Coaches Chalkboard - with Jack Daniels

- Focus on the task at hand; you have no control over what others are doing in any race, but you do have control over what you are doing, so run smart.

- When my runners are getting ready for an important race, I always tell them: 'There are runners in the race who are not as good as you, so make sure you beat all of them. There are also runners in the race that may be equal to you, and you can beat all of them because you run a smarter race. And, there may be some runners in the race who are better than you, and you should beat half of them because they run a stupid race.'

- Almost anyone can do a few great workouts now and then, but consistency is the key to long-term success.

- Never be discouraged by teammates who seem to be progressing faster than you are: Be happy for them. Some people improve at a slower rate, but may eventually achieve the highest level of success. I have a good friend who had a best high-school mile time of 4:34, and he placed 9th in the Olympic 1500-meter finals when he was 24 years old. A young girl came to run for me in college and had a high school best in the 800 of 2:39. By the time she graduated from college she won the Penn Relays 10k in a time of 33:01.

- The greatest part about participating in athletics is not winning some championship event, it is the fun you have along the way; the friends you meet and the places you get to visit. Cherish each day of training and competing and any rewards you may achieve, for do?

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	Tim   August 11, 2008 at 7:24pm just testing to see if this posts reply
	George Shakelton   July 28, 2008 at 8:54am Thanks Jack, I Appreciate your blogs, you coached my daughter at Cortland {Joy} and your blogs keep us connected with you. reply
	Chris Seyler   July 12, 2008 at 6:18pm Great Advice! reply
	ivanvano13   July 9, 2008 at 11:48am And by "run even" Andrew means even intensity. Don't expect even splits in a cross race. reply
	Andrew Erwin   July 8, 2008 at 7:51pm Those were some great quotes! As to running a smart race...That really depends on the race. Usually though running the smart race would be to stay relaxed during the race, let other people do the leading, and run even through most of the race and then to close fast. reply
	Cara Hawkins   July 8, 2008 at 3:04pm Thanks! reply
	Ryan Mangus   July 8, 2008 at 1:27pm I liked what you said about running a smart race. But what excatly is a smart race? reply

Jack Daniels, Ph.D.

Jack Daniels, head distance coach at the Center for High Altitude Training at Northern Arizona University, trains and consults runners from all over the world. Daniels has been named NCAA Division III Coach of the Century, three-time NCAA Division I National Coach of the Year, and was named World’s Best Coach by Runner’s World magazine. Throughout his career, Daniels has worked with many successful athletes, including Jim Ryun, Joan Benoit Samuelson, Peter Gilmore, Amy Hastings, Ryan and Alicia Shay, Magdalena Lewy Boulet, and many others. Daniels is a two-time Olympic medalist in the modern pentathlon.

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