in Brockport, Durand Eastman Park in Rochester and Stony Brook State Park in Dansville. The trip to Stony Brook, during our pre-season is always a memorable one. The park is beautiful, and we make sure that during the workout that you get to see a lot of the park. Afterwards, we’ll take an ice bath or swim in the natural springs.
Who has influenced you the most in your coaching?
There are several people who have influenced my coaching over the years. Certainly, my college coach, John Izzo (now at University of Rochester) taught me a great amount about how to relate to each person as an individual and how to prioritize running into the grand scheme of life. I have also learned a great deal from Mike Woods (SUNY Geneseo). He was my English teacher in high school and since I started coaching in college, we’ve been good friends and hold a pretty healthy rivalry (as one sided as it may be). Many others in my athletic career taught me how not to coach. I learned a lot from seeing what I don’t like about how others handled the team and individuals.
One other idea that I’ve held onto since I started coaching wasn’t really learned from anyone, but rather through my own personal experience. It seems that there are 2 paths that coaches come from. One is that they were a very successful athlete and the other being they weren’t. Sounds pretty simple, but the reason I value this is that I was one who wasn’t very talented. I think one problem with athletes is many will value the opinion of someone who is (or was) fast, rather than that of someone who has coached fast people. This is where I find motivation from someone like Mike Woods, who wasn’t involved in collegiate running, but obviously has been very successful as a coach. This is what I strive to duplicate.
Could you give us an example of a typical microcycle in your training program from September to mid-October of a cross country season?
This is what we did the week prior to the Geneseo Invite on September 30th, with a race at Pre-Nationals on the previous Friday.
Sunday Off or Long Run (20-25% of weekly mileage) with 8-12 x 100m strides.
This varies on the individual, but could be anywhere from 0 to 20 miles.
Monday Predator Run + 8 x 50m fast strides (total mileage 8 – 14 miles).
The Predator Run is a progressive tempo run. On this day, the men did 5 miles and the women did 3 miles. They start out with the 1st half of the run at their LT pace, then gradually increase the pace, so that they are sub race pace for the final 800m. We do this workout every few weeks and each one gets progressively harder.
Tuesday Recovery run at their own pace (4 – 12 miles)
Wednesday 16 x 400 on Stage Hill, in continuous sets of 4 of increasing pace for each set. The first set was done at 10k pace, 2nd at 8k pace, 3rd at 5k pace and the final set at 2 mile pace. We do this as a relay, so the rest is what your partner runs. This is always one of the team’s favorite workouts. The hill is not a very hard hill, but you get the benefit of running 16 fairly steep uphills (60 meters) and 16 gradual downhills (100 meters). (6-11 miles)
Thursday Recovery run at their own pace (4 – 11 miles)
If someone needs a day off or a cross training day, it’s usually done on Thursday.
Friday Shake out run. 6 x 100m strides. (3 – 10 miles)
Saturday 6k or 8k Race at Geneseo for the Pre-Regional (6 – 11 miles)
What are 2 key workouts that you incorporate into the peaking period of a cross country season?
During the end of the season, we’ll do our workouts back to back. We’ll take an extra days rest on Monday and do an easy run. Tuesday is our first workout, where we’ll do an easy run, but then do a surge at race pace in the middle of the run. The men will do 2 miles, while the women will run 1.5 miles. The next day we’ll do our harder workout. Since we had an off week last week (10/22-28), Wednesday was very hard and the team did fantastic. This week, leading up to our NYSCTC championships, we’ll begin to back off and so we’ll do 5 x 600 at about 1500m pace with a very easy 400 meter jog. The workouts vary year to year, but our focus is to keep the muscle memory of race pace on Tuesday and to throw in some faster, running with plenty of rest on Wednesday.
At the SUNYAC Championships your men’s team finished 3rd and your women’s team finished 5th. Tell us about both races.
Freshman Pete Manktelow running up Stage Hill during a 16x400 relay workout
(Photo courtesy of the SUNY Brockport cross country team)
Each team had a different focus going into the meet. The men knew that no matter how they ran, extremely well or terrible, that we should still be 3rd, which is what happened. First, a little background, the course was in terrible condition. The Buffalo area had a snow storm that knocked out power from Buffalo to Brockport and dropped over 2 feet of snow a weekend before SUNYACs. The course is right on the Niagara River, so it’s usually a bit soft in the low parts when it’s warm and dry. The snow melted within a few days, but then it rained for several days leading up to the race as well, it was possibly the muddiest course I’ve ever seen.
The men’s course was another issue. We went to the Buffalo State Invite in early September to see the course and then they changed the men’s course for SUNYACs. It became 2 loop course (4k), which was similar to the women’s 2 loop course (3k). Based on the map we were given, it seemed fine, distance wise. Only the 1 mile mark was listed, so we didn’t really know much about the course. I was in the back part of the course and when the leader came through, where they had about 1k go to, he was at 20:30. At that point, I knew the course wasn’t long enough. Most everyone ran about 90 seconds to 2 minutes faster than they ever had before. Most have estimated the course was 7k.
Overall, our men ran pretty well. Our top guy, Andy Beringer had a good race, finishing 10th and the rest of our pack ran decent, but short of their potential. Ryan Kolb has had a very challenging year. He had a great solid junior year in cross country, until he had a lower back issue, which has effected him since. He was 2nd at SUNYACs in 2005, but 21st this year. Basically, we didn’t get out quite fast enough and in the muddy conditions, combined with the short course, we weren’t able to move up like we felt we could have otherwise.
