Greg Meyer, the last American man to win the Boston Marathon with a 2:09:00 in 1983, enjoyed a successful career on the track and on the roads at a variety of distances. A member of the Bill Squires-led Greater Boston Track Club powerhouse during U.S. marathoning's heyday, Greg now works for his alma mater, the Uviversity of Michigan, where he was a Big Ten Conference champion in the 10,000 meters and the steeplechase, and remains deeply involved in the sport.

Greg's personal bests:

PP: You were successful across a broad range of distances, from 1500 meters through the marathon, including cross country and the steeplechase. What was your best event and why?

GM: My best distances were 15K to 25K. These allowed me to combine strength and speed. The marathon and the training it required didn't go well with my frame; I was too big.

PP: Your marathon career reached a peak when you won the BAA Marathon in 1983. What was your preparation like leading up to Boston?

GM: It actually started the summer before, when I was getting ready for the Chicago Marathon. I had been averaging around 95 miles a week for 6-7 years, and I was able to tweak things for three-week periods of time to get in more mileage - around 130 per week. The keys to my training were fartlek 20-milers and hill training. I also believe that by keeping my speed work up, I was better able to handle the downhill sections of Boston.

PP: What were your most important confidence-building workouts in preparation for a marathon?

GM: Best workouts were without a doubt the fartlek 20-milers over the Boston Marathon course. We only did four of these in the weeks prior to the marathon, but they were increasingly tough. We did some starting in Wellesley, down to Cleveland Circle then back to Wellesley, finishing on the track. The last started on the course and finished at Boston College on the track. I averaged around 5:15 a mile, but the fastest mile was under 4:50.

PP: What was the injury or series of injuries that held you back after that great Boston victory?

GM: Where do I start? I made a mistake and ran the 25K in my hometown three weeks after Boston, which resulted in a stress fracture in my foot. Just as that healed, I had to have minor surgery on some lymph nodes that were chronically inflamed. Then I ran Chicago again when I wasn't ready, which put me in a hole leading into the Trials. Then, I kept trying to come back as a marathoner, not as the 15K-25K runner I really was. The little injuries just kept coming...the downward spiral of a guy not born to run a lot of marathons.

PP: If you could re-live your running career, what (if anything) would you do differently?

GM: I would have really controlled the number of marathons I ran. I never should have run Chicago in '83, but rather should have focused on the Olympic Marathon Trials. After the Trials, if I had made the Olympic team, I would not have run another marathon for 18 months to 2 years. This is easier said than done when your income is tied to the marathon, but it's what I needed to do; I just didn't know it at the time.

PP: What advice would you give successful 5,000 and 10,000 meter runners in their 20s who are moving up to the marathon?

GM: Pick your spots, have a plan for three or four years, don't get greedy and chase the money. If you hit a great marathon, the temptation is to run one a season (the money's so good), but ultimately you'll run yourself into the ground. Run a marathon when you are on top of your game, tweak your mileage for a period of time, then return to the training and racing that you're made to run. Again, easier said than done, but restraint is the key component, and something I wish I'd had more of.

Bill Rodgers - known as "Boston Billy" for his string of successes at the BAA Marathon - is perhaps the best-known marathoner of all time. His four New York City Marathon wins and four Boston triumphs, along with scores of other successes at various distances, are among the top highlights of a remarkably long competitive career.

PP: After 40 years of running, you finally have a major injury. How’s your recovery going?

BR: My right tibia cracked at the end of a training run late August. It was a real shock as it was just a typical run, but apparently there had been stress reactions in the bone for some time that I wasn’t aware of. Am walking in my cast now a bit every day and indoor biking each day. If the progress continues on schedule, I should be able to run in a month or so.

PP: Good luck with your recovery, Bill. You have been remarkably successful since the 70’s over a range of distances, but are best known for consistently winning the BAA and New York City marathons. How did you prepare for your major marathons during the prime of your career?

