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Marathon Runners at Different Levels David Abruzzo is the newly…
Marathon Runners at Different Levels
David Abruzzo is the newly elected president of the Metrocity Striders
Track Club (MSTC). One of his duties is to serve as the coach for runners
who hope to complete the New York City Marathon. Because David has
run many marathons and ultramarathons successfully, he feels quite comfortable
assuming the role and responsibilities of coach for the marathon
runners.
The training period for runners intending to run New York is 16 weeks.
During the first couple of weeks of training, David was pleased with the
progress of the runners and had little difficulty in his role as coach.
However, when the runners reached Week 8, the halfway mark, some
things began to occur that raised questions in David’s mind regarding
how best to help his runners. The issues of concern seemed quite different
from those that David had expected to hear from runners in a marathon-
training program. All in all, the runners and their concerns could
be divided into three different groups.
One group of runners, most of whom had never run a marathon, peppered
the coach with all kinds of questions. They were very concerned
about how to do the marathon and whether they had the ability to
complete such a challenging event successfully. They asked questions
about how far to run in training, what to eat, how much to drink, and
what kind of shoes to wear. One runner wanted to know what to eat the
night before the marathon, and another wanted to know whether it was
likely that he would pass out when he crossed the finish line. For David
the questions were never-ending and rather basic. He wanted to treat
the runners like informed adults, but they seemed to be acting immature,
and rather childish.
The second group of runners, all of whom had finished the New York
City Marathon in the previous year, seemed most concerned about the
effects of training on their running. For example, they wanted to know
precisely how their per-week running mileage related to their possible
marathon finishing time. Would running long practice runs help them
through the wall at the 20-mile mark? Would taking a rest day during
training actually help their overall conditioning? Basically, the runners in
this group seemed to want assurances from David that they were training
in the right way for New York. For David, talking to this group was
easy because he enjoyed giving them encouragement and motivational
pep talks.
A third group was made up of seasoned runners, most of whom had run
several marathons and many of whom had finished in the top 10 of their
respective age divisions. Sometimes they complained of feeling flat and
acted a bit moody and down about training. Even though they had confidence
in their ability to compete and finish well, they lacked an element
of excitement about running in the New York event. The occasional
questions they raised usually concerned such things as whether their
overall training strategy was appropriate or whether their training
would help them in other races besides the New York City Marathon.
Because of his running experience, David liked to offer running tips to
this group. However, when he did, he felt like the runners ignored and
discounted his suggestions. He was concerned that they may not appreciate
him or his coaching.
Questions
1. Based on the principles of the SLII? model, how would you describe
the runners in Group 1? What kind of leadership do they want from
David, and what kind of leadership does David seem prepared to give
them?
2. How would you describe the fit between the runners in Group 2 and
David’s coaching style? Discuss.
3. The experienced runners in Group 3 appear to be a challenge to
David. Using SLII?, explain why David appears ineffective with this
group.
4. If you were helping David with his coaching, how would you describe
his strengths and weaknesses? What suggestions would you make to
him about how to improve?
