Episode 19: Hitting World Records as a Masters Athlete with Guest Sue McDonald

In this episode of All Things Endurance, host Rick Prince chats with personal trainer, running coach and multiple Masters world champion track & field athlete, Sue McDonald. Rick and Sue discuss her athletic background as well as her coaching business. Additionally, Sue discusses important factors in working with Masters athletes, why she enjoys track events vs. longer road races and how she balances her training with her other obligations.

About Sue McDonald

Sue McDonald is one of the most successful masters track and field athletes in the world who also ran on the national level and competed in the Olympic Trials. Sue has multiple Masters world and national titles on the track, as well as many accolades including the 2023 USATF and World Masters Track & Field Athlete of the Year awards!
Areas covered in this podcast:

1. Could you tell me about yourself including your athletic background and your coaching/fitness business?

2. Like many coaches, you’re balancing a lot including coaching, training and family. However, you’re training for multiple track events at the highest level of masters athletics. How do you balance everything?

3. What are the primary events that you’re currently training for?

4. Masters athletes represent a meaningful demographic for our coaches. From a coaching perspective, what are some things that a coach should consider when working with a masters athlete?

5. The prevailing belief is that as humans get older, they get slower. While this is true from a physiological standpoint, we also see some masters athletes staying at the same speed or getting faster as time goes on. When working with masters athletes, what things do you find most valuable in retaining or increasing an athlete’s speed as they get older?

6. Speaking of which, what are some of your current records and associated times?

7. You also do pole vault. What does the training look like for that?

8. It seems that a lot of runners now are trending toward longer distances (i.e., ultramarathons) and not so much shorter distances – especially track. What is the allure for you of track vs. longer road races or ultrarunning?

How, if at all, has your recovery strategy changed over the years?