BR: When I raced to win NYC Marathon, Boston, etc I ran 130 miles per week, with a good quality 20 to 23 mile long run every weekend. Often, I trained through shorter races and used my racing as marathon preparation as opposed to being a "time trial" trainer who races little. I ran on the track once a week doing workouts such as 16 reps of 400m at 65 to 68 sec pace with a 200m or 300m jog interval, or 4 times 1 mile in about 4:28 to 4:32. My favorite workout was 6 times 800m interspersed with 6 times 400m with the 4th session the fastest. I never thought so much of "speed' as much as I did rhythm strength.

PP: In looking back, which of your marathons was most satisfying, and why?

BR: My favorite marathon was Boston in 1975 when all my 2 years of marathon focus paid off with a win in an American and course record of 2:09:55. This race was most satisfying because my previous 4 marathons had ranged from DNF to relatively slow to weather hampered, and I knew I could run faster if I could get fine conditions in terms of the weather. That race confirmed that I could run marathons at another level.

PP: If you could relive your running career, what, if anything, would you do differently?

BR: If I were marathoning today, I believe I would do a longer taper phase than my usual week before the race. I probably wasn’t quite recovered enough for some of my marathons. Also, like almost all the top marathoners today, I would train for the last 10 km of the race. To achieve this, I would do more fartlek sessions during my long runs to be able to handle changes of pace late in the race.

PP: What advice would you give successful 5,000 and 10,000 meter runners in their 20's who are moving up to the marathon?

BR: I would say expect to gather strength improvement in the marathon over time, just as with the 5k or 10k races, and don’t be surprised or discouraged by poor races here and there. Every marathoner has the occasional bad race. I sort of had more than my share (8 DNFS in 58 starts) because I loved to race, and sometimes I raced with just my heart forgetting to use my head!

PP: Every other marathoner would love to have your head and your heart, not to mention your legs! Thanks Bill. All the visitors to the web site will look forward to seeing you back out on the roads.

New Zealand’s Dick Quax was the Olympic Silver Medallist in the 5,000 meters in 1976, set a world record in the 5,000 meters (13:12.86) in Stockholm in 1977, and was the Commonwealth Games Silver Medallist in the 1,500 meters in 1970. A fierce competitor with personal bests of 3:36.7 for 1,500 meters, 27:41.95 for 10,000 meters and 2:10:47 for the marathon, Dick was remarkably successful across a broad range of distances.

Dick has also had a distinguished coaching career. In the 1980's, he coached Nike’s famed Athletics West Club, and has worked with other noted runners, including as 1992 Olympic Marathon Bronze Medallist Lorraine Moller.

PP: How did you train for the Montreal Olympics and your world record in the 5,000 meters?

DQ: My training over the years followed a similar pattern with 3 phases.

Phase I: For example in 1977 I began a build up period (basic preparation) in early March and for the next 10 weeks ran only aerobically. I ran up to 148 miles a week (238k) with an average weekly mileage of about 120 miles per week (190k).

The following is a very typical week of preparation that I followed all through my career:

Mon AM 17 miles on hilly course in 1 hour 39 min (5min 49sec per mile); PM 5 miles in park in 31 mins (6min 12sec per mile)

Tue AM 10 miles in forest 60 min; PM 9.5 miles on road in 54min 40sec (5min 45sec per mile)

Wed AM 16.2 miles on hilly course 1 hour 32min 43sec (5min 43sec per mile); PM 5.4 miles in park 32 mins

Thu AM 7.5 miles in park 44 mins; PM 7.5 miles in park 43 mins

Fri AM 5.4 miles in park 31 mins; PM 8.6 miles on road 52 mins

Sat AM 5.4 miles in park 33min 40 sec; PM 4k Cross Country Relay (1 of 2 competitions during 10 week build up)

Sun AM 21.5 miles on road 2 hours 5 min 27 sec (5min 50sec per mile)

Total for the week: 123.5 miles (198 km)

Phase II: The next phase of my training was more race specific and included a mixture of aerobic/anaerobic running.

