Great Athletes Utilize Coaches
Michael Jordan. Phil Mickelson. Michael Phelps. Meb Keflezighi.
Even the greatest athletes have coaches. Or rather, ESPECIALLY the greatest athletes have coaches. Will working with a coach transform you into an elite runner? Well… not necessarily. But will working with a run coach increase your performance greater than going it alone? Absolutely.
Runner Dude Coach Thad Mc Laurin
Founder of RunnerDude’s Fitness in Greensboro, North Carolina, Thad Mc Laurin is a run coach, personal trainer and nutritional consultant. Thad helps people gain tools and motivation to love running and fitness. He has finished 15 marathons, 1 ultra, dozens of half-marathons and countless 5 and 10k’s and is also a contributor to several running periodicals and websites.
Thad understands the value of a coach and community of runners and started RunnerDude’s Fitness to provide just that.
In this week’s episode, he explains his approach to coaching, training, and fueling. He also shares with us how his running community is making a difference in their area..
Questions Thad is asked:
3:38 First Four:
- How old are you?
- Where were you born?
- Where do you live now?
- Favorite race distance or type of race?
5:29 How and when did you start using a coach as you got into running?
10:27 When and why did you become a coach?
14:17 What is your coaching education and background?
17:01 How does providing professional nutritional advice work in North Carolina?
19:15 what are your thoughts on ketogenics?
24:02 What about rest?
27:27 What community service does Runner Dude’s Fitness do throughout the year?
29:07 Do you have weekly runs that are open to the public?
30:33 What is Run The Boro?
35:28 What is your book, Full Body Fitness for Runners, about and how does it help with injury prevention?
39:13 Where is your book available?
39:39 What changes have you seen in running over your career?
43:29 What else would you add about coaching?
46:12 Final Kick Round:
- What is your favorite local training run (location, starting point, parking, distance, terrain and safety issues)?
- Favorite running book(s)?
- Words of Wisdom or Humor?
- Who or what would you like to have featured on the Run To The Top podcast?
Quotes by Thad:
“If you’re not stocking your body with what it needs in order to perform out on your runs, then you’re going to have lackluster runs. You’re going to get fatigued, you can actually end up setting yourself up for injury. And it also affects you mentally, you think you’re not doing enough and you get discouraged.”
“I think older runners tend to be in it for the experience and I think those longer distance runs, particularly the ultra runs, it’s not necessarily about ‘time’, it’s about being out there challenging yourself, but not necessarily going for a specific PR.”
“Personally, I think it’s a good idea that someone who has the education, much more than I do, can prescribe specific diet plans; I don’t want that responsibility.”
“The problem with personal training is that people can go online and get a ‘Personal Training’ certification and never see anybody, never work with anybody.”
“A lot of my experience that I share with my runners today is from things that I learned, not necessarily the BEST way, but from trial and error.”
Take a Listen on Your Next Run
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Mentioned in this podcast:
Run To The Top Winners Circle Facebook Community
Book: Full Body Fitness for Runners by Thad McLaurin
Guilford Courthouse National Military Park
Book: Brain Training for Runners by Matt Fitzgerald
Danny Dreyer on Run To The Top
Follow Thad on:
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