The women’s race was a different story. We felt we should have been 2nd, even with teams like Fredonia, Cortland and Plattsburgh running well. Our top girl, Teri Wilson ran strong to finish 4th, but the rest of our team was not where we have been training at and we were very disappointed in our finish. We had just been listed as 35th in the NCAA rankings and I think the pressure of that was something our team wasn’t quite ready for. However, we’ve used that race as motivation to refocus ourselves on Regionals. With our top 3 as seniors and our next 3 as freshmen, the team dynamic is quite different among them. The freshmen have been feeling the pressure of being in the 4-5-6 spots, knowing they are the real key to the team’s performance. We have confidence in them and know they are doing the best they can.
What are your goals for both programs heading into the Atlantic Regional?
SUNY Brockport women's team at the start of the SUNY Brockport Invite on September 16
(Photo courtesy of the SUNY Brockport cross country team)
Every year we have a similar goal, to send as many individuals or a team to nationals. This year is no different. The Atlantic Region is as competitive as it has been in the last 8 years. The new format will certainly help everyone, but in past years, the team that finishes 4th, 5th, even 6th may have been good enough to make national in past years under the old format.
This year, both teams have had the goal of going as a team and though we realize this is a long shot, it is still what we are striving for. By every right, we should have an individual or two, but we aren’t focusing on that, rather working on getting each individual to do everything they can to benefit the team and the individual aspect will take care of itself.
Is there any running related training material (books, scientific journal articles, etc.) that you commonly refer to throughout a cross country season?
There are several books I read and refer to, but not too much during the actual season. I’ve read some of these several times and they are engrained in my memory. I am partial to Peter Coe and David Martin’s “Better Training for Distance Runners”, all four of Arthur Lydiard books and a must read is Bill Dellinger and Bill Freeman’s book “The Competitive Runner’s Training Book”. Of course, I’ve read Jack Daniels books and having coached against Jack for a few years, I’ve been fortunate to learn a lot from him, both directly and indirectly through others he has influenced. However, recently, I really enjoyed reading Scott Simmons and Will Freeman’s book “Take the Lead”. I had the pleasure of meeting Scott this past summer and we sat down on several occasions and talked about training, team dynamics and the current state of US distance running. It was a real delight and I can also claim to own the first copy sold of their book, for what that’s worth.
What are your thoughts about the new qualifying procedures for the 2006 NCAA Division III Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships?
As the Atlantic Regional website host, I’ve heard a lot of comments from other coaches, parents and athletes. I wasn’t pleased with the way the new system came about. I felt that there were too many people with a vested interest influencing the people who eventually made this decision. There are pros and cons to this system. The obvious negative is that only the top 2 teams and some individuals will know for sure that they are going to nationals on the day of the event. This is a huge disservice to those schools coaches, athletes, administrators, family and friends. The positive aspect is that a region isn’t going to lose 3 potential spots at next years national by having a poor performance this year and then take 3 years to make up for that poor performance. At least now, we always know that 2 teams will make the trip. This year, I’d feel confident saying that the Atlantic Region should get 5 teams for the men and 4 women.
Do you use different techniques when coaching men and women (motivation, leadership, etc.)?
We absolutely do use different approaches for the men and women. We are a combined program and do all our training together, but each gender is different when it comes to motivations, training volume, intensity and their overall mental outlook.
This years men tend to be much more self-sufficient than the women. This isn’t always the case. Our women seem to do much better with taking the pressure off of them, rather than telling them this is what they have to do (in a race), where that is what the men need. The women’s team has bought into some of the other motivation tactics I’ve offered, where the men would rather not use them. It’s all personal preference and learning what works for each individual.
What concepts do you believe are necessary for success of a collegiate distance runner?
There are several factors that I believe a successful collegiate distance runner needs to address. They need to be dedicated, focused and flexible, have trust in their coaches and be willing to sacrifice. Being a successful distance runner is more than just running the workouts during practice, it has to be a lifestyle that they embrace and feel good about. The team members are only around me for 2 hours a day, but it is really the other 22 hours a day that determines their success. Are they getting enough sleep, eating right, doing the other little things that add up? They have to be willing to sacrifice, especially in a college setting. When most of their classmates and friends may be going out on Thursday, Friday or Saturday night and drinking or staying out late, they need to be dedicated to themselves and the team to know that those things will not help them be a better distance runner. It may take some longer to realize this and some may not realize this ever. However, it is something that I still stress on a continuous basis.
They also need to also be flexible in their life. Distance running is an overuse sport by nature. We do the same motion over a thousand times a day for 330+ days a year. Knowing when your body needs some extra rest or an extended break is hard to acknowledge sometimes. We want to keep doing more and more, when rest is really what we need. This is where the trust in their coaches really comes into play. They need to know that we have their best interest in mind and we are looking at the big picture.
For those that are aspiring to become a collegiate cross country coach, what would be the best piece of advice you would give them?
Unfortunately, it’s often more about who you know than what you know that will get you a college coaching position. This isn’t always the case, but I’ve seen it so many times in the short time I’ve been coaching, and it was certainly a factor in me being hired at Brockport. Because of this, I think it is extremely important to make as many connections as you can. If you are a college athlete, talk to the other coaches and even administrators. Let them know that you are more than just an athlete and you have aspirations to be a coach. I would also say that you have to be willing to work for next to nothing to start and maybe even an extended period of time. If you are willing to put that time in and then move onto another school, then you will have some valuable experience when it is your turn to lead the team.
Thanks to Coach Krueger for a great interview.
post comment
{ Last Page } { Page 148 of 204 } { Next Page }
|
