When Kyle Walsh became boys track and cross country coach at Terre Haute South High School in Indiana three years ago, team members were fighting to keep their heads above water. Now, with the boys' legs churning underwater, the Braves are moving up in the state rankings.

In 2011, South placed 22nd at the state cross country meet. In 2012, running a minute faster per man, South took eighth. Last fall the team moved up to fifth. With South's pool running still evolving, the boys hope to compete for state supremacy with national powers like Carmel and Columbus North.

South already has developed a recent individual state champion and national qualifier. Jackson Bertoli was the Indiana cross country winner last fall, running 15:33 for 5K on the challenging Terre Haute course. He went on to place fifth at the Foot Locker Midwest Regional to make nationals in San Diego.

Bertoli, a senior who is going to Indiana University, credits his success to cross-training. "If I'd only been running, I wouldn't be as fit, disciplined and patient as I am now," he says. "Every minute spent in the pool has gotten me closer to my goals."

Walsh, 28, who has a master's degree in exercise science, brought the pool-running innovation to South when he took over the program, seeking to keep mileage modest, reduce the risk of injury, and develop the high aerobic capacity necessary for 5K success. In the summer, many South boys accrue 40 miles a week in morning runs while doing up to five hours a week in evening pool work. All of that is optional, and little by little the team has bought into it.

Walsh, whose regular job is program coordinator of the Indiana State University athletic department, calls the pool work "Time Getting Better," which has become a South mantra. Walsh operates under the assumption that pool work and running have a 2-to-1 ratio: Every 60 minutes of pool running equals 30 minutes of running on land. By his system, South's five hours of pool running per week are equivalent to about 20 miles. The density of water is at least 13 times greater than that of air, which sends a pool runner's heart rate sky-high.

The boys have access to the high school pool or, in the warm weather, the home pool of a team member. A few less-experienced team members wear flotation belts as they become accustomed to the workouts; most runners don't use them.

As Bertoli puts it, "I think about all the guys around the nation trying to run 80 miles a week. I'm running 60 and getting another 20 miles in the pool, which gives me fresher legs for the next hard run."

In the pool, South boys do workouts like 2 × 20 minutes hard with a brief recovery; repeats of 3 minutes hard, 90 seconds easy; or 30-second sprints. In other words, they do what they do running. If they're in the water for an hour, 45 minutes will be pushing. "I've done some of the hardest workouts of my life in the pool," Bertoli says.

To calculate workout intensity, Walsh had some of his top runners undergo treadmill tests at Indiana State. Knowing their lactate threshold levels, Walsh has the boys train at specific heart rates in the water--and on land.

Any boy with aches and pains can stay in shape with cross-training. Spencer Danielson, a 6-foot 1-inch junior and the team's No. 2 cross country runner, has tender shins because of a 10-inch growth spurt in two years. "He was 28th at state, never cracking more than 30 miles a week," Walsh says. In addition to pool running, Danielson spends five hours a week on an elliptical machine.

Walsh presides over group pool sessions, motivating all the boys at once--and with Bertoli, the team star, leading the workout, no runner will dare do less than his best.

This inspirational team dynamic is at its peak after cross country meets when, arriving back at school, the boys will do a 90-minute pool workout instead of going home. "We're dog-tired," says Bertoli, "but it's Time Getting Better."

See Also: 

Cross-Training To The Top, the girls of Unionville.
Running Plus, the cross-training logs of high school stars.

Headshot of Marc Bloom
Marc Bloom

Marc Bloom’s high school cross-country rankings have played an influential role in the sport for more than 20 years and led to the creation of many major events, including Nike Cross Nationals and the Great American Cross Country Festival. He published his cross-country journal, Harrier, for more than two decades.