Mon AM 20x200 metres in a average of 29.2 sec with 200 metres recovery in about 50 sec.
PM 7.5 miles on a hilly course

Tue AM 5 mile easy in 30 min; PM 10k steady state in 33 min with last 5k in 14 min 30 sec

Wed AM 6 miles easy on golf course in 36 min; PM 5x800 metres average 2 min 12 sec 800 metres recovery

Thu AM No Run; PM 6x200 metres average 26.2 sec 200 metres recovery in about 60 sec.

Fri AM 4.2 miles easy; PM 20x400 metres average 63 sec 400 metres recovery in about 1 min 45 sec

Sat AM 20 min jog on arrival in Los Angeles from Auckland; PM 35 min jog plus strideouts

Sun 10 miles jog.

Phase III: The next phase of my training was to improve my speed and anaerobic capacity. At the time I was in Boulder, Colorado.

Mon AM 7 miles in 40 mins; PM 6 laps sprinting 50 metres every 100m.

Tue AM 7 miles; PM 2 miles steady state 8min 56sec

Wed AM 7 miles; PM 8 miles in 50 mins

Thu AM 7 miles; PM 4x600m with 600m jog recovery average 1min 30sec

Fri AM 7 miles; PM 3x200m with 200m jog recovery average 25.8sec

Sat AM 7 miles; PM 10x300m with 100m recovery 42 – 43 sec

Sun AM 15.5 miles at 8,500’

PP: If you could relive your running career, what, if anything, would you do differently?

DQ: There is not much that I would do differently on reflection. This applies especially to the training I employed. A system that develops an aerobic base such as the Lydiard system is as relevant today as it was when Peter Snell et al were competing in the 1960s and then John Walker, Rod Dixon and I in the 1970s. The same system has been proven time and time again with runners from around the world, including New Zealand runners as Anne Audain, Lorraine Moller, Nyla Carroll, Toni Hodgkinson etc.

I would pay more attention to recovery procedures such as making massage part of my training regime. I would also make sure to work on my diet to help aid recovery. Had I focused more on recovery I may have been able to increase the volume of training during the build up period.

PP: What have been the most satisfying aspects of your coaching career?

DQ: Seeing people improve especially those athletes who perhaps had a little less natural ability but were prepared to work hard to achieve results. While I was at Athletics West I helped Ed Spinney who had been written off as not having enough talent to reach international class. Ed worked tremendously hard. When all the other runners went out for a 22-mile run, Ed would run the 3 miles to my house where we left from and when we finished would run home again. Eventually he ran 3 minutes 57 sec for a mile, which no one thought he was capable of.

I have always enjoyed the challenge of working with athletes who others had written off. Tom Byers and Mary Decker-Slaney both had a lot of difficulties early in their careers but were fantastically talented and it was very satisfying to be able to get their careers back on track.

Seeing Lorraine Moller come into the Olympic Stadium and take 3rd place in the marathon in Barcelona was also a great thrill.

PP: What advice would you give to talented young middle distance runners?

DQ: Make sure that you are getting good training advice. I have seen too many good runners not reach their true potential simply because the coaching that they were getting was not based on training methods aimed at developing an aerobic foundation.

PP: Thanks again for your time, Dick, and particularly for sharing the details of your training.

Allison Roe’s marathon career reached its peak in 1981, when she won both the BAA Boston and New York City Marathons, the latter in a world-record 2:25:29.  Although best known for her marathon success, the versatile Allison also set a world record for 20 km and won the New Zealand cross-country championships. Not content to restrict herself to running, Allison also won NZ championships in triathlon and the cycling team time trial. Allison now devotes her time to helping others have better lives; she raises funds through event production for health education initiatives, and has a manufacturing business making natural, chemical free sun care products.

