The best thing ever yelled at me was by my friend, @ 2400 in a 3k. "Don't wimp out". It was accurate and addressed my own fears.
My coach (a well known D3 person on the West coast) never really said anything helpful, during races or even training.
The best thing ever yelled at me was by my friend, @ 2400 in a 3k. "Don't wimp out". It was accurate and addressed my own fears.
My coach (a well known D3 person on the West coast) never really said anything helpful, during races or even training.
You run like your mom screws!
"I love you!"
Maury's Dad wrote:
Nope Nope wrote:
+1 Wonder how many get the reference, and I don't mean the line from Airplan.
Thanks, but I wonder if you're closing on sixty like me...
Getting to closing in on 50 in a few years. DC area resident.
“Put your earpiece back in. I need to talk to you!”
Last week at conference when he had us use micro walker-talkie things under a headband but I didn’t want a DQ and took it out during warmups.
‘I’m going to rape you later’.
I can only recall two times.
First, in practice, we did a relay workout, 8 miles with 4 man teams and you were running your eight 440s pretty much all out. We distance guys would get blown out by the sprinters for maybe 2 laps, but then we'd dust them in the later laps. I remember coming from way behind to pass one of the better sprinters and Coach said: 'Give me distance guys any day for this relay!' That's about all the praise you'd get from him.
Then when I had a massive breakthrough race he said after my first lap - or so I was told because I don't recall hearing anything - 'Holy cow, look at ________ go!' He did say something to me after the race but I was concentrating on not falling over, Coach didn't like to see that ever.
Ah glory days, when hydrating was considered weakness.
This lap is where your dreams become reality!
“Throw in the towell.”
"'You're not the runner I had recruited in any form!" - This was after I got booted off the team for a year for some serious partying and came back on the next year 20lbs overweight and in general just a screw up. After he yelled that at me I got my sh!t together, lost the weight (safely) and went All-American the next year in cross.
Always coming up at 400m into an 800m race, my head track coach in high school used to go: "YA GOTTA GO, YA GOTTA GOO"
In my head I'm like "way too early," but he was kinda right. To run a good 800 you gotta have the guts to start pushing (not kicking) at the bell.
As a ninth grader and one lap into my first race ever in high school (an 800), my coach cheered me by name. I was so excited that he actually knew my name!
Hang on to a more experienced teammate who I had been doing race specific workouts with.
I’ve never been blessed to have a coach this good but i’ve heard other coaches yelling “MOVE”. Great inspiration.
long island runner wrote:
Spring track 2006, my junior year of high school. I was running a 1,500m race against a girl who had qualified for Footlocker the prior fall. She led the whole race until 550/600 where I went by her in an attempt at a long kick, but with around 300m left to go, she passed me again and I felt like I had nothing left in the tank. Then, with about 250m left to go, my coach runs up from inside the track and yells at me, "IT'S ALL HEART NOW! IF YOU WANT THIS, IT'S YOURS." It was really crazy. A switch instantly flipped. Prior to him shouting at me, I thought I had absolutely nothing left in the tank but when I heard those words, I BLEW by this girl and ended up winning the race by over four-five seconds setting a five second PR of 4:38. Even though it was at a rinky dinky invitational and said Footlocker finalist when on to have a much more successful collegiate/post collegiate career than I did, it was the first race of my high school career where I really made a name for myself. Ended up running 4:33 later that season.
Nice story.
“Stop feeling sorry for yourself.” College coach 1100 into a 1500, it was exactly what I needed to hear.
My high school coach really loved running and his athletes and engendered a love of the sport, but in hindsight didn't seem terribly knowledgeable- none of us ran that well in high school but a fair number went on to run well later.
He was pretty fit for an older man, and ran himself ragged getting to as many spots on the course as he could, making sure he saw those of us up front and the laggards.
When you saw him up ahead you knew you'd get some variety of encouragement, and always a split from his watch. These splits were at random spots on courses that were poorly measured on their best days, plus in the excitement of cheering at the starting line he didn't always get his watch started in a timely manner.
I still do that to friends in races sometimes as a tribute that only I understand.
Senior year of high school XC I wanted to break 16:00. I remember coming around one of the final turns of a race and my coach yells “I need 10 guys from you! Pass 10 guys and you break 16!”
So I did. Went 15:50’s. I wouldn’t have done it if he didn’t shout that. That’s one of the only things I can remember.
"Slow Down!"
Senior year at xc Districts; I'd been injured for the whole summer and started running three weeks ago. At the gun I decided to hang with my teammate I'd ran with the past year, I had no business being with him but it was either that or suffer in no-man's land. After giving a few words of advice to my teammate, he could only exclaim "What!? Great work, keep on him." I lasted about 4k until I fell off that pack but I still ended up close to what I'd run in years past, it's still my favorite moment from that season though.
On the other side, I remember a particularly miserable 1500 after doubling back from the 3k in college, I went out too hard and ended up yo-yoing off the back, when I had separated by ~5m an older masters runner I'd known for close to 10 years appeared track side and told me to "make a choice."
Got back on the train and suffered for it, it's still a phrase that I use whenever I feel myself falling back.