Paul McCrae – Founder and Personal Coach at Personal Running Solutions in Jacksonville, FL
History of your running experience – how long have you been running, any important races that you’ve placed in.
Paul has competed for 15 years as a professional runner both internationally and nationally. He was selected to represent his native home, New Zealand in World Mountain Running Championships in the 1993, 2001, and 2004. He also earned a position on the New Zealand’s Oceana Championships team in 1990. He has earned many local achievements, which included winning the 2005 Jacksonville Track Club Male Athlete of the year. Paul is regularly on the podium for winning many of the local road races in Jacksonville. He has also been as high as second in the Jacksonville Bank Marathon when he set his personal best of 2:27:50.
Paul was part of WSC’s National team, which competed in four consecutive NCAA Division II cross-country championships, a first at any division at the NCAA Championship. WSC finished as high as 7th during the 2003 season. One pivotal achievement at WSC was his third place in the 5000m. Paul shares this NCAA Division II Indoor honor with his WSC teammates who finished first through sixth.
Lifetime Personal Records:
• Mile – 4:05
• 5K – 13:57
• 10K – 28:53
• 1/2 Marathon – 64:35
• Marathon – 2:27:50
What is some good advice you provide about staying injury free:
People need to realize it’s not just about the training but also what you put into your body and how you take care of yourself. Running and training is only a small part of the picture. I recommend watching things like sleep, how old your shoes are, how hydrated you stay, the clothes you wear to workout in, the use of sports massage, the food you put into your body.
How do you personally stay injury free:
Sometimes staying injury free is more about knowing when to push through a run or workout and when to stop and rest. More often than not this is the best reason to get a coach. Their job is to make sure they notice when you need to take it easy or push through. Most of us aren’t self aware enough to do this alone. And that coach can be anyone from a sports medicine doctor or a friend that can monitor your training from the outside.
Any insider tips for beginner runners?
Start with the rule, “less is always better.” Quite often new runners feel good so they push themselves too hard the first few runs and then when they get sore they wonder why they lose motivation and the desire to continue. Sometimes a running coach can help you get started without the guessing and chance of injury.
The other thing I would suggest is finding a good group of people to start out with. It helps to have like-minded individuals around who will and can motivate you and keep you on track. It also keeps the monotony of running a little less when you have other great people to do it with.