Monthly Archives: June 2025

Practice Schedule June 30th-July 5th

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Schedule: Practice will be Monday-Friday at 8 a.m., and we will have our long run Saturday morning at a site to be determined. Strength training at Carla Madison will take place Thursday after practice.

A Growing Team! We had our largest turnout of the summer on Monday with around 30 kids, and we’re excited to have even more people joining us as the summer continues! Coach Andrew attended a coaching clinic this past weekend in Kansas City, and the message from the best coaches and best programs in the country was simple: When a team consistently shows up together in the summer, they can do amazing things. Come join us as much as possible and share in the journey towards something special!

Thursday Breakfast Club! Come join us Thursday after practice and weight lifting at Maria Empanada on Colfax for team breakfast! Bring your own money and enjoy the fellowship of sharing a meal together!

Friday Fourth of July Themed Run! For anyone who is around on Friday, we will have a Fourth of July themed run! Wear your red, white and blue and enjoy Bomb Pops after practice!

Yoga Mats/Towels: All athletes are encouraged to bring a yoga mat or towel for post run work after each run, since the grass can get a little wet and muddy due to the City Park sprinkler system.

Training Schedule This Week:

Levels: (Level 1: First year of high school running, Level 2: Second year of high school running. Level 3: Third year of high school running. Level 4: 4th year of high school running. However, some athletes are encouraged to work at a lower level than what is indicated if they are just getting back into running or if they have an injury history).

Monday: (Mile High Trail).
10-15 minute warmup for all.
3 min on (threshold), 1 min jog.
Group 4: 4-5 sets, 4-5x 20 second strides up hill @ mile effort. (45-50 total)
Group 3: 3-4 sets, 4-5x 20 second strides up hill at mile effort. (35-40 total)
Group 2: 3-4 sets, 4-5x 20 second strides up hill @ mile effort. (30-35 total)
Group 1: 2-3 sets, 4×20 second strides up hill @ mile effort. (25-30 total). (Some kids may just need a normal run. That’s ok).

Hard day post run and weights at Carla Madison.

Tuesday: (Montview) Jumpies
4-7x 10 second hill sprints.
Maintenance run towards Montview
Group 4: 45 mins.
Group 3: 35-40 mins.
Group 2: 30-35 mins.
Group 1: 25-30 mins.

Easy day post run.

Wednesday: Towards Cheesman. (Bring spikes!)

Group 4: 45-55 minute “medium long” run. 5×20 seconds in spikes
Group 3: 35-45 “medium long” run. 5×20 seconds in spikes.
Group 2: 30-40, 5×20 seconds in spikes.
Group 1: 20-30 mins, 5×20 seconds in spikes.

Easy day post run.

Thursday: 15-20 minute warmup (Go reverse Mile High, end at Golf course hill)

8×40 second hills @ City Park Golf Course with jog back recovery (Goal pace: Make it a little farther up the hill each time). Jog recovery in 1:40ish.

Group 4: 45 minutes total running
Group 3: 35-40 minutes total
Group 2: 30-35 minutes total
Group 1: 30 minutes total.

Hard post run and weights at Carla Madison

Friday: Jumpies (17th)
Group 4: 45 mins
Group 3: 35-40 mins
Group 2: 30-35 mins
Group 1: 20-25 mins

4x speed zones on Mile High Trail near MLK statue.

Easy Post Run

Saturday: Long Run
(All: Longest run of the summer +5-10 mins).

4 strides. Easy post run.

Go Angels!

“Good things come slow, especially in distance running.” -Legendary Oregon coach and runner Bill Dellinger, who passed away last week.

Saturday, June 28th Long Run @ Three Pond Park

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On Saturday, June 28th, Coach Hess will meet athletes at 7:30 a.m. in the East student lot where we will then carpool to Three Pond Park along the Highline Canal Trail for a long run (your longest run of the summer plus 5-10 minutes). Come run on a beautiful trail and take in the gorgeous homes in Cherry Hills Village! Athletes who can drive and parents who can help transport kids will be needed!

