Is 100mpw required for NCAA XC Champs????

I assume the majority of the guys in the race do a lot of time at 90+. Most on my team did while I was in school, anyway. But of our two best who were both top 10 finishers, one was the typical super-talent who only did ~80, and another was a workhorse who was well over 100 mpw for much of the year (sometimes over 120).

Are we talking about averaging 100mpw for weeks on end? - or during the season?- or something like hitting 100mpw once in the summer base phase?

Big differences there.

As is relative intensity of all the miles, and targeted/specific quality sessions.

There was a guy at Cornell who was my teammate...super injury prone. He ran like 35-50 miles per week mostly (also did some cross training). He was also a sub 9:10 guy in hs. He ran about the same for 5km that I did...but I was running twice as much mileage as him a lot of the time (while doing the same quality workouts). I have no excuses...I'm just using this as a somewhat weak example. We were both only around 14:30 for 5km.... but at 10km was where more differences started showing though (esp in xc compared to track).

I'd guess a lot of programs (this is for guys) probably try to hit at least 70-80 or more for at least a month or two. The super talented guys can be All-American or possibly win off of that, but 100mpw+ might give them that extra edge (And extra risk for injury of course).

The workout sequence with quality probably matters just as much....periodization and peaking at the right time. Guys will crush it at Pre-Nats and the early season invitationals only to totally tank out at NCAAs in November.

no

Diet and sleep ok- but running a lot, not being injured, and not overtraining. And a lot of talent and a good race plan. Core? Idk. Doubt it.

dr gonzo wrote:

The key to having great success is doing all the little things right. There really isn't anything more important than diet, core, and sleep, and I can guarantee you that just about every individual/team on the podium have executed those things to a T. I know for a fact that teams like Wisco/OSU/Portland institute 'dry' seasons in which the athletes vow to not do anything destructive (alcohol/elicit drugs/sweets) for the entirety of the season. Greatness takes sacrifice.