With the spring marathon highlights done and dusted, some might wonder how the elites train.Renato* is one of the men behind the Kenyan's running success. Some might argue that you can throw any training at a high number of Kenyans and some of them will ultimately succeed. Kind of like the eggs against the wall comparison. However, if you look closely, there definitely is more to it than just that. Renato is a guy who does not seem to be shy to contradict his former believes if he discovers new and more successful methods. He wouldn't give you a one-size-fits-all answer though either. The latest thrill in marathoning seem to be long, HARD runs. The two-o-something guys don't slouch for two and a half to three hours at 6 min/mile pace.
Want to know more? Want to get the full picture? Here is the story: if you claim to be a good running coach or a decent marathoner yourself, you would want to do your homework. But beware, no quick fix here. No one pager here-you-go-that's-it-style. No, a painfully long message board thread that looks at elite marathon training from various angles. Yes, the letsrun.com message board is a hostile place, inhabited mostly by soft bearded, virgin high-school runners who take pride in phrases starting like "You, Sir, are a moron."
But this thread is different. Renato chimes in and out in his admittedly rusty English (but who am I to talk, right?) and provides thorough and understandable advise. I must admit that I am slightly concerned when it comes to Italian coaches that had a lot of success in the 90s. However, let's set all these concerns aside for this moment. We all understand that you can't make a race horse from a donkey just by juicing it up.
So, bring some time and your A-game, take notes and listen or even dive in to one of the current masters of pro marathon training:
Renato Canova on letsrun.com
(*Canova coaches Kenyan born Qatari world record holder Saif Saeed Shaheen and 10,000 meter runner Nicholas Kemboi as well as many other elites. He is one of the most successful coaches in the world, his athletes winning many medals in top international competitions. Some of his world champion athletes include Christopher Koskei (3000 m steeple) in 1999, Paul Kosgei (Half Marathon) in 2002, Saif Saaeed Shaheen (3000 m steeple) in 2003 and 2005, Dorcus Inzikuru (3000 m steeple women) in 2005.
He was responsible of Marathon Italian Team, together Luciano Gigliotti, in the period 1987-1998. Among his Italian athletes, we can remember Ornella Ferrara (bronze medal in World Marathon Championships 1995), Maria Curatolo (bronze medal in World Road Race Championships 15 km in 1987, and silver medal in European Championships 1994 in Marathon) and Maura Viceconte (bronze medal in European Championships 1998 in Marathon). Canova advocates extensive hill work including mixing technical exercises and sprinting up hills (circuits) and short uphill sprints for strength.
He took the time to give mensracing.com a long interview some years ago.)
ShareThis