Awesome job this week, everyone! Our TEAM keeps growing, and we hope it will continue to grow! The hard work WILL pay off for those who keep showing up consistently. Summer miles bring autumn smiles! Go Angels!

And now, a picture from last week’s long run, courtesy of senior Isaiah Springer…

Practice June 23rd- June 29th

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We’ve had a great turnout so far this summer, and we’re looking forward to having even more people together in the coming weeks! It’s pretty simple: The more you show up, the better you’ll become. So proud of all of you who have already been putting in the work! At this point, all grade levels are welcome at all practices (though we may encourage freshmen to take a day off on Wednesdays).

Practice will continue at 8:00 a.m. near the Thatcher statue in City Park this week Monday-Friday. Stay tuned for a Saturday practice plan.

Ferritin Testing: We highly encourage all of our athletes to have their ferritin levels checked as soon as possible. Low ferritin levels are more common than you’d realize, and low ferritin levels can lead to low energy levels, underperformance, poor recovery, and increased injury risk. Levels below 50 have been known to negatively affect performance. Here is a slideshow to help you educate yourself on the effects of ferritin on runners and possible ways to increase ferritin levels.

Testing can be done at your doctor’s office, or it can be done at places like Ulta Labs. Now is the best time to get tested, because if you/your child is low, they have time to increase their levels before the official start of the season. Reach out to the coaches if you have any questions!

Training Plan for this week:

Group 4= 4th year of high school running with no injury history, Group 3 = 3rd year of high school running with no injury history, Group 2 = 2nd year of high school running with no injury history, Group 1 = First year of high school running.

If you have an injury history or are just now starting to train, we will start you off at a lower group than what is indicated above. These are general guidelines, but we will always try to individualize training for what is best for each athlete.

Monday: All on Mile High Loop
10-15 minute warmup
Group 4: 10-15x 1 min at threshold, 1 min jog (Regroup on jog between each). 45-50 total volume.
Group 3: 10x 1 min at threshold, 1 min jog. 35-40 total volume.
Group 1&2: 5-10 by 1 min at threshold, 1 min jog. Group 2: 30-35 total volume. Group 1: 30 total volume.

All end with 4×30 seconds “on,” 1 min jog.

Strength Training @ Carla Madison after.

Tuesday: Jumpies
(Route towards Manuel?)
Group 4: 45-50 + 6x 10 second hill sprints.

Group 3: 35 + 6x 10 second hill sprints.

Group 2: 30 + 6×10 second hill sprints

Group 1: 20-25 + 5-6x 10 second hill sprints

Wednesday: (South)
Group 4: 40-45 + 4×20 second strides (Wear spikes)

Group 3: 30-35+ 4×20 second strides (Wear spikes)

Group 2: 25-30 + 4×20 second strides (Wear spikes)

Group 1: 20-25+ 4×20 second strides (Wear spikes)

Thursday: Kenyan Diagonals on meadow. (Only for those who are ready).

All: 10-15 minute warmup with final 2 minutes of warmup at threshold.

Group 4: Up to 15 mins

Group 3: 10-15 mins

Group 2: 5-10 mins

Group 1: 5-10 mins

Cooldown: Whatever it takes to get to final volume:

Group 4: 45-50 total for the day
Group 3: 35ish total for the day
Group 2: 30-35 total for the day
Group 1: 25-30 total for the day

Strength Training @ Carla Madison after

Friday: Jumpies

(Senior’s choice. Go together)

Group 4: 40 + 5-6×20 second Zoo/Lake hills

Group 3: 30-35 + 5-6×20 Zoo/Lake hills

Group 2: 25-30 + 5-6×20 Zoo/Lake hills

Group 1: 20 + 5-6x 20 Zoo/Lake hills

Saturday: Long run

Group 4: Plus 5 minutes of longest run of summer) + 4 Strides

Group 3: +5-10 minutes of longest run of summer +4 strides

Group 2: +5-10 minutes of longest run of summer + 4 strides

Group 1: 30-40 mins +4 strides

Go Angels!