PP: In the Waitakere mountains outside Auckland there is a hill that runners still refer to as “Allison’s hill,” and legend has it that no man could beat you up it. Were you always a strong hill runner? How do you think your hill running ability helped you during your marathon career?  

AR: The hill you refer to is a reasonably steady and progressive one, that happens to be about the last hill in the Waitakere ranges just when that female endurance quality starts to kick in.  When I started running with the group that ran 18 miles in the Waitakeres on a Sunday I was considered 'a glorified cross country runner' and probably not strong enough to ever foot it with the hard men of marathoning. As we know, all you need is practice, belief and mileage to change your fortunes whether it's running or business or anything else in life.  I was not always a strong hill runner and took a dim view of hills that happened too early in any run.....'who put that mountain in my way'.   I loved to be able to pour on the power in hills towards the end of the run, knowing how much I had in reserve and how much further there was to go.  Overall I would say that I was better at running down hills than up.  I would jokingly say to my training partners as I ran away from them that I couldn't stop on the downhills because once I got that mass rolling with the effects of gravity that there was no stopping me.  That was also a play on the fact that I was not your typical skinny marathoner, but had a bit more weight behind me.   

PP: Your marathon career reached a peak in 1981 when you won both the BAA Boston Marathon and the New York City Marathon, the latter in a world record 2:25:29.  What was your preparation like leading up to Boston and New York?  

AR: In preparation for Boston and New York my training was more consistent than it had ever been.  In the past I had had a propensity to train hard and get injured, have time off, start again and repeat the cycle, never really getting the best from myself.  By accepting that training needed to be more balanced with rest periods and that training does not mean you compete with yourself every time you go out, I was able to prepare without injury.  I ran between 67 and 75 miles a week in preparation for the Boston Marathon which included a long run at the weekends of around 18 miles, although I liked to vary the distance and sometimes run a 15 mile course instead, for a mental break as much an anything.  I also ran for about 1 hr 10 to 15 on two other days, a ten mile time trial was a favourite time trial distance and this was done at a pace that was steady, but within myself; I would pick up the pace in the last 2 or 3 kilometres.  My other favourite work out was 3 to 5 times one mile with a one mile jog recovery.  That was sometimes a Saturday session when not racing.  Two weeks before Boston I ran in the (then) Bonne Bell 10k in Boston and finished second to Jan Merrill.  A month before that I set a world's best in Japan for the 20k breaking Patti Catalano's record.  A Japanese film crew in Boston were the only media that paid me any attention as the 20k record was not well publicised and that was to my advantage.  

I had to be careful with racing because it seemed to take a lot out of me.  I still marvel at the people like Alberto Salazar who could run the New York City Marathon and then go out for a ten mile run the next day.  I could only just walk the day after a marathon and did not jog for about five days and then very carefully.  My preparation leading to New York was in terms of achievements probably better than Boston, but I got an ankle injury about three weeks before and so psychologically New York was a real challenge - even deciding to go and do it.  Add to that the fact that I had been banned from amateur events for taking part in the Cascade Run-off and the New York City Marathon Race Director, Fred Lebow was saying that unless the ban was lifted in time, then I could not run in his race.  So there was an uncertainty as to whether I would even stand on the start line.  I spent much of the time in the final month doing things that wouldn't hurt the ankle and that kept my cardiovascular system in good shape.  I swam in the pool most days for an hour, warming up and then swimming freestyle.  I swam my running workouts.  Instead of a mile on the road I swam around five minutes up pace with another five minute recovery etc.  Water running hadn't come into vogue at that point and besides it would never have stretched my lungs enough to have held my condition.  Two days before New York I was visiting a physiotherapist for a final tune up and although the ankle still hurt I was able to put it out of my mind.  My mental preparation was great and everything fell into place on the day.  

PP: What were your most important confidence-building workouts in preparation for a marathon?  

