Brendan Foster training, more info needed.

i think i've got some AW's from the early 1970's and it has a training profile on Foster in it. He used to do really fast mile reps, like 3 of them with a long rest (10 mins) in about 4:10 when he was getting ready for a 5k race

Training in July 74

Sun.:20miles steady

Mon.:a.m. 10m steady to work

p.m. 8m steady

Tue.:a.m. 5m steady

p.m. 5m steady

p.m. 3x800m(avg.2:01 with 4min rec) + 4x100m

Wed.:a.m. 9m steady to work

p.m. 2x8x200m(fast with 20sec rest)+ 4x 100m

Thu.:a.m. 6m steady

p.m. 5m steady

p.m. 5m steady

Fri.:a.m. 6m steady to work

p.m. Race

Sat.:15miles fast

Don't know what steady means exactly but he was training high mileage the whole year(100-120mpw).

Not very talented, broke 4min for 1500m first time at the age of 20!!!

I believe that he suffered from low iron levels at this age and once diagnosed quickly improved. His autobiography is a must read for anyone who can find it.

Monty

i know brendan although it has been a while. if you want to contact me i might be able to help you.

yeah - absolute nails, pity he now talks complete shite when commentating.

his all-time best quote was the one when vet Keith Anderson was 2nd in the short race at the Great North x-country- he referred to Keith as a "recreational runner". What a joke, Keith had recently run 48 minutes for 10 miles and 29 something when he dominated the masters scene in the US for a year in about 1996

reminds me of the time the eugene register guard newspaper referred to 28:08 10,000m runner greg lautenslager(sp?) as a good 'local' runner

Brendan's bio (The Brendan Foster Story) is great. He also worked full-time as a school teacher and later as an athletics center administrator during his peak years. For a guy with a PR of 52 in the 400 (he believes he could have run 50 if he specialised),his 1500 times and 2M times are remarkable; plus he was known for his kick. How many guys can outsprint Ian Stewart who is certainly no slouch?

Do you or anyone know of the quote Big Bren made in a I believe in a SI or running mag about being tired all of the time?

I know the quote you are talking about. It referred to being tire every second of the day. I hope someone finds that quote. A smart coach I know who lives in MN talked about going into the valley of fatigue during each season. I realized long after competing that Charlie M. is a genius. You simply have to live in that valley for awhile each season to reach your best level. It is that simple.

The quote was (I think), "World class distance runners wake up tired and go to bed VERY tired". Even thinking about Bren's schedule makes me want to take a nap.

The 79 January Runner's World has an article on him, but

nothing really sticks out because he's just another runner

from that period of time. It does list Malmo as top 10

steeple in the world for 78.

I think the mis quote started when Deek read Bren's autobiography. He shortened it from this:

Here's the exact quote from Bren's book pg. 195:

"The greatest fallacy of the lot, however, is people's tendancy to say 'It must be great to be fit!'

Apart from the obviouis benefits to your long-term health, the remark could not be further from the truth. When you are fit for international running, most of the time you are tired, sleepy, and more susceptible to colds and flu than most people. You never feel fit when you are training hard, so in all honesty there is not a great recommendation in international running to keep you sprightly, wideawake and active all day in the same way that there is for recreational running and jogging, which really does tone you up."

Ahhhhhhh very close(Very Good) I remember there being a quote where he wa stalking about how he was too tired to shop with his wife..anybody heard or read this?

If you follow this your headed in the same direction as all the other average distance runners. You need 3 extremely hard days per week. The other days , do water running or some other

no weight bearing activity.

Bump

My dad trained with Brendan 3/4 times a week throughout the seventies up to moscow, used to come round to our house for lunch on Sundays and play football on the beach with me and his son. He was an awesome trainer. many of the road race records in his native Nort east were run in training shoes after a morning 10 miler, and remember we are talking about athletes like Steve Cram, Charlie Spedding, Kevin Forster, Mike McLeod running on thos courses too.

In the winter his training was almost exclusively high volume with no track training through from October to April, though he sometimes took a warm weather break. His mileage was usuaally up around the 120/130 mark, interestingly he was actually more successful whilst he was working full time and whe he went full time in athletics he became a bit obsessed with it all and went downhill.

An interesting pointer is taht when he was in his prime his club Gateshead harriers was the top club in Britaina nd he had a group of very talented very high quality guys around him, a big group of people all capable of great times and all very hungry. That enviroment must have been perfect.

He was a ruthless competitor, very tough and ran his races in a way which was very hard metally and physically, often breaking the field with two mid race laps of as close to 60 seconds as possible. He did this asgainst Viren in Rome in the European Championships and ran away from him in very tough conditions.

Unfortunately in Montreal when probably the favourite he was not 100% with stomach problems and ran below par, the only British medallist in Montreal.

e was advised by Stan Long and Lynsey Dunn, Lynsey has been involved with lots of good Britsih runners, Charlie Spedding, Kevin Forster, Dominic Bannister, Mike Openshaw etc.. over the years.

He did attempt a marathon in 1980 in New Zealand and ran only 2.15, decided it wasn't or him.

On the subject of his anaemia, whilst he was at Uni in Brighton his results went rapidly downhill, this coincided with his first break away from home and probably a poor diet, after afew weeks of iron tablets he saw massive improvements.

After finishing hiss running career went on to develop the Great north Run and was european director of Nike.

icehouse wrote:

he wa stalking about how he was too tired to shop with his wife..

All that stalking must have tired him out.