Saturday Run, Physical Exams, Camp, Countdown to Season

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We will meet on Saturday, June 21st in the Student Parking Lot at East at 7am and carpool to deKoevend Park to run on the Highline Canal Trail. This is about the best shade we can find for a very hot day. It is also the site of our second meet of the season. Bring water and a snack for afterwards. Parent drivers/runners welcome and needed.

Everyone will need a physical exam prior to the first day of practice. Athletes must use this new CHSAA form (per CHSAA and DPS): CHSAA physical exam.

We have one opening for a girl to join us at our high altitude camp July 15-17. Sign-up link on this website.

8 weeks until team Time Trial. 9 weeks until our first race!

Get Ready for First Day of Summer Conditioning

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What do you need?

  1. A watch. Most of our runs are based on time spent running, so you absolutely need a watch. You absolutely do not need a fancy GPS smart watch. The best running watch when most of your older coaches were fast was the Timex Ironman, which is still a great running watch and available for about $35.You can find good running watches (digital watch with a stopwatch function) for $20, and it will last your entire high school running career.
  2. Good running shoes. These will cost you a bit more than your running watch and need to be replaced every 3-6 months depending on how many miles you are running each month. East runners get a discount at Runners Roost; the staff there will help you find the right pair for you. If you have a favorite running shoe, you can generally find good deals online.
  3. Clothes comfortable for running and appropriate for the weather. Obviously it is getting warm this time of year. You don’t need anything fancy or name brand, just comfortable. If you are new to running, whatever you wore to play soccer or lacrosse or play outdoors on a warm day will be appropriate.
  4. A water bottle. Fill it with water!
  5. An awesome attitude and readiness to challenge yourself.
  6. If you use an albuterol inhaler for exercise, it is not a bad idea to have this on hand.
  7. Arrive well hydrated. Most of our runners will have a small snack prior to running so their energy stores are not completely depleted when arriving at practice, though we discourage a heavy meal in the two hours prior to running.

What to leave behind?

  1. Earbuds. Talk to your teammates during the run! Also, we need to listen for traffic and your coaches. (Earbuds are not allowed by CHSAA when we race).
  2. Anything of high value you don’t want to carry during your run. We may not have a safe place to store your things during our runs. We sometimes are able to store phones in someone’s car during the run, but if you don’t need it, don’t bring it.
  3. Fear. Nobody is ever expected to anything for which they are not capable. Everyone is capable of doing hard things and becoming a better runner. (And not everyday is hard).

A Plan for Running; Running with a Plan

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Our summer running plan is published on the website FinalSurge.com.

If you have not run with Denver East previously, you will need to create an account on FinalSurge using an email address. Once you have created your account, email Coach Kohuth (steven_kohuth@dpsk12.net) and let him know which email account you used to join FinalSurge. You will receive an invitation to join the Denver East team on FinalSurge; once you have joined the team you will have access to our training plans and you will be able to record your workouts on the website to share with your coaches.

There are three training plans posted on FinalSurge, Beginning, Intermediate, and Varsity; all summer training plans begin on June 9th. (Side note – returning runners who have completed their 2 week break following the track season should start running this week; 20-30 minutes of easy running every other day would be sufficient). Beginning is for our athletes new to cross country with little or no distance running experience; Intermediate is for athletes with previous running experience including ninth graders with more rigorous club experience in middle school and our returning high school runners who did not run track in the spring; and Varsity is for returning runners who ran track in the spring. (Another side note – it is not required to follow the Varsity training plan to run on the varsity team in the fall; more years than not we have newer runners improve rapidly and make our top-7. In general, we would rather you run a little less and increase your training incrementally than jump into a training plan for which your body is not ready to adapt and risk injury. Ask a coach if you are uncertain as to which training plan to follow).

We would like to see you at summer conditioning (M-F, 8a, City Park), but with access to our training plans, you can complete all of the same training on your own, no matter where summer brings you. We will review some basics of the summer training plan (which we will continue to update throughout the summer) in a later post. Your first assignment for the summer is joining FinalSurge.