Brian’s Blog
Reflections on a wide range of topics related to endurance training.
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Power, Form and Balance
Running methodology consists of power, form, and balance. These ideas overlap with the elements of style described in previous articles. But methodology is not the same as style. Style pertains to the way you control your body to develop a powerful and efficient stride; methodology refers to the way you control your mind to develop an ideal style.
The Elements of Style
In this article, I’m going to explain how to play with the motion of your body to create an efficient and powerful stride. Efficiency will enable you to sustain a racing cadence (steps per minute); power will enable you to run relaxed at race pace. Power and efficiency are both functions of the way you control your body’s moving parts.
Context for the Elements of Style
A few years ago, I studied how many steps my marathoners took per minute when running at marathon pace. The answer was 170 steps per minute, which trans-lates to 10,000 steps per hour or forty thousand steps for a four-hour marathon.
No Pain, No Gain
When I ask my athletes if they are into pain, nobody raises a hand. Yet when pressed, they reveal a no-pain-no-gain training bias. They think, for instance, that post-workout muscle soreness is a sign of having done a “good” workout. Indeed, some claim that all...
Q&A with Brian Clarke
Here are my written responses to the questions Connie Comiso put to a panel of coaches at the Mid-Pacific Road Runners Club annual membership dinner on April 11, 2025. I viewed the panel discussion partly as an exercise in listening to Connie, the other coaches, and...
BC Standing Stretch Routine (Verbal Cues)
Most of these stretches employ gentle movement stretching, which extends limbs gently towards their full range of motion, without discomfort.The cues are bold (below); details (in regular font) can be verbalized if needed for clarification; the number of repetitions...
Inner and Outer World Synergy
In our course on the seven effectiveness habits, I’ve used the terms “inner” and “outer” without defining what I mean. The outer world is delimited by the five senses: seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, smelling. The inner world is delimited by the mind. The mind is...
Pre-Race Checklist
Experienced runners usually have a pre-and post-race routine, including the following checklist of race day items they’ll need to feel comfortable before and after the race. Race Clothes. Staying comfortable and as cool as possible should be bywords. Long sleeve...
Voices in the Racing Conversation
Everything we do in life is preceded by a private, mental conversation. In the weeks before a marathon, for example, your thoughts could represent competing ways of pacing the race, e.g., start fast or slow. Your thinking always decides the issue.You could be...
Comfortable Tempo Training
The mind and what’s going on within it largely determines a workout experience. That’s why you should be aware of your thinking as you begin a tempo interval workout. Tempo intervals should be run at the pace of the race you’re preparing for. But there is a more...
Understanding Tempo Intervals
The purpose of tempo interval training is to build your ability to run comfortably at your current race pace for the first half of your goal-race distance. In other words, you’ll always have a particular goal race distance for every interval workout. And the pace...
Energy and Recovery
How do you know when you have “recovered” your energy from one of our weeknight workouts? What does it mean to be recovered? A related question is: How would you know when you are “fully” recovered from a race or workout? These questions require an understanding of...
Finding Your Individual Slow Pace
Successful marathoning requires that you master slow-paced training. Whether your goal is to finish and enjoy a marathon or compete and perform in it, you must pace yourself, so you establish an injury-free regime that builds racing ability.Running at a slow, light...
Is There Hope for Me in Marathoning?
All athletes are limited by their God-given talent. Some are naturally gifted; others will never be elite. Nonetheless, anyone can improve within limits. Here are some things you can do to become a better marathoner in the context of our annual training program.
The 30-Minute Meditation Challenge
The 30-minute meditation challenge is a way to estimate the time optimally needed to integrate the events of our day, using the meditative process. Few of us have time to cram more activity into our busy days. So, the question of how much time to spend meditating is...
Why Meditate?
I addressed this question in a previous article (see The 30-Minute MeditationChallenge). Indeed, one of the primary reasons to meditate is to integrate your inner and outer experiences. But if my case wasn’t strong enough to induce commitment, let’s consider the...
Racing and Psychological Balance
Psychological balance is necessary for making right decisions under pressure. A big race can be hugely stressful, with the mind bouncing obsessively between thoughts of achieving one’s ambition and blowing it in some embarrassing way. Psychological balance is...
Nutrition Guidelines for Distance Races
The following guidelines assume you are preparing for an early-morning race in hot-weather Hawaii.Storing Glycogen Energy (carbohydrate loading). Glycogen, a form of muscle sugar which derives from carbohydrate (starchy foods) is the limiting factor in long-distance...
Pacing a Long-Distance Race
Pacing is the most important skill in the sport of long-distance racing. Go too fast at any point in a race and you increase your risk of a fatigue-induced, crashing slow-down before the finish. Go too slow and you risk the equally ignominious embarrassment of a...
Racing the Distance
The first practice race scheduled in the BC Endurance marathon training is the Windward 25K (15.5 miles). It comes a mere seven weeks into the training when our longest workout will have been only 2.5 hours long. So, many of our athletes wonder how they can finish 15...
A Context for Stretching
The fundamental mistake in stretching is thinking you will gain something from it. You might in fact have something to gain from stretching, but your thinking obscures the actual stretching experience, the clarity of which is essential to proper practice. A gaining...
The New BC Endurance Enterprise
The Covid-19 pandemic put me out of business in March 2020. But I now believe it was the best thing that could have happened to me and my BC Endurance training enterprise. I still had a large following in 2020, but I was losing the faster athletes, the program had stagnated, and my revival efforts were being spurned by some of my veteran leaders. Most significantly, I wasn’t enjoying my work.
How to Buy Shoes
How to Buy Shoes. People always ask me what shoes they should buy. What they should ask is how should I go about buying shoes? Go to a reputable running shoe store. Take your old shoes with you. Knowledgeable sales people will start with your feet and your old...
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