AR: The weekly long run was most important for confidence.  Every time I ran the 18 mile circuit I was thinking 'marathon', I would visualise myself in the race, feeling good, running fast and comfortable.   When I was struggling and tired I would think to myself, okay this is the last five miles of the marathon, what are you going to do, take some deep breaths, change your attitude that you are tired and think about whether you want to win or come second.  My coach always wanted me to run a 20 miler about a month before the marathon.  I detested doing this and didn't see the point of making myself tired, but in retrospect it was good for my head.  

I also felt that a 10k race or time trial two weeks before was important.  To me a marathon was never 42.2km.  I could never have stood on the start line thinking I am going to run that far.  I broke it down in my mind to 4 x 10k.  So running 10k at pace, but comfortable was a big part of my preparation and I would find appropriate races.   Running repeat miles was also a huge confidence booster.  In a marathon I would listen out for that first one mile split and adjust my pace accordingly.......that was crucial.  It is so easy to get carried away with the excitement of the occasion.   The ten mile time trial was something I enjoyed and so at 16  miles in a marathon I used to discount the fact that anything had happened at all and I was just starting out on a ten mile time trial.    

PP: If you could re-live your running career, what (if anything) would you do differently?  

AR: The good thing about looking back is that we can always, with the advantage of experience, be wiser. If I had my time again I would have worked hard at restraining myself from going all out in training that led to low iron counts, tiredness and injury.  I would have balanced my life and had more patience.  I would have paid far greater attention to diet and nutrition.  I think my diet was fantastic compared to many of my American colleagues, but we can always make a study of our own body/personality type and fuel it accordingly.    I would have read books on physiology before I did, so that I would have understood earlier the reasons and importance of slower, steadier, more even paced running and why running fast all the time actually makes you slow.  I would have taken a great vitamin, mineral, antioxidant supplement on a daily basis, not just when I felt that I needed it. The importance of nutrition and supplementation is something that everyone needs to pay attention to given the toxins in the environment and the fact that even fresh food can be sprayed and is not as nutritious as it was 100 years ago.  Simply, good nutrition is insurance against disease, vital for all and imperative for athletes.   I remember the time I started taking a multi vitamin B supplement and the incredible effect it had on recovery from hard workouts; that should have been a lesson.  If you wish to buy the supplements that the American Olympic Committee endorses and the one that I also use, then check out my website.  I am happy for any runners to buy nutritional suppements/products from my website wholesale.  Go to www.allisonroe.mypharmanex.com or send me an email at allisonroe@xtra.co.nz and I'll help you.

PP: What advice would you give successful young runners in their 20s who are moving up to the marathon?  

AR: Balance your life.  Get enough sleep for repair and maintenance - 8 to 10 hours; this can't be underestimated.   Eat the best food you can afford, preferably organic and take the best vitamin/mineral antioxidant you can buy as nutritional insurance. These factors are vital if you want your training to work for you.  Make a study of human physiology so that you can fully understand and visualise training effects; when the training is logical and you believe it is working, then it does.  The training programme itself is not as important as being consistent about its application. Get a coach that you can relate to. Coaches and mentors make the difference between an okay runner and a world class one.   

Many 20 year olds moving into marathon will have a cross country background.  Never discount the benefits of continuing to run cross country; it will provide you with an invaluable form of fitness. Run as much as you can on grass and sand and off-road surfaces for strength and to protect yourself from injury.  Remember that the key to running long distance successfully is strength first, then speed.  Work on your strength; you'll gain speed from strength, not the other way around.  Your speed workouts need to be controlled.  Training for a marathon is like putting money in the bank.  Build up with mileage and hills and some variable pace, play running or fartlek. Races and time trials and fast running deplete you physically, boost you mentally and are an important part of training that needs to be carefully monitored by your coach.  Ensure that fast running makes up a small part of your overall profile, not to be confused with strong or steady running. 

PP: What are you doing now?  

