Converting a football player to a distance runner

Bump...

How big/heavy? Also, assume he is a nearly pure fast-twitcher if he was a DB. Does HE want to run a marathon, and is he concerned about his finishing time?

There is no possible reason for this guy to run a marathon. Fast college football players aren't going to have fun the last 6 miles of a marathon. You need to tell him that.

After a year, I'm sure he can cover 26.2 miles so if he wants to be able say he covered the distance, he should just run the distance as soon as possible so he can say he did it.

This guy can be a jaw dropping 5k runner in your region. Just follow:

http://www.runnersworld.com/race-training/solving-the-5k-puzzle

What have his 5k times been? How fast can he run the 400m?

No easy answers here. I was a college (1- AA back then) football running back. Quick times for shorter distances but didn't run track. Played tennis and tried to stay in shape after graduation but got way overweight from playing days. Started running because I always had a fascination with the Boston Marathon, living close by.

Been running for 36 years. Of course, injuries included.

My take is to let this guy develop slowly. It takes time for the body to adapt and change, assuming he is motivated to improve. Maybe, coach him individually without the group? As long as he is improving his times why be worried? Also, IMHO and from experience, injuries can come quickly because you have a motivated athlete.

Not sure what you mean about him starting to struggle after 400m? He improved his 5k time and went 18 over 3 legs so that is HUGE for a guy who lived in 3-5 second bursts.

Be patient and let him find his own way.

My .02 cents.

Not exactly the same case, but I was sort of similar. 800m runner, always a bit bulky, ran through college, but never in my life have ever run over 15 miles at one go before. Although I was in the 14s for the 5K I never broke 30 for the 10K and was a middling 8K cross country runner.

Now I'm training for my first marathon. It's hard and brutal. I can still bust out very fast 1000m times during my "fartleks" and blaze by pretty much anyone I encounter on the track, but I can't hang on those fast "tempo" runs.

One thing I've had to consciously do is commit myself to dropping 15 pounds, and stop with my weight lifting. I'll hit the gym 2 times a week for some easy lifting, but nothing nearly as focused as I would typically be doing.

I know I am going to get crushed in the marathon and have set a very modest goal of 2:55. But I'm enjoying running for the first time since I think high school. Modest goals, modest improvements, good enough for me.

Lose weight....

I was an offensive tackle in college and had a pretty good running career with bests of 18:5x in the 5K and 1:27 half.