Cross country runners have to be among the most conditioned athletes at Iowa State – which means they have to find ways to keep training in the offseason.

“We don’t meet as a group in the offseason, obviously,” said cross country coach Cory Ihmels. “They have a certain amount of mileage that they have to get in, and they have a definite workout plan. The summer is all about getting the mileage in and getting a good base. Our top men’s group the last three weeks have been running 90, 95 and 100 [miles per week] so they are doing some serious running.”

But beyond these general guidelines, the cross country program breaks down what each individual runner is supposed to do day by day.

“He splits it up into groups,” said senior Lisa Koll. “There are lower-mileage groups and higher-mileage groups for people who have had more of a base training and can handle higher mileage. Basically it is the same format for everyone, just some people run less than others.

“Mondays are regular training and light drills. Tuesdays are a workout. Wednesdays are recovery. Thursdays are another run or drills and then Fridays are another workout. Saturdays are the long run and then Sunday is another easy day. Then you gradually build up, and then you take a rest week.”

This training program, however, is constantly changing along with the team.

“What works for this group may not work for the group two years down the line,” Ihmels said. “You have got to evolve with the group and change things as you go.”

These changes, over the last couple of years, have mostly included running more miles than previous years.

“It just kind of shows how our program has evolved over the last six years. When I came here it was like pulling teeth to get these guys to run 50 miles, now we’ve got guys running twice that.”

This summer’s top mileage runner, Guor Majak, ran even more then that. He reportedly ran 120 to 125 miles per week during his “high weeks.” That’s the equivalent of running more than four marathons a week.

With all the runners going their different ways during the summer, it is hard for the coach to make sure his players are keeping up with their training.

Ihmels, however, doesn’t seem too worried about having to push his athletes during the summer months.

“You have got to be pretty self-motivated to be good at this sport,” Ihmels said. “The one thing that I really have to pay close attention to is that they are not doing too much.”

He points out Majak as an example. While he is physically ready to run 120 to 125 miles a week at this point, Ihmels said he has wanted to do that since he came to Iowa State three years ago.

“That’s not always the case, but I think our program has evolved to where that’s the standard,” Ihmels said. “Hopefully, as we keep that standard for three or five years, down the line we are going to be really good and be one of the top programs in the country, and that’s what it’s all about.”