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Last year at the NCAA 5K championships, we may have seen one of the most astonishing moments in US running history. Parker Valby, a redshirt freshman at the University of Florida, finished 2nd place… off 2 runs per week for 4 weeks.
“I credit all my success to cross-training,” she said in the post-race interview.
You’ve got to be kidding me. Around 8-10 runs all season before finishing 2nd place at a national event? Talent is one thing, but at that level, everyone is talented. For her physiology, that cross-training regimen must have been what allowed her talent to shine as brightly as any of her competitors who were doing full seasons of consistent running training.
While watching that race, my co-coach Megan and I were screaming. Part of that symphony of shrieks was excitement and awe, but the other emotion was extreme scientific wonder. Some people get noise complaints for banging their beds against the…
