Was on course today and incidentally also on course for his breaking of the canadian half record in Vancouver February. Could my thumbs up and knowing winks have given the energy boost that permitted such excellence? Most likely.
When I'm on The Island going to miracle beach I keep an eye out for him! Haven't seen him though. Doubt he lives there anymore anyway!
Interesting twitter thread on some of Cam's physiological testing and training here:
Obviously, an outstanding area record 2:05:36 race from @CamLevins on the weekend, under the guidance of Victoria legend/coach Jim Finlayson. Maybe, for some, this race was surprising - but see the testing data (thanks Cam for sharing). pic.twitter.com/1iI5eJNoQd
— Trent Stellingwerff (@TStellingwerff) March 6, 2023
Well Calgary where is he born is roughly 1000m of altitude, it can be warm all year round. The snow and ice certainly hinder the chance to train properly year round.
While I agree that old pros often (not always) make terrible coaches, I would argue that Jim Finlayson is a very smart guy. Not quite the old-pro level, but very good and he was probably capable of more than what he achieved. But he was Canadian Marathon champ, went to world cross, etc.
He is well known for being a bit of a math genius, an excellent writer, photographer and thoughtful coach.
At first blush, it may have seemed odd for Cam to hire someone remote who is coaching age-groupers and sub-elite, but knowing both of them, I thought, what a fit! Jim is smart enough to get out of Cam's way when it is time to, too.
I seem to recall reading that Jim Finlayson suffers from MS. Normally I wouldn't bring this up in a public forum but it's common knowledge and there were articles about this. I only ask because I wonder if that factors into his coaching (nutrition, recovery tactics, etc)?