Hey Conscious Runners! I’m so excited to be bring you this episode today. I’ve got 8 time NCAA Division one qualifier and coach Cory Smith on the line with me. I met Cory about a month ago. I was sitting at home thinking it would be great to have someone review my training plans. And then instead of just thinking about it, I decided to do something about it. I headed over to Google and searched for coaches in my area. Within minutes, Cory’s name popped up. I read his bio as an athlete and a coach and decided to reach out to him.

I had never met or spoken to him before, but knew this was something I needed to do. So, I sent him an email asking if he would be will ing to review my training plans. Immediately, he said “yes”. But it was more than that. He went on to talk about how important getting feedback from others was to him and how happy he was to help. Not only did he review my plans, we met to discuss them. To day he went above and beyond anything I would have expected would be an understatement. And if you’re looking for a coach, who knows what they are doing and who cares, I recommend him.

Cory is a USA Track & Field Level 2 Endurance Certified Coach. He started guiding athletes in 2009 when he co-founded Villanova Elite, a running club providing support to post-collegiate distance runners.  As club founder, Cory helped guide several of their athletes to multiple personal bests.  Today, he is the Head Coach of Run Your Personal Best. Cory first entered the national running scene in high school, where he qualified for the National Cross Country Championships and earned a spot as one of the top 25 cross country runners in the US.  As a member of the track & field team, he held three Maryland State records and finished his high school career with the 6th fastest 2 mile in the US.

Following high school Cory attended Villanova University where he was consistently a top performer earning 8 NCAA D1 Regional Qualifiers including 2 at the NCAA D1 National Championships.He earned multiple honors in both cross-country and track & field including Big East and Mid Atlantic. Cory holds a personal records of 3:45 – 1500 meters, 4:03 mile, 8:05 3000 meters, 14:13 5k and the most recent of 1:10:28 1/2 marathon in November 2014.

In this episode, Cory and I go deep into the anatomy of a designing a training plan and more.

[Tweet “”You should run because you enjoy it.” ~Cory Smith”]

[Tweet “”You train the athlete for who they are, what event they are running and what they can do.” ~Cory Smith”]

Until next time, run strong, run long and be happy.