Bobby McGee - World Class Running Coach - 5 x Olympic Coach

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"The Greg Bennett Show"

Bobby McGee is one of the worlds greatest running coaches and has been involved in endurance coaching for 32 years. He is a 5 x Olympic coach, and has been involved in some form with 9 Olympic medalists.

Bobby has spent many years coaching elite athletes and individual amateurs of all levels, guiding them to achieve their goals.

Bobby says, there are three very important aspects of endurance training;

Firstly, address your running mechanics. Teach yourself to run effectively and to avoid injuries in order to race at your optimum level.

Secondly, look at how you train. What is it about your training that’s holding you back? Is there a way that you can train better?

Lastly, address the mental blocks that hold you back. How can you unleash the power of your mind to get you to race effectively?

In this episode, Bobby and Greg discuss The Pendola Project. Here is a link to more information where you can even sign up to one of thee 12 week RunForm. Whether you are training for an Olympic Gold or a local 5k you can run happier and faster. The Relative Run Readiness packages will give you the strength and proper movement patterns to run with good form for longer.

Timestamps

1:53 - Interview starts

5:05 - About Bobby McGee. Bobby was born in South Africa and went to University basically to study to become a coach, He started by coaching middle and long distance track runners and went on to coach road runners and marathoners. Bobby moved to Boulder in the US in 1992 , and started coaching triathletes.

8:23 - Bobby currently coaches Victoria Lopez, Taylor Knibb, Flora Duffy, Kirsten Kasper along with other pro and amatuer athletes.

10:21 - When coaching elite triathletes, it's important to consider the athletes biomechanics. For instance long distance swimmers often have low bone density and therefore do not perform as strong runners due to the rigors of long distance running, so as a coach it's important to understand and set training expectations specifically for each individual.

Bobby's book: Magical Running - A Unique path to running fulfillment

15:59 - Bobby's fascination of the bio mechanics of running came about as he could see a connection between certain running motion patterns and the tendency of getting injured.

I use to say: I don’t teach people how to run, I help people get back to the best running that they are capable of.

Good running form looks very differently depending on the individual’s genetics, one has to have a very different approach to someone with for instance long torso and short legs compared to someone with a more natural body composition for running. Also, factors like running background (has the athlete practiced plenty of speed work or come from an endurance background?) matters in how Bobby approaches individuals running technique.

20:06 - Rewinding the clock. Bobby describes his youth and pathway through younger years to discover his passion for running, and then coaching, including serving time in the South African Military.

37:54 - Shifting to mindset and performance, Bobby describes the advice he would give an athlete struggling with confidence. Being aware and knowing how your thoughts affect you is crucial in order to perform. Bobby feels that there is no right or wrong way to prepare mentally for competition, some people are super calm before races and perform well and others are extremely nervous and also perform well. Many age groupers (especially males) tend to overestimate their performance and hence set themselves up for failure by not being able to rise to their expectations. Don't doubt yourself, "The only thing you should doubt, is the doubt".

The only thing you should doubt, is the doubt.

41:53 - When it comes to an athlete feeling failure, Bobby explains his techniques that he applies to his athletes. Bobby's golden rule - There is what happene