Training for Life: Raising The Bar

by Andy Palmer and ZAPfitness Coaches

Lately we have been hearing all about incipient signs that the American running community is raising the bar. I'm not sure whether I quite agree with that statement. I do agree that distance running in this country is making progress, that high school and college runners are getting stronger and faster, and that there is more depth at those levels. I know there seems to be more support. The Farm Team and Team USA are both producing some excellent performances and the Fila training camps had some good performances. Perhaps we are beginning to show the running world that Americans are not quite as soft as originally thought.

But I'm not sure we are raising the bar for the running masses. I question whether most of us know what a real quality running performance is, or what it is to realize one's own potential.
You do not have need the natural abilities of Deena Drossin or Bob Kennedy to be a champion. Champions in the truest sense are those who can realize all that they can achieve. That may not sound like it's asking for much, but it's everything.

I once had the opportunity to coach a woman who was a world-class athlete from the neck up; from the neck down she was someone who with her best efforts should have been stuck in the middle of the pack, but like the bumble bee, with its aerodynamically proven inability to fly, she hadn't been told.

This athlete trained for 3 years to run well when she became a master. When she turned 40, she ran personal bests in every event category from 800 meters to the marathon. This athlete was not new to the sport, but her ability to set a goal and take action, helped her be successful. Through patience and perseverance, this woman became a champion. I learned a great deal from her and respect her to this day. She was never a world-class athlete, but nevertheless a champion.

Like this athlete, American distance running needs to recognize its own potential, strengthen its weaker points, and take action. While the depth at the high school and collegiate levels may be coming back, I believe the open levels still need a great deal of work and support. Equally important, the people who drive this sport-the everyday runners-have a responsibility to understand their own potential. They may or may not choose to strive to realize this excellence but they should at least have an understanding of what it is. By setting the "bar of excellence" high for ourselves, we can then demand more from the collective group.

We, the running press, also have an obligation to keep you better informed and help you discriminate between real expertise and fads of the moment. In this column, we will expose the good, the bad and the ugly of our sport. It is our obligation to help you understand that while Jeff Galloway's run/walk program is an excellent entry level program and can help hundreds get fit, it was not those training principles that helped Jeff make the Olympic team. We will discuss the numerous team-in-training organizations. Their efforts raise a great deal of money for some really worthwhile causes, but are doing a great disservice to entry level athletes by having them run a marathon after only 6 months of preparation. We will expose "the experts" - the many people we look to for guidance- who attained the title through self-proclamation. We will educate you so you have the information necessary to challenge their titles.

As coaches and lovers of the sport, the writers of this column promise to do "of what we speak." We won't dumb down American distance running for you. We will help you learn to raise the bar for yourself and help you get over it. Each time a single runner does that, the "collective bar" will be raised. You can do no more than that and neither can we. If we all work at raising the bar, as coaches, writers, and running supporters, it will indeed get higher.

This column is a collaboration of the coaches at ZAPfitness. ZAPfitness is training facility for endurance athletes in Blowing Rock, NC. Coaches include Zika Palmer and Pete Rea. For more information, visit their web site at www.zapfitness.com.

IN MEMORIAM Andrew C. Palmer November 26, 1953-February 2, 2002 Running coach and friend, Andy Palmer, 48, died of a sudden heart attack on Saturday, February 2, near his home in Blowing Rock, North Carolina. He was on his long run through Moses Cone State Park. Andy grew up in Houlton, Maine, a northeastern town close to the Canadian border. He attended and ran at the nearby University of Maine at Presque Isle, where years later he would be inducted into the athletic hall of fame. Andy continued to run post-college, earning several honors. In 1984, he qualified for the US Olympic marathon trials-a feat he accomplished again in 1988. He also held the American 30K record for 29-year-olds in 1984, and placed 13th in the marathon at the 1986 World Championships. Andy's love for the sport of running spilled over into his career. He founded the Maine Running Camp in Bar Harbor, ME, which he directed for more than 20 years. Over those years, Andy pursued advanced degrees and received a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from Florida State University. Most recently, Andy and his wife, Zika, had begun building a nonprofit organization and facility for endurance athletes called ZAPFitness Foundation. The facility in Blowing Rock, NC, was scheduled to open this summer. Andy drew on his passion for running and his extensive education to give back to the sport. He generously poured time and energy into the RRCA. He chaired the RRCA's coaching committee, served on the RRCA Roads Scholar© committee, and a few months ago, he committed to writing a regular column in footnotes in collaboration with the coaches at ZAPFitness. Sadly, this was Andy's first and last column for footnotes. His vision and enthusiasm will be missed by the RRCA and the entire running community. May he rest in peace.