Although I now coach national-class and world-class runners, I taught and coached teenage athletes for many years.  I soon realized that they needed short-term goals.  There wasn’t any way that lengthy Lydiard-type periodization program would work with maybe a month of racing as the reward.  We did all the things Lydiard suggested (distance, hills, fartlek, speed) but we did them every week.  Basically that’s how the Complex Training system evolved.  I also found that regular racing suited the teenage temperaments I was dealing with (including de Castella’s).  Because I didn’t train them too intensely I found the kids derived a lot of satisfaction from the racing.  It enabled them to receive reinforcing motivation and peer-group acclaim, both of which helped produce a longer commitment to the sport.  The racing also helped develop some of the social benefits that are traditionally reserved for team sports, which offer uncomplicated competitive outlets each week.

I see no inconsistency between my approach of Complex Training, with good racing all year and still coming up with a peak effort in a specific race. Someone who exemplified this approach was Peter Snell, a three-time Olympic gold medallist.  Snell returned to New Zealand late 1961 following a highly successful European tour.  He had told me that he intended to break the world record for the mile and 880 yards in March 1962.  But Snell rounded into such fantastic shape after the “marathon” phase of his build-up that he decided to go for the records in January.  He wasn’t peaked, but he was certainly ready, as his world records for the mile (3:54.4 on grass), 800m (1:44.3) and 880 yards (1:45.1) attest.  Lydiard brought Snell to his ultimate competitive peak two years later in Tokyo.  Snell ran six races in six days to destroy the Olympic 800 field with a final 400 of 52.2, faster than the opener.  Snell’s final 400 in the 1500 wasn’t much slower (52.7) as he became the first to win the 800/1500 double since 1920.