Innovations in Weight Training and Speed Work When Training for the Marathon: An Interview With Steve Spence

Summary: In 1991 at the World Track and Field Championships, the men’s <br> marathon was held in sweltering conditions, described as the worst ever <br> reported for championship marathon.<br> Steve Spence was able to handle it better than almost everyone – <br> thanks to his innovative training – earning himself a bronze medal.<br> Steve was ahead of his time in several ways.<br> He used high weight, low rep strength training and also bucked the <br> accepted marathon training model by putting his speed work first and <br> following it with high mileage and long runs.<br> Also, Steve was one of very few runners to coach himself onto the Olympic team.<br> Some of the things that Steve and I talked about included:<br> <br> How Steve became his own coach and lessons you can learn from his experience with self-coaching<br> The training program that allowed Steve to race consistently well for months at a time<br> Steve’s unusual-for-the-time approach to marathon training and weight training<br> How Steve approaches to his own running since his retirement from elite competition<br> Steve’s coaching work at Shippensberg and his thoughts on the future of the sport<br> <br> This was an amazing interview, especially for those of you who are <br> interested in how to add strength training to your running, looking for <br> innovative ways to train for the marathon, and who are trying to coach <br> themselves.<br> <a href="http://runnersconnect.net/running-interviews/steve-spence/">Innovations in Weight Training and Speed Work When Training for the Marathon: An Interview With Steve Spence</a><br>