Blogs : NCAA Division III Blog

Interviews: Jason Maus of Ohio Northern University

(Photo courtesy of the Ohio Northern athletics website)

Coach Maus is in his fourth year as the assistant coach for the Distance and Mid-Distance squads at Ohio Northern University.  He is also the recruiting coordinator for the cross country and track and field programs.  Coach Maus was a two-time OAC Champion in track and a two-time All-OAC performer in cross country while at Heidelberg College. 

By: Derick Lawrence (11/07/2006)

What made you want to become a collegiate cross country coach and what steps did you take in achieving this goal? 

My career path wasn’t to start out this way.  Coach Cole here at ONU approached me at a Last Chance Meet about his Graduate Assistant position, and my first thought was about the free degree.  My original plan was to get my MBA in three years and move back into the business world.  But as I got involved with this program and team I fell in love with it.  The team and the individuals I work with everyday have kept me here.  I don’t think I could see myself in the business world today.  I love the opportunity to stay involved with running and helping people become better at something they love. 

You were a two-time OAC Champion in track and a two-time All-OAC performer in cross country at Heidelberg College (class of 2002).  Tell us about your collegiate running career (most memorable experiences, progression of your training, what you learned, etc.)

Running in college was the best decision I ever made.  My best friends today were my college teammates.  I was an average athlete coming out of H.S. and really progressed through college because I had a lot of really good guys to train with.  A lot of guys who were really motivated and who wanted to be successful really helped me become a better runner.  Some of my most memorable races were the OAC 1500 my SR. year at Wilmington, the race in which I won and qualified for the NCAA meet.  Running XC Nationals with the team at UW-Oshkosh was amazing as well.  Looking back I wouldn’t trade my college running experience for anything, it was amazing.  I learned so much about myself and so many life lessons, it’s immeasurable. 

You continue to compete post-collegiately with Team Good River.  Tell us about Team Good River and your post-collegiate running goals? 

(Photo courtesy of the Maus')

Team Good River is a team started by Tim Budic, and the concept is great.  Again I don’t think I’m worthy of being a member of that team either, he’s got some really good Men and Women on that team.  I’m really glad I’m a part of it though, it helps keep me motivated and striving to stay competitive.  I see these people running fast times, I want to continue to do it as well.  Tim is striving to make this team an Elite Club team, and they are competing at Club Nationals, but unfortunately with my schedule I can’t go this year.  But he keeps us posted and up to date and keeps the club running well, I’m really glad to have it, and proud to be a part of it.  As far as goals, it’s hard as a collegiate coach to keep training the way you’d like.  Running isn’t always about you any more, and your running doesn’t always come first.  The team here at ONU does a great job of supporting me, like I do them.  They came out to Chicago when I ran the Marathon, and watched me run the St. Louis ½ Marathon last year after a track meet.  The guys are always trying to get me to run a 5k against them.  I think we might have a show down this year indoors at a meet.  I did set a new PR last spring at a Last  Chance meet.

Would you briefly describe Ohio Northern’s training philosophy (volume, intensity, frequency, etc.)? 

We are not a super high mileage program.  The men range from 55-80 miles a week and the women usually range from 35-55 miles a week.  We get in a couple quality workout days a week, easy recovery days in between, a pre-race, race, and a long run on Sundays.  I don’t think we are doing any thing new, I’ve just tweaked what has worked for us in the past to the athletes we currently have.  That is the nice thing about our sport it can be individualize a little to fit everyone’s strengths.  

Who has influenced you the most in your coaching? 

I would say the biggest influences from a coaching aspect would be my past Coaches.  At Heidelberg I had Larry Brown and Bret Kimple, both of whom I enjoyed running for, and learned a lot from.  My H.S. track coach Quinn White and I are very close and I still touch base with him quite often about things.  So, past coaches have influenced me the most, in sense of things that I’d like to do or be and things that I don’t want to do or be. 

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 might be a standard week, things would obviously change based on individual’s mileage and where we are in the training cycle. All repeats are done at training paces based on our performances. 

M- Secondary run (A.M.)  (P.M)- Usually our longer repeat days, our strength days, mile repeats, or 2ks

T- A recovery run, or a run with some surges or maybe some build ups at the end

W- Secondary run (A.M.)  (P.M)-  Usually our shorts faster speed days, maybe 800s, 1k’s, at a faster pace

R-Recovery day

F- Pre-race

Sa- Race

Su- Long run 20% of weekly mileage, on your own.

Tell us about the Ohio Northern men’s and women’s cross country teams this season?  What are your goals for your teams heading into regionals? 

(Photos courtesy of the Ohio Northern athletics website)

The season to this point have been two of the most successful one’s I have ever been a part of, and two of the most successful ones in recent history.  We have traveled to some very competitive meets and raced some of the best teams in Division III and I feel that has really prepared us for the end of the season.  The Women’s team won the OAC title for the second straight year, a first in school history and we had four young ladies earn all conference.  The Men’s team had the best conference meet in school history as well; finishing one point from the title and having three guys earn all conference.  But most importantly, everyone has gotten better from the beginning of the season, a little stronger and a little wiser.  Our goals for Regionals are to put ourselves in the hunt, get in and mix it up, and give ourselves a chance.  This group does a great job of really believing in what we are doing and believing in the work they have put in, and that can go a long way.  We have a great region, and very tough competition on both sides, it’ll be a great meet, and tons of fun.  I’m really excited that we’re in the mix on both sides, and I just want us to give it our best shot and hopefully things will work out in our favor.  I’m sure whatever teams and individuals make the National meet, will represent us very well. 

