In the interest of keeping the length of the interview with Ben in check, his weekly work load didn’t make the cut. Here it is below, including the times he lays down! He also had some strong opinions on the current status of sponsorship in the sport.
Ben’s typical workout week
Monday: Easy days, I usually only run once.
Tuesday: Easier day, tempo or fartlek, not super taxing (8 or 9 mile tempo @ 4:50 per mile pace). Run again in the afternoon, 30 minute jog (4.5 - 5 miles)
Wednesday: Mid week long run (12-14 miles)
Thursday: Double run. AM for 60 minutes (7 minute pace is typical run pace), PM for 30 mins.
Friday: Hard track workout. Examples include: 6x1 mile or K’s or tempos or MICHIGAN named after former Wolverine coach, Ron Warhurst, which consists of a 1600m, 2000m tempo, 1200m, 2000m tempo, 800m, 2000m tempo, 400. It comes out to 10k of work. The mile is done at 4:15, tempo pace is 4:45-4:50, 1200m @ 3:06, 800m @ 2:00 and 400m @ whatever is left in tank. 55 or 54 seconds.
Saturday: Recovery workout. Something like 6x1 mile @ 4:40 followed by 200’s.
Weekly mileage is around 100 miles which is likely average for my race distance. To put that into perspective, most marathoners put in 140-150 mile weeks.
For easier runs I’ll run on trails but all faster paced runs are done on the roads since you can’t run at a fast enough pace on trails.
Interviewers note: He noted a few times how hilly Hanover, NH is which has him running around 7-minute miles on his easy runs whereas he thought he’d be closer to 6-minute miles if he lived in a flatter area.
Ben’s take on Sponsorship in running
ST: What is pro sponsorship like for a runner?
Ben: I think it’s harder. Typically one company. Rules have been slightly relaxed recently but for years the IAAF rule was one sponsor. One logo on your uniform and it has to be a certain size. Someone like Meb with multiple sponsors now, he couldn’t have done that a couple of years ago, at least not in big races. Those are rules that are slowly being relaxed. Shoe companies still don’t want to give up that real estate though. It’s understandable because they feel as though they are shelling out this money so they want all of the exposure.
In my opinion, it would only increase exposure. If I had Saucony (True is sponsored by Saucony) and another large partner, they could cross promote and potentially reach a much larger audience. But Saucony still sees that as giving up space and that it wouldn’t be worth as much to them if they’re sharing it. I can have as many sponsors as I want but I can’t display them on my uniform and, of course, that is what everyone wants. For example, the New York Athletic Club approached me to sponsor me and their one requirement is they wanted the winged foot logo on my uniform and Saucony did not want to give up real estate on my kit. Some companies have allowed athletes to give up a little bit with the new ruling but Saucony felt they would lose too much by doing so. They are not alone, a lot of shoe companies feel that way. An example of an athlete getting around it is Nick Symonds, who puts a temporary tattoo of his company RunGum on his body whereas Brooks, his apparel and shoe partner, won’t allow logo space on his uniform.
Hope you enjoyed learning from one of the best in the sport!
