Curtin Call

Jen and I trained with NBB, or New Balance Boston, only for three months. Next to Jack Daniels Running Formula, and only barely, this was to be the most pivotal training theory education we have been subjected to so far thanks to their coach Kevin Curtin. First off, the man is a pro. Standing at the track wielding around a half a dozen watches he would dispense splits as different groups were going off, at singular times, even getting people at the 200meter mark across the track. All while carrying on a conversation with some bystander who is invariably around these practices. However, reading times is a nice trick, and showed us the logistics of running an individualized practice with many hard working people doing different things at once but it wouldn’t have made the impression it did if it wasn’t for the theory behind what we did.

The first workout I still remember clear as day. It was indoor at Reggie and I was a bit leery and skeptical of the practice. How was he going to individualize? He, in his calm but assertive way, said “Six by 1000 with one minute rest at about 3:20. Do you think you can do that?” For a second I was stunned. I had done this exact workout many times and other ones similar in the 6k volume and small rest scheme countless times. An 80second quarter was my anaerobic threshold pace and he nailed it meeting me. “Yes, yes I can” I responded.

It was not until the first day of outdoor season that we started practicing three times a week under him. We still have every workout we did, the paces he asked for and the times we did run. We are not “cookie cutter” coaches replicating the same workouts and seasons. We are fluid, dynamic and responsive in our theory. However, the paces, changes in types of workouts and intensities relative to the 12 week season, which could have been extended for four more weeks to club nationals, allowed us to understand when to start glycolitic sprint training and race pace buffering relative to the championship meet. Kevin gave us insight into workouts and paces that Daniel’s never talks about. His impression on us has gone on to effect dozens of people that we have helped. Most notably he was a huge impact, with many of the exact same workouts being used, on what Marco Bertolotti did for training the two months before he won the Hispanic games at 16years old in a 4:15.1 mile outkicking the previous year's returning best miler in the nation. Kevin, I don’t know if Jen and I will ever get to pay you back but we are always trying to pay it forward. Thank you!