About Ryan, your Online Running Coach
| Hi, my name is Ryan and, if you wish, I will be your personal running coach. Before you decide whether or not you would like to hire me, I'd like to share some information about myself as a runner. Consider this my resume and job interview. |
| I began running in 1990, when I went out for 7th grade track. I had the great fortune of being coached by Dan Conway, a multiple age group world record holder, Wisconsin Cross Country Coaches Association Hall of Fame member, Indianhead Track Club Hall of Fame member, and coach of both state champion individuals and teams in cross country. Coach Conway convinced me to try distance running and started me on my way. |
| In high school, I still had the opportunity to learn under Coach Conway during cross country but I also got to learn under Bill Knickerbocker, a solid competitive runner in his own right and another coach of both state champion individuals and teams in track and field. Through my high school years, Coaches Conway and Knickerbocker taught me countless invaluable lessons about training and racing but also encouraged me to learn all I can through other sources. I consider this lesson very important because they didn't isolate me from other ideas. I was encouraged to explore many different ideas and philosophies. |
| During my college years at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, I was coached by Chris Hall, a former All-American runner in his own right and a study of Dr. Jack Daniels who is currently coaching at the University of Chicago. Coach Hall again taught me many valuable lessons about training and racing but also encouraged me to think for myself in the same ways as Coaches Conway and Knickerbocker did. One of the things he always told my teammates and me was to know the purpose of every run. If we didn't know why we were doing a workout, he encouraged us to go to his office where he would explain the purpose of the workout. This greatly increased my understanding of training because I learned the underlying purposes of each workout, not just "this improves your speed, that improves your endurance" but the details of energy systems as well as neuromuscular and musculoskeletal responses to training. As with Coach Conway, Coach Hall was also a big believer in mental training. He would often gather the team to perform sessions on things like relaxation or visualization of an upcoming race. |
| After graduating from college, I ventured out on my own. I became a student of many coaches and authors. I studied legends like Lydiard, Igloi, and Coe as well as contemporaries such as Daniels, Wetmore, Canova, and Pfitzinger. I found the similarities across their philosophies and explored the differences. I tried many things on myself. I made some mistakes along the way but I also had successes. I went through times of good and bad racing as well as consistent and inconsistent performances but I used all the experiences, good and bad, to learn about what works and doesn't work. I also learned a lot about the kind of work it takes to reach high goals and when goals need to be tempered and how to temper them because the level of work needed just isn't getting done. |
| Over the years, I have already worked with some people individually but only on a sporadic basis. I was too focused on my own running as well as other aspects of my life to commit to the focus I expect of myself to help runners reach their goals. Now, I am ready to make that commitment. If you join me, my goal is simple. I want to help you set challenging but realistic goals and do what is necessary in training and on race day to achieve those goals. |
| A few statistics on my running past: |
| First race: 800 meters (track): over 4:00, last place (1990) |
| Current PRs: 3000 meters (track): 9:02 (1999) 5000 meters (track): 15:43 (1999) 5K (road): 15:58 (2006) 8K (road): 26:17 (2002) 10,000 meters (track): 32:48 (2000) 10K (road): 33:23 (2001) Half marathon (road): 1:13:43 (2001) Marathon (road): 2:40:05 (2005) |
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