Final Surge Podcast Episode 72: Jacob Puzey

Welcome to Episode 72 of the Final Surge podcast where today we welcome runner and coach Jacob Puzey. Jacob and I have a great conversation about his early running career and how those experiences and the coaches he worked with influenced who he is today and how he coaches. Jacob was the top Canadian male in Boston in 2017, is the 2016 and 2017 Canadian Road 50K National Champion and has a great coaching resume. Jacob’s business Peak Run Performance is teaming up with Final Surge in the coming weeks to offer new coaching services in several languages, so watch out for that. Now onto the show.

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Could you give our listeners your background on how you started running back in the day?

Middle school basketball player
Did not come naturally had to work at it
10th grade started running year round

How did the high school career and running career after high school go?

Qualified for Oregon XC State Meet as a senior
Tough Oregon high school area
Ran against a lot of future D1 college runners
Ran for a Junior College who was defending National JC Champion
2 National Championships for JC

When did you make the transition into coaching?

Took 2 years off after junior college
Started training for marathon
Developed a love for it again
Went back to finish college and did some youth coaching at middle school and high school

You have coached high school runners and ultra runners. What are the foundational principles you take in your coaching philosophy that would be applicable to all runners?

Stamina, speed strength, need to work on all of them
Nutrition and skills would be emphasized by event

I know from your bio you took over some high school programs that did not have a history of success and you created state championship programs. What did you do to turn around and build those programs?

Did not try to make wholesale changes
Go in and listen and learn about cultures of team
Winning traditions in other sports so was easier
Get them to buy into potential in that sport
Competed against the great teams

All coaches have influences that have an impact on them as coaches. Who are some of the influences who have impacted your coaching philosophy?

Middle school, high school coaches, college coaches
Learned different training philosophies from hs/college coaches
Greg McMillian, Joe Vigil

What does the typical athlete you are coaching these days look like, what is their experience level and distances they are training for?

From Millenials waiting tables to executive empty nesters
All distances
Coached people who raced on all 7 continents last year

You are going to be releasing some coaching very soon on Final Surge, how is it you ended up on Final Surge as your coaching platform?

While living in Flagstaff ran with some NAZ Elite Guys
Heard about NAZ Elite Blogs
Worked for Greg McMillian
Did not look at it until was ready to launch something
Liked easy syncs
Right vision behind company

What can people expect to find in your packages?

Multiple languages
Speak the same language as athlete
Every coach speaks at least two languages
Tailored training plans and 1-0n-1 coaching

How many coaches do you have?

4 with a nutritionist
Coaches have experience in several countries to understand unique differences

You have 4 coaches that work on your team, what events do you focus on?

All surfaces, all distances, all disciplines
Road and trails
Stage races
Tailor training to person

There are many tools runners use. GPS watches, heart rate monitors, HRV readings, Power Meters. What type of technology do you use?

All of it and as little as possible
Trail and ultra a lot of metrics thrown out the window
Run by feel
Like that they are available in Final Surge

You have a lot of running accomplishments, you were the top Canadian male in Boston this year and a lot of success in Ultras. One of your accomplishments is the 50-mile treadmill record you set. When I saw the video this was the first time I had heard of you. How hard was that to run on a treadmill for 5 hours?

Was easier than thought
Started just below world record pace but found himself going faster
Was originally thinking of going for 50k record
Didn’t expect it to be an hour quicker

Do you use a treadmill often?

Yes, in Calgary it is cold
Wear microspikes 4-6 months a year when outside
Boston training did a lot of treadmill miles
When need good footing will use treadmill when cold

You ran the TransRockies with your brother, for those who do not know what the TransRockies is can you tell them and what it was like doing with your brother?