Winter Track Training for distance runners
Training for Middle School and High School Distance Runners
Speed, endurance, improved form and performance take time to build. It happens in the offseason.
Do not spend the first month of track season trying to get back into track shape. Build your foundation during the winter.
- 12 coached sessions + guidance between sessions
- Sundays, November 8 to February 14
- High School 1:30pm · Middle School 3:00pm
- Lewis Center, Ohio
- $360, full winter program
Questions about your athlete? Talk to Coach Steve
Winter groups are intentionally kept small so athletes receive individual coaching. Returning athletes fill many of those spots each year, so early enrollment is recommended.
Coaching Central Ohio athletes since
2011
Athletes coached
820+
Schools represented
56
Member club
USA Track and Field
Is this for my athlete?
This program is for:
- Middle school and high school 800m, 1600m and 3200m runners.
- Cross country runners who want to carry their fall fitness into track season.
- First-year athletes through state qualifiers. You do not need to be an elite athlete to train here.
We have a high school group and a middle school group. Within each group, sprinters and distance runners warm up and do form drills together, then split into separate workouts at the same time.
We do not coach jumps, throws, field events or hurdle-specific technique. For distance athletes, we focus on aerobic development, pacing, running economy, mechanics, race-specific endurance and finishing speed.
Don't use the first month of track season to get into track shape
A school track season is short. Coaches have a few weeks to get a whole team ready to compete, so there is little time to build speed, fitness and mechanics from scratch.
Aerobic fitness and running economy build slowly. A few weeks of preseason practice cannot replace a winter of consistent, structured running where every workout has a specific purpose.
Build it during the winter.
Athletes who train through the offseason arrive at the first day of practice ready to compete.
What your distance runner will work on
Distance training here is built around pace, not just mileage. Sessions are held on a real track so athletes learn what goal pace actually feels like and get used to the ground forces of racing, which is hard to replicate on a road or a treadmill.
Aerobic development
Building the base that lets an athlete hold a faster pace for longer.
Running economy
Using less energy at the same speed, so race pace feels more manageable.
Threshold and VO2 max development
Raising the pace an athlete can sustain before fatigue builds quickly, and their capacity for harder race efforts.
Pacing
Athletes learn what goal pace actually feels like on a real track, lap by lap, so they do not go out too fast or too slow.
Running mechanics
Efficient form that holds up in the last lap, not just the first.
Finishing speed
Speed work through the winter so athletes have a kick at the end of the race.
Race-specific preparation
Workouts that build sustained speed and endurance for the demands of the 800m, 1600m and 3200m as spring approaches.
Race and pacing strategy
Planning how to run each race: how to split the laps, where to position, and when to make a move.
Starts
Getting out cleanly from a standing start and settling into position without wasting energy early.
Fueling and hydration
Sports nutrition: what to eat and drink around training and races, so athletes have the energy to train and recover well.
Mental preparation
Breathing techniques, confidence and a pre-race routine, so athletes stay composed when a race gets hard.
Supportive team atmosphere
Training alongside other motivated athletes in a positive, encouraging group.
Personalized coaching attention
Smaller group sizes mean every athlete gets individual coaching and feedback, not just a workout.
Focus shifts across the winter as the training progresses. Results depend on the athlete, their consistency and their starting point.
Distance runners we’ve coached
Real athletes and a real family. Lucy’s parent wrote to us after her winter training, and again a year later.
After winter training
“Lucy had a GREAT spring track season, and her 4x800 relay team will be running in the state meet this Saturday. She mentioned there are 2 other girls from the winter training group also running the 4x800!”
“She had some really big PRs – 5:54 in the 1600 (achieved her goal of sub-6) and 2:35 in the 800. We had multiple people ask us what she did over the winter since her form was much stronger.”
Julie Daubenmire
Ty Munroe
2X State and Nationals (4x400, 4x800, 800M). All American Team, indoor and outdoor track, Olentangy Braves. Now running at the University of Akron.
Jacob Ogilbee
Olentangy Liberty 800M Winner. PR 1:57, Top 10 in Ohio.
