“Coach said: “Do you know why we aren’t doing a tempo run today? When you do a tempo run, guess what you do? You get locked into the same form that I don’t want you to run in right now. You’re training for a 5km and a 1500m. When you’re training for those races, I want you on your toes. I want you feeling good, I want your chest up, I want your arms back. If I give you ten four minute reps, you’re going to rest and you’re going to attack going into each one of those reps. You’re going to get in that stride that I want you to be in today. If I give you a 6-mile tempo run, you’re going to lock into 5 minute (mile) pace, get on your heels, hunch over by the end of it and you’re going to look like shit. You’re going to feel great because you did that last mile in 4:55, but it’s not going to be accomplishing what I want you to accomplish today. You’re going to be firing a totally different muscle group that I want you to be firing today.” At that moment, I realised that I just needed to shut up and trust him.”

Sam Parsons is a professional distance runner for Tinman Elite and Adidas. Sam was involved in the creation of Tinman Elite in 2017 and has played a pivotal role in the development of the team. Today he is looked up to as a leader of Tinman Elite as well as the Creative Director. Sam represented Germany at the 2019 World athletics Championships in the 5000m and has personal best times of 13:22 for the 5000m, 7:44 for the 3000m and 3:37 for the 1500m.

In this interview recorded from the home of Tinman Elite in Boulder (USA), Sam shares in-depth stories about how Tinman Elite was created, training stories, racing tales and much more.

Sam is best followed on Instagram @par_sam_sons

Tinman Elite is best followed on Instagram: @tinmanelite

To learn more about Tinman Elite visit: www.tinmanelite.com

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