The TalkIN Distance Podcast

Today on the podcast we welcome in Coach Ryan McMaster. Coach McMaster is the Head Coach of both the Boys and Girls XC programs at Ben Davis High School. We ask him about how it felt to watch his Boys team make it to the IHSAA State Meet for the first time in 25 years, the rich program history at Ben Davis, and the many mentors that have helped him in his coaching journey.

A friend of the podcast, Dr. Matthew Harber, stopped by to discuss the Double Threshold method of training. Dr. Harber is now an assistant coach at Taylor University, which has touted tremendous success using this as a component of their overall training. We discuss the reasons behind this growing trend, how it might look at the high school level, and how it is tremendously adaptable to wide range of ability levels.

In this episode we discuss the most recent Class Cross Country vote. We try to answer why, after decades of debate, it still seems like such a polarizing issue. Also, we look around the state after week 4, and share some exciting sponsorship news.

As we anticipate the start of competition in the 2024 Cross Country season, we debate the aspects of our sport are worthy of focus. We take the path of pruning down some of the aspects that might not be as important as we sometimes make them out to be.

While probably an overused word in distance-running circles, consistency is still is possibly one of the most important aspects of becoming a good high school distance runner. In this episode, we dive into 5 different aspects of our sport that it pays off to have consistency in.

In this episode we look at the ways that Psychology and Distance Running intertwine. We wonder if there are topics in psychology that can help us understand our pre-race anxiety? Or, why it is so hard to take that first step of a run? We also discuss how Psychology may help us be better parents and coaches of distance runners.

It is by-far the biggest debated topic in Indiana high school Cross Country...... So, we take a stab at some pros-and-cons of the Class XC debate. This is not even close to an exhaustive list, but instead, a conversation that is really aimed at informing and getting more voices heard throughout the state on a topic that is passionately debated in every circle of the sport.

In this episode, we talk to Springs Valley Cross Country Coach Derek Freeman. The Hawks have had unprecedented success under Coach Freeman, so we had a bevy of questions for man in charge. We discuss training, culture, and how success at a small school in Indiana's single-class system may be defined differently, but does not mean lowering expectations.

In this episode we try to pack in as much IHSAA State Meet preview content as possible. We look at both the Boys and Girls Individual and Team title contenders, highlight some small and medium-size schools that qualified, and preview what comes next now that the Cross Country season is drawing to a close.

In this bonus episode this week, we discuss the value of the Sectional round, to not only small schools, but all schools. Then, we take a quick trip through the state and highlight one Sectional meet from each of the Regional sites that they feed into.

Two (very tired) coaches try to recapitulate the epic Nike "XC Town" Twilight Meet, as well as look at what kind of changes that may lie ahead as we enter the first edition of our new 3-round IHSAA tournament structure.

In this episode we give our Top-5 "Do" lists for athletes and parents of Cross Country runners. We discuss some main qualities we believe it takes to be a good distance runner, as well as qualities that make up being a good parent of a distance runner.