Training Young Distance Runners

Larry Greene knows all about the challenges facing young distance runners. He won state championships in high school cross country and track, becoming a Florida state champion in cross country and the 2-mile run and finishing 10th in the national Junior Olympic Cross Country Meet as a senior. Greene's high school accomplishments earned him a scholarship to Florida State University, where he set the school record for the indoor 3,000-meter run and qualified for the NCAA championship meet three times. After college, Greene excelled as a distance runner. In 1984, he ran the fastest half marathon in the world (1:01:27) and finished 4th in the 10,000-meter run at the U.S. Track and Field Championships. In 1987, he finished 3rd in the half marathon at the U.S. Olympic Festival.

Greene is a scientific and medical writer in South Florida. He received an MS in movement science from Florida State University and a PhD in exercise science from the University of South Carolina. He has coached distance runners at the youth, university, and professional levels. He has also served as the director of the Carolina Marathon Youth Cross Country Run. His leisure interests include running, cycling, and cross-country skiing.

Russ Pate has been an exercise science instructor and researcher since 1972. He serves as a professor in the department of exercise science at the University of South Carolina, where his research is focused on the relationship between physical activity and health in children and adolescents. Pate is a lifelong distance runner. He has a personal best time of 2:15:20 in the marathon and competed in three U.S. Olympic Trials Marathons.

Pate has served as president of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), the National Coalition for Promoting Physical Activity, and the National Physical Activity Plan Alliance. He has been recognized with awards by the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance; the American College of Sports Medicine; the National Fitness Leaders Association; and the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. He has also directed two U.S. Olympic Trials Women's Marathons.

Pate received a PhD in exercise physiology from the University of Oregon in 1974. In his free time, he enjoys running, reading, theater, traveling, and spending time with his family.