Years coaching: 11 (boys, girls, and adults)
Favorite running shoe brand: Ascics

I am somewhat of an enigma as a running coach in that I never ran high school or college level cross country or track. I began my running career as graduate student as a way to stay in shape. I am now approaching 20,000 miles of running, have run 15 marathons across the Unites States and Canada (personal best of 3:02:25), have run with and have had leadership roles with two running clubs over the past 19 years, and have coached hundreds of Millbrook School runners.

My coaching philosophy centers on helping runners of all abilities reach their maximum potential. I emphasize that of all the sports we offer, running is the one which can and should be a part of a health program throughout our students’ lives. As a team coach I feel that my biggest responsibility is to foster a good work/training ethic in all of our runners. There is no substitute for solid preparation when it comes to race day. My training approach for the team is to rotate speed workouts with longer and slower distance runs to build endurance. I always emphasize that cross country is a team sport and that having one runner win the race does not guarantee a win of the meet for the team.

As a head coach I also believe it is important to involve all coaches in all levels of training our teams. This keeps coaches and students interested in the entire program rather than just their “team”. I also believe that as much as possible it is critical for the coaches to run with the student athletes. A coach can make much better observations running alongside someone than from a distance as the runner goes by. It is also much more of a motivator for students, especially if the “old guy” (me) is ahead of them!