Humans have a need for explanations. When faced with uncertainty we rely on closure. The world of running is no different. When something goes wrong, as athletes and coaches we go into a panicked search for a reason why we didn’t perform at our best. Often, we perform elaborate gymnastics attempting to find the elusive…
In this episode, we are joined by performance coach extraordinaire Vern Gambetta. Using the performances at the recent Olympic Trials as a backdrop we take on coaches education. Where have we gone right and where have we missed the boat. We start by asking the question of what makes a good coach? Is it coaching…
In this episode, we have a special guest, the director of Track and Field at Georgetown, Mike Smith. In an in-person conversation at the Olympic Trials we discuss innovation within coaching. With the three of us having been in the collegiate and post-collegiate world we discuss the tendency for the NCAA system to lock coaches…
Coming at you in-person from the Olympic Trials, we dish on the high pressure environment that is attempting to make the US Olympic team. Jon and I take a look at the 7/8 of the field that leaves disappointed and how we should pick up the pieces after a hard fought race. The Olympic Trials…
In this episode of the Magness and Marcus Podcast we discuss a quality that all runners aspire to and all coaches try to engender. The ability to dig down, fight your way through adversity, bounce back from failure, and show up consistently when it counts. As runners, we might refer to this as toughness, but…
In this episode of the Magness and Marcus Podcast we discuss False Positive and Inaccurate Negatives. What are they? A false positive is when we have a great race or great series of workouts that doesn’t translate over to sustained performance. On the flip side, an inaccurate negative is when an athlete goes through a…
Running form is one of the hot button topics in the world of distance coaches. We debate, often with speed/power coaches, on where they fit into the program. How important are mechanics for a distance runner? How do we change them? Should we change them? These are the questions that wer tackle in this…
In this episode of the Magness & Marcus Podcast, we talk about building Culture. While we are trained as coaches to emphasize the physiology and doc us on workout design, what separates programs that thrive and last is often the intangible dynamic of culture. In this episode, we go through our experiences in developing culture…
In this episode, we’re coming to you in-person from Palo Alto, California. In the day after the Stanford Invite, Jon and I invite a special guest onto the podcast. Brad Stulberg is an expert in human performance. You might recognize his name from his regular work with Outside Magazine where he writes a regular column investigating…
We have a special guest for this weeks episode, head coach of the Brooks Beasts Danny Mackey. Danny has numerous accolades, including coaching 800m runners Cas Loxsom and Nick Simmonds to spots on last years World Championship teams. In this episode, Danny traces his story in how he got into coaching and the lessons learned…
The breakthrough is what we are all after. It’s what we spend months training for, visualizing, and dreaming about. But what’s the best way to get there, and how do we capitalize on it once we do. In this episode, Jon and I go through the psychology of a breakthrough. We start with defining a…
We’re back with a new podcast for 2016! This time we jump straight into what you guys have asked for, specifics on training. For this episode, we divert away from the bigger picture and discuss training for the 800. We start with going through the different types of 800m runners and why it’s an event…
For our last podcast episode of 2015, it’s time to go on a few rants, call some ideas out, and create a little bit of controversy in our own little world of coaching. We’re going to cover bullshit. We start off with the myth of chasing perfection. Instead of seeing perfection as the ultimate goal,…
In part two of Why we are horrible coaches, we continue down the path of bashing our own ability to coach. Starting with trap coaches fall into when they coach someone fast when they’re young- they now think that this is now the magical formula. We then delve into our worst moments of failure as…
In this episode, Jon and I are coming at you together from Houston, Texas. In a rare podcast where we are actually face to face, we discuss why we are horrible coaches. Yes, we’re giving the trolls what they want and discussing all of the times we screwed up, made mistakes, and generally talk about…
In Episode 23 of the Magness & Marcus show, we talk about the importance of accountability and ownership. When success or failure comes, how you frame these outcomes can change not only each individuals motivation to succeed, but also whether they learn from their mistakes, and surprisingly how well the entire team does. We delve…
In this episode of the Magness and Marcus podcast, we take on the concept of outliers and averages. Research and coaching practices tend to focus on a select demographic, whether that’s the WEIRD (Western, educated, and from industrialized, rich, and democratic countries) research or coaches focusing on the practices of those who speak English and…
In this episode of the Magness & Marcus show, we delve into the Dunning Kruger effect. You might not know the name of this cognitive bias, but it’s something we’re all familiar with. It refers to our inability to accurate assess our abilities. Novices tend to overestimate their abilities, while experts tend to do the…
In Episode 20, Jon and I discuss the difference between a Systems and Process approach to coaching. What’s the difference? A systems based approach could be described as having a set formula/specific model for training. It doesn’t matter whether it’s Daniels, Coe, Lydiard, or any other coach. A systems approach means following that plan without…
In Episode 19 of the Magness & Marcus show, we have a special guest in professional runner, Phoebe Wright. In an eye opening interview, Phoebe opens up about her running story. Starting off with what her mindset was going from walk-on to NCAA champion and how that mindset shifted once she reached the professional ranks.…
We’re back! After a couple week summer hiatus while I took some vacation time, Jon and I are back with an exciting podcast on Data.We start off with trying to get to the essence of splits. Coming at it from a philosophical viewpoint, we look at what workout splits actually tell us and trace our…
In the latest episode of the Magness and Marcus show, we discuss a familiar topic to all coaches, the trap to do more because you really don’t know what else to do. Yes, we’re talking about the age old problem of increasing work for the sake of increasing something. We begin with the diminished return…
In this episode, we open the doors wide open. We’re talking about the realities of post collegiate running. We take on a slew of topics in this hour long conversation, including transparent conversation on contracts, agents, how much athletes actually make, what training groups and coaches do, and much more. Basically, we try to spread what…
In part two of our in person chat at the USA championships, Jon and I meander through a variety of topics surrounding distractions and performance. We start off with talking about taking the master chef approach. What’s this actually mean? It’s about how to get all of these different people to the same end game.…
Part 1- Once again, Jon and I come to you from a coffee shop on location and simply talking shop. This week we’re covering distractions; how to deal with them, how do you adapt to them, and when they might be positive or negative. We start out with the “Once A Runner” myth about living…
In part two of Advice for a young coach, we start with the concept of coaching as a partnership versus a dictatorship. What does this mean? The goal should be to take athletes from dependence to independence, not the other way around. The goal of the coach shouldn’t be to prove their worth, but instead…
Coming to you from Austin, Texas, Jon and I take on the topic of “Advice for a young coach” in our first in person podcast. In this episode we take a step back in our young careers and look at our development as coaches. Starting with tracing our history of how we got into the…
In this episode of the Magness & Marcus podcast, we take on the topic that no one likes to deal with: failure. In the world of running, we deal with a sport that has a hard line, either you ran faster than you ever have before or you didn’t. Unfortunately, it’s incredibly easy to define…
In this episode of the Magness & Marcus podcast we explore one of the most basic but important concepts in coaching: understanding your athlete. Not in the traditional terms of where their strengths lie or their physiological make up, but instead by their mannerisms, behaviors, motivations and a slew of ‘soft’ characteristics that help define…
In our longest episode yet and our first with a guest, Jon and I have an hour long conversation with renowned coach Vern Gambetta. Vern has a unique background as his coaching career spanned from coaching High School all the way to coaching some of the world’s best athletes. Similarly, his background is in Track…
