The Runners:
Charles Rodeheffer
High School and College Runner, NCAA certified coach.
Area of Focus: Do the small things: physical therapy exercises, good balance of hard effort and recovery, rotating shoes and gear to maintain peak health.
Joseph Vanderkooi
High School and College Runner
Area of Focus: Committing to the process, not taking shortcuts and allowing proper recovery.
The Challenge:
Charles and Joseph entered into training for the Grand Rapids Marathon and Half Marathon with some big goals: maybe a PR, maybe a win, but most of all, they wanted to be healthy and ready to race. In order to achieve those goals, they knew they needed to be intentional about training. They are committed to doing the small things everyday to arrive at the start line healthy and ready to have a great race. They have focused on ONE area to improve during training so they can see what a difference it makes on race day.
You can join them with your own fall race challenge: share your race, goals and area of focus with us and we will work together to achieve great things! When you sign up, you will be automatically be entered into a raffle to win great running gear!
Follow us on Facebook or Instagram for updates on this challenge.
The Gear
Cloudboom Strike
Co-created with athletes for marathons and half marathons, featuring our CloudTec Sphere™ cushioning system for a fast ride and Helion™ HF hyper foam for energy return.
Zero Collection
Ultralight, high-performance tanks, t-shirts, half-tights and shorts for fast, pro-level performance.
Cloud Monster Hyper
A super trainer for long runs and tempo runs. Featuring a CloudTec® cushioning system engineered for a highly responsive ride and Helion™ HF hyper foam for max energy return.
Stop into Striders for each of these great training tools and more!
What does their training look like?
Here is an example of a typical training week for Charles and Joseph. (Yours will probably look very different depending on your goals and experience.)
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Monday: 8-9mi easy + strength work
Tuesday: 7-8mi easy + strides
Wednesday: AM - 6x1mi @ Half Marathon pace w/ 60sec rest between
reps. 10mi total w/ warm-up and cooldown
PM: 3-4mi shakeout run
Thursday: 8-9mi easy
Friday: 7-8mi easy + strides
Saturday: Long Run - 4x2mi progressing from Marathon to
Half Marathon pace with 3min jog between reps, 16mi total with
warm-up and cool-down.
Sunday: 6mi easy recovery
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65-70 miles total for the week
The Training
Charles and Joseph knew that with big goals, they would have to commit to some higher mileage and hard sessions.
Charles had gotten injured in the previous marathon block, so as a coach, he knew that he needed to be smart about his training so that he could stay healthy. He has prioritized his PT exercises and stretching and has reduced the mileage to meet his goals.
Joseph is running more mileage and pushing through hard sessions in order to be ready on race day.
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You can get coaching for your goal race as well. Email Charles below for more information.
I want to join the Challenge!
Just fill out the form, tell us what race you're training for, your goals and Training Focus and be part of the fun! You will be automatically entered into a raffle to receive great running gear. Three lucky winners will be chosen at random!