Meet your coach
Steve Carmichael
Founder & Head Coach
Coach Steve founded Run For Performance in 2011, and works with athletes of all levels and abilities. He has coached hundreds of athletes in person and hundreds more online. He coaches Track (mid/long distance and sprints) and Cross Country as well as athletes across all sports when it comes to building speed and endurance. He works with athletes on form/technique improvement, power/acceleration, durability and strength work, nutrition, race strategy, and return-to-running training programs built around the plans of an athlete’s physical therapist.
Certifications
- NASM-CPT Certified Personal Trainer
- USA Track and Field L1 certified coach
- RRCA certified coach
- Precision Nutrition certified nutrition coach (PN-1)
- USATF SafeSport certified
- CPR/AED/First Aid certified
Coaching career
- Founder of Run For Performance (2011 – present)
- Club Director / Head Coach – Run Fit Running Club (2011-2017, 2019-2020)
Career highlights
- Has coached hundreds of district, regional, state, and national All-American athletes in Track and Cross Country.
- Coached multi-sport state champions, including youth and middle school wrestlers (boys and girls), soccer, lacrosse, basketball, softball, baseball and football players, for agility, speed, quickness, strength and endurance.
- Coached collegiate-recruited athletes (University of Akron, Creighton University, University of Cincinnati).
- Coached hundreds of adult runners at distances up to 50K.
Our coaches provide performance coaching, not medical care. Coaching scope and medical disclaimer · About our coaches
How the program works
Two progressive phases
- Phase 1: Foundation & Speed Development, November through December.
- Phase 2: Preseason Track & Spring Sport Preparation, January through February.
Phase 2 builds directly on the work from Phase 1.
Each session, 60 to 90 minutes
- Warmup, then form and technique drills together.
- After the shared warmup and drills, distance runners split off for distance-specific work built around pace: aerobic and threshold running, track intervals and finishing speed.
- Cool-down, where we go over the week ahead.
Coaching between sessions
Athletes receive instruction on what to do during the week, in between sessions. This isn’t just a group class where you come to get a workout in. It is full, comprehensive offseason and preseason coaching, and it is one of the things that sets us apart. Real track. Real results.
Small groups
Group sizes are intentionally managed, so every athlete gets individual coaching and feedback within the group.
Training outdoors in the winter
Yes, we train on a real track
Your athlete competes on a track, not on a short strip of indoor turf. Training on a full track gives athletes room to run real sprint and race distances at the right speeds, which a small indoor space often cannot.
We train through normal Ohio winter conditions. Unsafe weather is a different story.
Dress for it
Running shoes, water, and weather-appropriate layers: hat and gloves when it is cold. Moisture-wicking layers work best; avoid cotton.
Structured warmup
Every session starts with a full, coached warmup before any fast running.
Severe weather cancels
We cancel for dangerous cold, low wind chill, or snow and ice on the track, and let you know as early as possible. Historically that is only one or two sessions a season.
Makeup days are already scheduled
A session we cancel for weather is made up on a reserved date: Sunday, December 27, 2026 (Phase 1); Sunday, February 21, 2027 and Sunday, February 28, 2027 (Phase 2). You are never charged for a session we cancel, and if weather ever costs more sessions than the makeup days cover, we refund the unused sessions.
Exact cancellation thresholds are in our weather policy.
Dates, times and price
Schedule
- Phase 1: November 8 to December 20, 2026
- No session Thanksgiving weekend (November 29).
- Phase 2: January 10 to February 14, 2027
- Session times, Sundays
- High School: 1:30pm
- Middle School: 3:00pm
- Location
- Orange Middle School track, Lewis Center, Ohio
Full Winter Coaching Program
$360 per athlete
12 coached sessions plus guidance for training between sessions.
Secure checkout through Square. Can't attend the whole winter? Six-session options are listed on the enrollment page.
Invite a friend or teammate
If they enroll in Winter Track Training, we will refund you $50 when they sign up for the full 12-session program, or $25 for a single 6-session phase.
The friend must be new to Run For Performance. Just have them tell us who referred them.
Not a track athlete?
Athletes from soccer, football, lacrosse and other sports can also use the Winter program for speed development. They train in the same groups, on the same days, at the same price. Speed training for other sports
Start spring track already in shape.
12 coached sessions · Sundays, November through February · Lewis Center, Ohio · $360
Enroll in Winter Track Training →Questions first? Talk to a coach