Top Collegiate Distance Coaches

Dave Smith & Mark Wetmore.

Are you looking for a coach who is really good at coaching distance runners to the point where they can run professionally?

Or are you looking for a coach who can take a HS scrub and get them to run a decent time?

If you want to make something from nothing:

http://www.haverfordathletics.com/sports/mtrack-out/coaches/donnelly_tom

steve plasencia. chris fox.

03945jasdf wrote:

Are you looking for a coach who is really good at coaching distance runners to the point where they can run professionally?

Or are you looking for a coach who can take a HS scrub and get them to run a decent time?

If you want to make something from nothing:

http://www.haverfordathletics.com/sports/mtrack-out/coaches/donnelly_tom

If you want to make something out of nothing:

Anyone who recruits top HS recruits and transfers.

Some really lousy coaches whose roster is drawn to a great school look good with a collection of NCAA regional qualifiers.

Thinking more in lines of coaches who take already good to elite athletes and better them. For example Mark Wetmore^^ is known for taking scrubs and making them above average but he's also known for taking athletes like Adam Goucher and turning him into a title winning collegiate winner as well as a successful professional athlete. Just looking to learn of college coaches who have a very individual style of coaching that they apply over time and have tweaked their coaching over the years. Back to Wetmore his style is high mileage, low weight, and a season filled with pushing to the limit. People probably think he's crazy but he's proven himself. On the other end there's Joe Vigil (a professional but good example) who is more into lower weekly mileage focused on a quicker pace and 3 high intensity workouts.

sp6 wrote:

Thinking more in lines of coaches who take already good to elite athletes and better them. For example Mark Wetmore^^ is known for taking scrubs and making them above average but he's also known for taking athletes like Adam Goucher and turning him into a title winning collegiate winner as well as a successful professional athlete. Just looking to learn of college coaches who have a very individual style of coaching that they apply over time and have tweaked their coaching over the years. Back to Wetmore his style is high mileage, low weight, and a season filled with pushing to the limit. People probably think he's crazy but he's proven himself. On the other end there's Joe Vigil (a professional but good example) who is more into lower weekly mileage focused on a quicker pace and 3 high intensity workouts.

It's pretty well known the Wetmore of Running W/ the Buffs is not the same Wetmore today. They do not push training like that anymore and mileage would be considered low by most top D1 standards.

The point of the post is being misunderstood. I want to know the names and differing techniques of coaches, not necessarily argue minor parts of a coach's philosophy. Considering that Vigil had Estrada running 70 miles a week while training for the US half marathon clearly shows his differing focus of Wetmore's considering that Wetmore is a coach more likely to assign 85-100 miles for someone running a 10k. Conclusion being that Wetmore likes high mileage, maybe not 120 but that's still quite high for a collegiate runner.

sp6 wrote:

The point of the post is being misunderstood. I want to know the names and differing techniques of coaches, not necessarily argue minor parts of a coach's philosophy. Considering that Vigil had Estrada running 70 miles a week while training for the US half marathon clearly shows his differing focus of Wetmore's considering that Wetmore is a coach more likely to assign 85-100 miles for someone running a 10k. Conclusion being that Wetmore likes high mileage, maybe not 120 but that's still quite high for a collegiate runner.

It's not that minor of a detail. Having a team of guys run 80-90 mpw vs 120 is a significant detail. Most D1 runners are doing ~80mpw and wouldn't consider that very high. I believe Rob Connor at Portland would be considered a high mileage philosophy.

Anyway, Wetmore= Pretty hard long run and emphasis on aerobic development throughout the year.

sp6 wrote:

The point of the post is being misunderstood. I want to know the names and differing techniques of coaches, not necessarily argue minor parts of a coach's philosophy. Considering that Vigil had Estrada running 70 miles a week while training for the US half marathon clearly shows his differing focus of Wetmore's considering that Wetmore is a coach more likely to assign 85-100 miles for someone running a 10k. Conclusion being that Wetmore likes high mileage, maybe not 120 but that's still quite high for a collegiate runner.

Vigil has prescribed 120+ weeks for other athletes. Estrada performs best and avoids injury on lower mileage. Not fair to cherry pick the training of one athlete as indicative of coaching philosophy.

Check out Joe Lynn at Hillsdale College (D2). In one year of being hired has produced a National Caliber program on the women

Oklahoma City Univ.- Coach Holt. 2 Men's XC titles in only four yrs as Head Coach.

this guy has it wrote:

Oklahoma City Univ.- Coach Holt. 2 Men's XC titles in only four yrs as Head Coach.

*In the NAIA, which is a very small step above junior college. I wouldn't be bragging about that.

The best men's college coaches are Powell at Oregon, Wetmore at Colorado, Byrne at Wisconsin, and Smith at Oklahoma St.

Oh, the shame. Ever heard of Joe Vigil?

Wasn't Holt at Purdue before?

Yes. 4 years at Purdue and now 4 at OCU

once a gopher wrote:

steve plasencia.

we said GOOD coaches not ex doped egotistical maniacs

FWIW wrote:

once a gopher wrote:

steve plasencia.

we said GOOD coaches not ex doped egotistical maniacs

Minnesota/Plasencia is NOT good. They got lucky with Blankenship and Mead, who were vast under achievers in college considering their post collegiate results. The only school worth running at in the Big Ten is Wisconsin, which it's been for the last 40 years.

Andy Powell... Oregon has what like 7 entries in the 1,500 and 7 in the 5 K and like 4 in the 10 K wow that man can coach GO DUCKS