AR: I still run to fit my clothes and because I love to do it. Broadly speaking, my great passion continues to be health and fitness and through example and sharing this with others I hope we see a turn around in the health of New Zealanders over the next few generations. We have a health care system that is imploding and unsustainable so it is up to individuals to take charge of their own health.  I am involved in the Special K Women's Triathlon series, which this year showed a 100% increase in entrants (up to 12,000).  It is a national series of women’s triathlons that take place in 11 towns and cities throughout New Zealand.  I have created a 5k/10, run/walk series called Allison Roe Run to Heal with events in Christchurch and Auckland each year, (in its third round) raising funds for breast cancer education and prevention initiatives.  I am working on other initiatives including the setting up of a women’s health trust and have board appointments with The Health Sponsorship Council and North Shore Hospital Foundation.  

I have various business interests that allow me to be involved in a lot of charity work.  Family comes first.   I have two great kids, Jordyn who is my 14 year old daughter plays netball (she won the junior section of the Auckland Secondary School Cross Country Champs) and my son Elliott (11) is into soccer and tennis and won the interschool high jump for his age.  I have recently remarried a lovely man, Alan who has two grown up children.   

PP: Thanks for your time, Allison, and best of luck with all your current endeavors.

Greg Lautenslager has joined distancecoach.com to offer his coaching expertise to runners of any age and ability. A four-time U.S. Olympic Trials qualifier with personal bests of 28:08 for 10,000 meters and 13:33 for 5,000 meters, Greg now devotes his energy to helping runners achieve their goals. Pete asked Greg a few questions about his background and his coaching philosophy.

PP: Why did you give up a successful journalism career to go into coaching?

GL: I spent 20 years as a competitive runner under several of the best coaches in the world. I also learned much more by covering running for the Dallas Morning News. I felt if I didn’t use this knowledge, it would go to waste. It was a way I could give back to the sport more directly than writing about it.

PP: Tell us about some of your coaches.

GL: My high school coach, the late Brent Thorne, was a tremendous motivator and developed many state champion teams and individuals in Texas. Marc Johnson turned my college career around with a strong distance-based program. Dick Quax, the 1976 Olympic silver medallist and former 5,000 meters world-record holder, coached me for a year at Athletics West in Eugene, Oregon. Bob Sevene, who took over for Dick and guided Olympic marathon champion Joan Benoit Samuelson and so many other world class runners, coached me for four years. My last coach was Dr. Robert Vaughan, who coached five-time Olympian Francie Larrieu Smith. Without Robert I never would have made it to my fourth Olympic Trials, where I came the closest to making the team. I also consulted with numerous other coaches and exercise physiologists over the years. Among them are Arthur Lydiard, Dr. Peter Snell, Dr. Jack Daniels, Tom Tellez and many of the greatest runners in the world.

PP: Of your previous coaches, whose program do you draw from the most?

GL: It’s a five-way tie. They all have a Lydiard-based system. I took a little from each to formulate my own program. I use many of their old workouts and some I created to suit my athletes.

PP: How were you able to remember all your past workouts?

GL: I kept a training diary since I started running as a 14-year-old in 1972. Except for my first two high school track seasons, I have recorded every workout I have ever run. Since I started coaching, I have recorded every workout I have put every athlete through. I also have their splits from every race. It’s very important in helping me monitor their progress.

PP: Who was the first runner you ever coached?

GL: Myself. After I moved to Boston in 1986, I didn’t have a coach. I tried coaching myself a couple other times before. It didn’t work, because I didn’t have enough knowledge. But this time I formulated a plan based on previous coaching programs, timed myself, and re-wrote all my personal bests during the 1987 European track season.

PP: How long did you coach yourself?

GL: From 1986 through the 1988 Olympic Trials to the fall of 1990. Then I sort of fired myself. I wanted someone else’s viewpoint and someone who could be objective and to simply say “good job” after a workout. I couldn’t have found a better program than the one delivered by Robert Vaughan. I learned so much from him in the two years he coached me. He taught me so much about race tactics and how to keep myself fit and healthy.

