Editor’s note: Leo Manzano, the 2012 Olympic silver medalist is a fearsome kicker. Put Leo within the fight at the end of a mile or 1,500 meters, and you have a battle royale. We asked Leo to give RunBlogRun some tips for our high school readers on how to be better milers. On April 19, Leo took third in the Boston Mile, and, then on Tuesday, April 22, he won the road mile at the Drake Relays. At the Penn Relays DMR, Leo lead for two laps, then allowed Australia’s 13:11 5,000m runner (also a 3:54 miler), Collis Birmingham to take the lead, and with 200 meters to go, used his torrid finish to take the win for Team USA.
Six tips on being a better miler for high school milers
1. Do interval training and always work/focus on your last intervals – This will teach you mental strength to stay in the race when it gets tough.
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2. Work on your speed at least once a week- This will help with your closing speed
3. Focus more on quality of running than quantity of running.- This will allow you to have a longer lasting career in your running and in the sport.
4. Run the first 800 effortlessly.- This allows you to save strength for when the race gets tough!
5. Strengthen your legs and body by doing general strength work such as squats, lunges, abs ect. – This will help strengthen your body so that you can push more when you are tired in the race, and ultimately help you run faster.
6- Golden Rule – Don’t forget to enjoy and have fun in the sport!