From coach Pete at Marist College

This is Pete Colaizzo, the men's track and cross country coach at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, NY. I was Justin Harris' coach at Marist for five years, and it was a pleasure to work with Jut during that time and help him develop. I believe he has a lot more development ahead of him as well as a post-graduate.

Jut was one of my fiercest competitors and one of my best captains in the 17 years I have been coach at Marist. He is missed in many ways, but the impact and standards he set during his time here have carried over to the current team in a positive manner.

Anyway, I wanted to share some thoughts on post-collegiate running from this college coach's perspective ...

First of all, as a college coach and a lifetime runner, I try to instill a love of the sport in my guys. Equally as important, I try to keep them fresh and injury-free so that upon graduation -- should they so choose -- they can continue to flourish in this great sport. This is not an easy task. As a college coach, my mandate is to field competitive teams for three continuous seasons -- cross country, indoor track, outdoor track. This means a distance runner, in theory, will compete in 12 consecutive seasons of training, racing, conference meets, etc. It's a relentless grind.

I'm proud of the fact that many of my former runners continue to improve and stay motivated, and even move up to the marathon distance. As a result of this, several years ago I formed the Marist Alumni Racing Team so that they can continue to represent their old school with pride on the roads and trails of our country. Of course, I strongly encourage my guys to hook up with an established, serious racing/training team as well.

The biggest challenge facing a post-collegiate runner is the fact that -- unless you hook up with a team or club -- you no longer have the benefit of built-in training partners. At Marist, we have a big team, so training partners are never an issue. We routinely have 20-25 guys going out for a Sunday morning long run. After college, that's not often an option.

The other challenge is something a friend of mind refers to as "life intervention." In college, the stressors placed on your training may seem like a big deal (studies, social outlets, etc.). But compared to paying off loans, paying bills, advancing a career, continuing education, getting married, having kids (and on and on, often overlapping each other), college life in how it relates to running is a piece of cake.

Having said all that ... many of my former runners find success on the roads simply because of the freedom post-college running affords. No longer are they bound to our three-season grind of a schedule. If they feel lousy, they don't have to push through a track workout. Many guys have commented how they train slower but race faster. That's a function of not being dragged out on a hilly, hard 10-miler with the boys on a day you feel like crap. The peer-pressure factor is gone, so if you slog through a recovery day at 8:00 pace, no one will notice nor care, and you'll probably be the better for it.

If you have made it this far through this long-winded post, here are some quick recommendations for post-collegiate success:

1. Keep building base and doing miles. That process should never end. If it does, it is much more difficult to rebuild without a team network. Our sport is primarily aerobic. Run as much as you can, as often as you can. Don't worry about pace. Just run. A lot.
2. Regular long runs. A staple of our program, it should continue more so after college, especially if you move up to the marathon distance.
3. Plan your racing schedule in advance, and be picky. Don't jump at every opportunity to race. Spread them out, choose them wisely and go for it.
4. Once you plan a racing schedule, come up with a sensible training plan. Consult a coach or other runners with similar abilities/goals. If you are a Marist grad and you are reading this, you boys know I'm a phone call/email away. Always!
5. If you can hook up with a club or team, by all means do it! It will keep you motivated and fit, and give you your best chance to continue improving.

Lastly, stick with it and make running and racing a lifetime sport. I'm much slower and older, but I'm still doing it and still loving it. I hope you can do that as well.

Thanks for reading, and if you would like to contact me, my email address is runhed246@hotmail.com