PP: Let’s talk about your program. What’s your training philosophy?

GL: I believe in a long-term approach with long-range goals. Runners must understand that there is no short cut to success. It’s like building a house. You have to lay a strong foundation first. Then carefully put up the frame, the walls, the roof, and lay the bricks. Eventually, you meticulously do the interior and the landscaping and the fine-tuning that turns the house into a palace. If you do a crude, rush job, the place will crumble.

I believe in a training base with some long steady miles, plyometrics, and weight training. I gradually add some fartlek and timed runs on the grass and tempo runs, before heading to the track for interval training. The final training phase includes more intense track work and fewer miles. The idea is to set a long-term racing goal and peak for it.

PP: How do you individualize your runners’ training?

GL: I have each athlete fill out a questionnaire. I ask them several questions, including their height and weight and other physical characteristics. I ask what is the longest run they have done at one time, the most miles they have done in a week, and the average weekly miles of the past season. I have them give me as much background information about themselves as possible and the type of training they have done in the past. Then I formulate a carefully devised program, based on what they can handle. I give them a schedule that lets them know what they are doing every day for three months at a time. I gently add more work and fine-tune the training as we go along.

PP: What do you believe is the key to an athlete’s success?

GL: Staying healthy. If you can go the entire season without missing a workout due to injury or illness, you will have a great shot at reaching your goal. The most time I missed for an injury in my 20 years of running was four days. Sure, I was lucky. But also I was doing the right things in my training to prevent injury. I didn’t over-train or over-race. I wore the right shoes, got my rest, always warmed up, and ate smart most of the time. I have a massive amount of tips that I give my runners throughout the season.

PP: What do you do to make sure an athlete gets enough rest?

GL: I write it into their program. I make sure they have one or two recovery days after a hard workout. My recovery days consist of an easy long run. If they run hard on their recovery day and have a scheduled hard workout the next day, then they have three straight hard days and can get into trouble. Also, I give off days when necessary and two weeks of active rest – like swimming or playing basketball – after the season, so they recover mentally and physically. Then they build back again.

PP: Other than injuries and illness, what do you feel is the biggest reason runners fail to reach their goals?

GL: Loss of focus. Every time I ever strayed from my coach’s program, I lost focus and failed. Every runner I have coached who strayed from my program or sought advice from another coach, failed. You are better following the program from one inexperienced coach than being advised by 10 of the world’s most experienced coaches at the same time. The most successful athletes I have coached are those who have most closely followed my program. That’s because they had the discipline to focus on one program and the courage to follow it.

PP: How is it possible to be coached successfully, if the coach lives halfway around the world?

GL: The key is communication. The athlete must be willing to exchange e-mail messages two or three times per week and file a weekly report, so the on-line coach can assess the athlete’s training and keep him or her on course. I remember Lorraine Moller, the 1992 women’s marathon bronze medallist and Boulder resident, receiving her workout program from Dick Quax in Auckland via fax.

PP: How do you go about demonstrating certain skills like analyzing someone’s running form?

GL: I have runners send me a videotape of them running close up. Then we talk on the phone or I use my writing skills to explain how to improve their running form.

PP: Can you turn any runner into an Olympic champion?

GL: No and neither can anyone else. That’s not the job of a running coach. His or her job is to get the most out of athletes and put them on a path to reaching their potential, whether that’s simply to finish a 10K race or winning an Olympic gold medal

Success is based on three things: talent, coaching, and motivation. The talent is God-given. There is nothing anyone can do about it. Coaching is a matter of being lucky and resourceful enough to find a good one, who would pave your way to success. Motivation is based solely on the athlete. It comes from within. The athlete must have that burning desire to succeed and then have the discipline to make sacrifices, the dedication to put in the work, and the determination to reach the goal.

PP: Thanks, Greg. Welcome to distancecoach.com. It is great to have you on board, and I am really looking forward to working with you.