Tag: fitness
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What advice do you have for young runners that put so much emphasis on times and places, fall into a rut when they don’t hit those times, but don’t have the proper healthy foundation to build off? If you had advice for younger runners, how do you build a healthy foundation upon becoming a better person through running?
~ NAU athlete, Jeret Gillingham at the NCAA West Regionals 2025 Thank you for your question. This is a really big one, with many layers to explore if I am to answer it well. I appreciate the challenge! I think that we should start by discussing a “healthy foundation,” what it consists of and if…
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I have a 5k on Friday where I am the slowest seed by 20 seconds. I really do feel confident I am in shape to run 14:40 (even though my PR is 15:09). But that doesn’t mean I am not shaking in my boots…I guess my question is, how do I mentally prepare for a race like this? One where I am expected to make a big jump, I believe I can, but am still scared I can’t, because I haven’t yet.
~ MYLES, EAST COAST ~ This is The Dawn Wall in Yosemite National Park. For many climbers this is their “sub-14:40.” Dear Myles, I am answering your question sitting in the NAU tent at the Big Sky Conference Championships. So, wise advice from true experts on this topic is readily at hand! I will share…
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How should I handle my doubts?
~ NAU Athlete, Justin Keyes, Bryan Clay, 2025 For awhile now, I have been working with a very good 5k runner who has been experiencing an issue late in his races. When things start to get hard and a gap starts to form, or he gets passed, he “suddenly goes lactic.” Having watched many of…
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Should I have a pre-race routine?
~ GRACE, ARIZONA ~ NAU athlete, Maggi Congdon on the start line at the Bryan Clay Invite Years ago, in the early days of my work, I met with a soft-spoken endurance athlete preparing for an important race in Rome. He shared with me his personal pre-race ritual, which he referred to as “positivity squats.”…
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How can you best incorporate visualization into daily life/ training?
~ KROCKY ~NAU athletes Maggi Congdon and Alex Carlson at the NCAA Indoor Champs this weekend. January cut cold and bright outside the office window when the athlete and I met to talk. They told me about their years developing in Africa. The spoke of the groups, the focus and the beautiful, remote villages at…
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“Working with NAU, I’m curious what some of their goal-setting looks like? I realize that they put a lot of emphasis on process, but how do they balance that concept when also being excited/ hopeful about running a certain time?”
~ KARSTEN Karsten, this is a great question. The athletes that I work with do their goal-setting with their coaches. But, I have always wondered how the NAU coaches handle conversations about specific goals. So, I reached out to Coach, Jarred Cornfield to ask. But, before I share Coach Cornfield’s response, I would like to…
MENTAL PERFORMANCE 