What’s the running environment like at Ohio Northern University?  Where does the team train?  The running environment at ONU is pretty conducive to successful training.  Its very flat, and windy all of the time here, so we have to make some adjustments and do the best we can.  We run out in the country a lot, spend a lot of time running the mile blocks around the corn and bean fields of Ada.  We usually pass more tractors and combines in the fall than cars, but it’s nice that we don’t have to run on crowded streets and such very often.  We do a lot of our intervals and things right here on campus in the grass, and we do get some hill work at a local reservoir.  Its country running, nothing really exciting.  

Is there any running related training material (books, scientific journal articles, etc.) that you commonly refer to throughout a cross country season? 

I look at some of Daniels stuff some, and we follow some of that.  I get some workouts from a book titled “Running tough” by Michael Sandrock, which I really like for some new ideas and different workouts.  I get a lot of workouts by talking with other coaches and past coaches; I think that is the best resource.  

What are your thoughts about the new qualifying procedures for the 2006 NCAA Division III Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships? 

There will always be debate about the best way to get the best teams to the National meet.  At first I was unsure, but now that I think about it, I like the idea of getting rid of historical data.  This year’s teams were reliant on last years performances, at least now this year’s team can have the opportunity to make a case based on their current performances.   The only thing I don’t like about it is that the teams that finish 3-5 will leave the meet not knowing if they have qualified for the National meet and some individuals may not know if they have made it until Sunday.  But other than that I think the system will work.   

What are 2 key workouts that you incorporate into the peaking period of a cross country season? 

I really like to do some workouts that simulate races, especially on our off weeks.  I believe in keeping your skills sharp and fine tuning things.  So we do some ladders that start out longer and slower and work down to shorter and faster.  We also do some longer repeats that involve changing paces with in that repeat.  Those are two things that I really think help keep us sharp. 

What concepts do you believe are necessary for success of a collegiate distance runner? 

I think one of the biggest concepts is commitment, the idea of dedication and drive.  If a college student truly commits to being a successful runner and makes the lifestyle changes and commitments they will see tons of improvements and could quite possibly do some things unimaginable.  You don’t have to be elite or the best on your team to be successful, or improve.  You just have to commit yourself to achieving.  To me there are two types of runners: 1.) Those who WANT to be good and 2.) Those who NEED to be good.  The ones who WANT will come into your office and tell you how good they want to be, but never make the commitment to be that good, they want everything handed to them; they want it to be easy.  They don’t want to make the sacrifices to be come better.  The ones that NEED to be good , they are the ones that make the sacrifices and make the commitments to be better, because  that is what they have to do, that is their lifestyle, that is who they are, and that  is what or who they want to be.  So if you really want to be a successful collegiate runner, make the commitment, truly commit to being a better runner, don’t just say it. 

Take us through a day in your life during the cross country season as a collegiate cross country coach? 

Here at ONU I also teach in the Business College, so I teach Economics in the morning, two sections.   I enjoy teaching Econ; I have a Master’s degree in business so I feel like I should use it a little.  I do also have to teach in the HPSS department, usually an activities class like golf, dance aerobics or my favorite-badminton.  Teaching duties usually fulfill most of my morning, lunch I usually have a recruit, after lunch its paperwork, such as workout, entries, recruiting, other odds and ends that need to be done.  That usually takes me up to practice time, after practice it’s back to the office to finish up stuff that I didn’t get done during the day.  I then start making recruiting calls until about 10pm.  That’s a pretty standard day, starts at 7:30am-9:30pm Monday-Friday and then meets on Saturdays.

How do you balance coaching duties, family life, and post-collegiate running? 

(Photo courtesy of the Maus')

This skill is time management, it helps that most of the time I can run with the team, and if I can’t run with the team usually running is a break or vent from my hectic life.  My wife Lindsey is amazing, it takes a special woman to be a coach’s wife, and I’ve found that out quickly.  We’ve only be married a little over a year and I don’t think she knew what she was getting into at first, but she’s been great.  She is an awesome sounding board for ideas, and when I vent about frustrations, and she’s always there supporting the positive aspects.  I’m so lucky to have her, and to have someone so understanding and supportive.  I’ve really tried to not take the coaching aspect of life home with me at times, I’m sure she gets tired of hearing about it as well, but she does understand since she was a collegiate runner herself.  Running is something that she and I do together.  It allows us to spend some time together.  I helped train her to a marathon PR this fall, and I’m not going to take much credit for it, she ran awesome. 

For those that are aspiring to become a collegiate cross country coach, what would be the best piece of advice you would give them? 

My best pieces of advice: expect long hours, bust your tail all the time and learn from other people.  Moving from athlete to coach was a whole new experience and I was amazed at how many things go on behind the scenes that athletes don’t realize.  I think one of the best things I have done is learn from other coaches who have been there and done that, they have the experience, I don’t know everything, but maybe someone else has been in the same situation.  Most importantly enjoy it, have fun with it, make the most of everyday, I think sometimes as coaches we lose sight of that and get caught up in all this work, and if you’re not enjoying the process, you’re missing out.  

Thanks to Coach Maus for a great interview.

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