No, I’m not trying to sell you on Sketchers shoes. Although, check out this article that talks about how 2014 Boston Marathon winner, Meb Keflezighi ended up running in Sketchers shoes. I was actually thinking about this commercial from the 1990’s…

Back in the 1990’s a lot of us wanted to be like Michael Jordan…dominant on the basketball floor. I’m sure that with his historic win at the Boston Marathon, there are a lot of runners out there that dream of being like Meb. It’s kind of cool that the commercial I posted at the top of this blog came out before his Boston Marathon win. In the United States, long distance runners aren’t exactly super stars. After all, if you read the article I linked in the first paragraph, you’ll see just how much different long distance runners are paid for their endorsements vs. athletes in more popular sports like basketball, football, and baseball.

So, here is the man of the week and his encouragement to us newbies to running to just get out there and get moving. I first became aware of Meb last year when he ran in the 2013 ING New York City Marathon. As I was training for my first marathon, I looked to find advice from so many different sources. When I saw Meb mentioned before the NYC Marathon started, I made a note of it in my mind to see what I could find on him. What did I find? Lots.

What do you think? A day in the life of Meb. Oh to be a professional athlete and not have to put in 40 hours or more at another job. Seriously, though. Looking at the above video completely captures just how far away I am from being an elite runner. It’s not even close. Did you see some of the stretches this guy does? It’s crazy. I know that wading your way through the above video involves watching Meb run for several minutes with no commentary. So, if you get a little bored by watching that portion, just click forward a little bit to after that main run in the video.

If watching longer videos isn’t good for you. The above video is part of a series of short videos put out by Competitor Magazine where Meb offers his advice for training. The first video looks at developing proper running form.

Part 2 of this series goes into some of his warm up routine. This video showcases skips.

Part 3 of this series focuses on butt kicks and high knees.

Part 4 of this series focuses on lateral movement drills.

Part 5 of this series focuses on stretches.

Part 6 of this series focuses on recovery.

The above videos will help you if you want to be like Meb. There are more videos on Youtube.com where Meb gives his advice and encouragement. All you have to go is out and look. Want to know more about Meb and his story? Check out his  book Run to Overcome on Amazon.com. I know that I will be ordering this book soon.

As a side note…Since Meb’s win at the Boston Marathon, there have been lots of stories out there. This article by Let’s Run.com talks about the strategy by Ryan Hall and other American runners in the elites that helped Meb win. I also liked this article by Run, Karla, Run on the lessons we all can learn from  Meb’s win. The article by Karla kind of brings it home to us weekend warriors who can only dream of being an elite runner. So, be sure to check it out.

Anyone out there want to be like Meb? Was this blog post helpful to any of you out there? I certainly hope that this post can help spark some new insight into whatever training you are doing. Of course, the advice offered in the videos is from Meb himself. There are lots of different theories about training out there. What advice would any of you give to a runner looking to improve? Are there books that you’ve read? Videos you’ve watched? I’m always looking for advice. So, please share them in the comments below.