RunKNOX – Nov 2022

by Scott Schmidt

In an attempt to reach a broader audience, the Knoxville Track Club has decided to retire its traditional bimonthly members-only Footnotes magazine and will now share content openly via social media. For those of us who have been submitting articles for years (and frankly running out of material) this serves as a fresh start. I apologize to the few readers who’ve religiously read the RunKNOX column over those many years as you’re about to hear all the old stories again. For the new readers, let me introduce you to RunKNOX!

In 2012 Coach Darren Brown piloted a training program under the KTC Leadership of Kristy Altman that stemmed from the Rogue Training System that he worked with in Austin, Texas. The goal was to educate and integrate both novice and seasoned runners into a proper, structured training program.

RunKNOX believes that every level of runner can benefit from focused, goal-oriented training. We challenge our athletes (yes, you are all athletes) to train in a consistent and effective manner that leads to healthy progress over time and develops a lifelong love of the sport.

We understand that every bar, brewery, and shoe store in town offers a free social run. We love the fact that on any given day we can find fantastic people to run with, but these standalone runs don’t foster long-term development or generate lasting lifestyle changes.

Our program is different in that we provide a fully periodized training program. We teach that every run has a purpose. Our workouts aren’t random. Every mile (speed, tempo, hills, easy, long) is prescribed in a specific format to develop the physiological components necessary to improve running performance. We stack days, weeks, months, and years of running to literally transform our bodies inside and out to make ourselves stronger runners.

RunKNOX is deeply rooted in creating community. We want to build a social running experience where the team supports each individual’s goals. We show up not only because we need to do the work, but because our teammates are counting on us to be there. The level of accountability is higher, and it builds a greater sense of camaraderie.

We acknowledge that in order to be a better runner we need to run more, but we also understand that we must find balance in our lives, therefore we prescribe a healthy mix of cross training and strength training and we partner with other experts in the community such as Cobra Wellness, Prime IV Hydration and Wellness, Blue Ridge Yoga, and The Long Run to offer our athletes special access to services that support their long-term development.

If you’re interested in learning more about RunKNOX, explore our website or send us an email.