Development: Workouts, Mindsets, & Strategy with Head Conn XC Coach Sam Alexander

23 snips

Jan 15, 2026

Sam Alexander, head coach at Connecticut College and a former competitive runner, shares insights on athletic development. He discusses the importance of building a broad training base and the balance between various workout types like hills, strides, and tempos. Sam emphasizes injury prevention while improving speed and highlights tailored strategies for both college athletes and adult runners. His experience in coaching offers valuable lessons on progression, consistency, and effective racing strategies, making for an enlightening conversation for runners of all levels.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

ANECDOTE

The Winter Track Camp Experience

Sam describes winter track camp as two and a half weeks of training, team activities, and downtime.
He values it as a rare chance for athletes to live like professional runners and bond with teammates.

INSIGHT

Broad Movement Base Beats Pure Mileage

A well-trained high school runner has a broad movement base, not just mileage.
Diversity of movement and comfort at different efforts predicts future development.

ADVICE

Combine Easy Miles With Sprint Power

Include both easy running and maximal sprint work when building an adult runner's plan.
Use hill sprints, strides, and power work to raise speed ceiling while maintaining aerobic base.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

Sam Alexander is the head coach of the men's cross country and track & field teams at Connecticut College (Jason's alma mater!). Sam recently coached the track team to a historically high finish at the New England championships and helped the cross country team qualify for the National Championships for only the second time in program history.

This episode focuses on development - or, how to progress through beginner to advanced stages of running. We discuss:

Athletic development for college runners vs. new runners
The "order of operations" of development
How to build speed and mitigate injury risk
"Fundamental" workouts that build specific skills

Talking to college coaches is always educational because these are the operators, those in the trenches with athletes every day in high-stakes, performance-driven environments. We can learn a lot from Sam!

Resources & Links from the show:

Follow Conn XC/Track on Instagram
Listen to my interview with Conn's prior coach Jim Butler (Jason's coach)
Training Excerpt! See a week of training from college cross country
Connecticut College Men's Track Program info
Develop with fewer injuries!

Please subscribe or follow the podcast and if you'd like to support us, support our advertising partners!

Thanks Previnex

Previnex is offering 15% off your first purchase at previnex.com with code jason15.

And big news: Muscle Health Plus - a unique combination of amino acids, creatine, and ingredients that aid protein synthesis and absorption of amino acids - has an all new citrus flavor that is much tastier than black cherry. Now's the time to try Muscle Health Plus because this is your anti-soreness supplement. It will help you prevent muscle damage, which is particularly important for aging runners who want to protect themselves from muscle loss and recover faster after hard workouts.

I love Previnex because they adhere to the highest of standards: their ingredients are clinically proven to do what they say they're going to do, ingredients are tested, and they donate vitamins to kids in need. So yes, Muscle Health Plus has ingredients that are clinically proven to improve protein synthesis and the absorption of amino acids - critical for helping promote lean muscle mass, strength, recovery, and better body composition.

Kelly just used the Jason15 discount code and wrote, "Muscle Health Plus has allowed me to recover much more quickly from my long runs and strength workouts. Plus, I just feel I have more energy!"

Jordan left a review that said, "Love the Muscle Health Plus formula. Hard to find such a complete blend like this that's stimulant free. I Notice I'm stronger in the gym when taking this regularly."

Finally, Nancy said "I definitely feel stronger. My muscles don't get as fatigued during my workouts." That's what I love about Previnex. Their products just work!"

Get 15% off your first Previnex purchase by using code jason15 at checkout. Visit previnex.com, now with international shipping, and just remember: they offer a 30-day money back guarantee where if you don't feel benefits on their product you get your money back no questions asked.

Thank you LMNT!

A big thanks to LMNT for their support of this episode! They make electrolyte drinks for athletes and low-carb folks with no sugar, artificial ingredients, or colors. They are offering a free gift with your purchase at LMNT. And this does NOT have to be your first purchase. You'll get a sample pack with every flavor so you can try them all before deciding what you like best.

And BIG news! Their newest flavor is now permanently available : LEMONADE SALT!

LMNT's products have some of the highest sodium concentrations that you can find. Anybody who runs a lot knows that sodium, as well as other electrolytes like magnesium and potassium, are essential to our performance and how we feel throughout the day.

LMNT is my favorite way to hydrate. I'm now in the habit of giving away boxes of LMNT at group runs around Denver and Boulder and everyone loves this stuff.

Boost your performance and your recovery with LMNT. They're the exclusive hydration partner to Team USA Weightlifting and quite a few professional baseball, hockey, and basketball teams are on regular subscriptions. So check out LMNT to get a free sampler pack and get your hydration optimized for the upcoming season.