by Larry Eder
Week 1, Day 7, Summer Mileage Program
Welcome to the seventh day and first week of the 2024 Summer Mileage Program, which runs for ten weeks until mid-September.
Our goal is to build you into a strong cross-country runner.
We keep it relaxed this week and add, week by week, more challenges and more inspiration!
Sunday, July 14, 2024
Sunday is a good day; enjoy a moderate run of 60-65 minutes. As we begin the summer mileage, it is about building some miles.
Summer mileage will change your life.
Steve Prefontaine did not like to run over 15 miles.
He would run into the cemetery behind Hayward Field, in the rain, for an hour, and his training buddies would just hand on his shoulder as he went up and down the pathways of the old Oregon cemetery.
I ran at the Santa Clara Mission Cemetary, on the path around the inside of the cemetery, founded in the 1850s. I did 10-15 milers there as a guard at the Mission Cemetary in the evening. The gravel path was easy on my trail shoes (adidas Marathon trainers), and I enjoyed the quiet in the cemetery. Always ask permission before you run on private property.
What do you want to do this summer? What do you want to achieve?
To learn about the late Steve Prefontaine (1951-1975), please read this fantastic book by Tom Jordan ( I have gone through six copies and read it 12 times): https://www.amazon.com/Pre-Americas-Greatest-Running-Prefontaine/dp/0875964575
To enjoy a wonderful photo gallery of Steve Prefontaine, courtesy of the Eugene-Register Guard, please go here: https://www.registerguard.com/picture-gallery/sports/2022/07/07/oregon-distance-runner-phenomenon-steve-prefontaine-olympican-eugene-hayward-field/7336370001/
