highest mileage d1 teams

Well traditionally: Stanford, Wisconsin, Colorado, and Iona keep their mileage around 65 - 70, so you are in good company. unless you think it hasn't worked for those guys. I mean there are programs like Oregon, that consistently get their guys in the 120+ crowd, but honestly their group of runners is probably the most inconsistent in the country, when talking about big programs that is. My personal view, is that less is more, stay healthy, try to run what you are doing faster, NOT more. One component at a time as my old college coach put it.

dude what are you talking about. The average runner at Colorado and Stanfor is well above 65-70...closer to 85-90. Wisonsin was similar when shumacher was there, not sure what they do now.

yes i know for a fact that theyre more...and that oregon is not in the 120 range...

ludaj wrote:

hey guys what are the highest mileage d1 teams? Im a freshman at a top 20 d1 school but im not totally buying into our training... i worked fairly hard to run what i did in highschool, running like 70 mpw and now im doing pretty much the same thing...my coach gets pissed if i run more then what he wants. no one on our team is very high mileage.. i know if i want to be good i need to run 100mpw at some point but our coach definitely isnt into that high of volume. so im curious, what are some of the higher mileage schools in the nation? thanks!

It is nice to see that you took your college decision making process very seriously and found out what the program that you chose was like before you went there.

I honestly cannot understand how this happens. You are talking about one of the most important decisions in your life and you didn't bother to take the time to find out what kind of program you were going to? Unbelievable.

First, you should be trying to progress your mileage up to whatever you can handle over time. Your coach may be holding you steady for Frosh year because it is a year of BIG adjustments, not just in training, but in all areas of life, and they all contribute to physiological stress. Plus, you may have a bit more intensity in that mileage these days compared to HS. On the other hand, if even seniors are held to fairly low mileage, then that might concern you.

Second, no you do NOT HAVE TO run 100 mpw to be good at some point. Numbers are just numbers for those who like to track numbers. It's bullshit. There is nothing magical about 100 mpw. You very well could be getting all the benefit at 85 mpw that someone else gets at 100mpw, but if YOU go up there you could be only increasing your overtraining and/or injury potential.

Third, I have no idea how you could be at a Top 20 DI school and the coach has everyone running what you consider to be really low mileage.

tell us the school and your name.

I completely disagree. There probably is not a single runner that competes SUCCESSFULLY at the D1 level, FOR DISTANCE, that doesnt hit 100 mpw. Talent only goes so far. The reason your Solinsky's and McDougals and Chelanga's are so dominatant is because they run more than everyone else. Honestly, thats the trick. Its a funny little secret that people dont pay attention to. When someone is real good, they just assume tons of talent. honestly I wasn't that good, then I ran a lot and all of a sudden according to other runners I had "natural talent". Its a bunch of BS. Trust me on this. 100mpw is a staple of successful distance running accross the world. You find me a Kenyan that doesnt do that and we can talk. Because you wont.

You're right, the good runners do run a lot, often over 100mpw. But there is NO NUMBER that will magically make ANYONE a great runner. Not true. You can even ask the mileage gurus themselves, The Brojos. 100 is just a number.

I never said he shouldn't run a lot. Actually my first statement was that HE SHOULD BE INCREASING his mileage over time to whatever his body can handle. His body might handle 120mpw. He might handle 95 mpw. We don't know. But I will say it again, there is NOTHING magical about 100.

Bernard Lagat is the biggest, and I think only, exception to this. Assuming you count the 5000 as distance.

I dunno, I have heard the whole individualize your effort thing a lot recently. I just feel like it is typical of our society, in that, it is a cop out of hard work. I think people "individualize"their works, by doing less. To me, and maybe because I am old school, that is just pansy BS. Put your big boy pants on and go out and run. 100mpw or more. If you can do it, you'll learn to, because it is a trait within every human being to be able to adapt. I think just too often we settle with mediocre, when great just meant push a little further, a little harder. I say put your money where your mouth is and hit those 100 mpws, it'll hurt for a little. BUT your body will get used to it. You'll be better for it in the long run.

Come to Columbus State University! We still have 3-4 guys over 100 miles each week and we only have a month of track season left!

ian edwards wrote:

Come to Columbus State University! We still have 3-4 guys over 100 miles each week and we only have a month of track season left!

What sort of progress have you made and what sort of times are you running?

Quality counts too, just throwing that in there...i really don't think anyone "has" to run 100 mpw (aside from world class marathoners)

Absolutely, 100 is just a number and not a magic one. But that can mean just as easily that someone needs MORE than 100 as it does that they need less.

Disagree. I am talking scientifically, not how people free about. physiologically, 100 plus is ALWAYS better than less. I don't really see how you could argue, it just makes you stronger.

HRE wrote:

Absolutely, 100 is just a number and not a magic one. But that can mean just as easily that someone needs MORE than 100 as it does that they need less.

That was my point. I just happened to use 85 mpw in my example above.

Unless you get injured. That is one way that you could in fact argue.

I've always argued here that generally runners do not run enough and that to run as well as you can you need to run a lot. Generally I think 100 is a nice benchmark for defining "running a lot."

But some people do not handle that sort of mileage all that well. I was just reading an interview yesterday with Steve Hoag, who drops by here now and again. He never did much more than 75-90 mpw an said he'd start breaking down when he did more. But he also said that to succeed you need to run a lot but to him 75-90 was a lot.

Original Poster: Have you raced this year or have you just been training? If you've been racing, how do your performances compare to what you ran in high school? If you're progressing you're probably doing something right.