In 2005, he won the 5,000 at the Canadian Nationals. A week later he ran a personal best of 13:23.30 over that same distance, which qualified him for the World Championships. The following week, he ran another personal best. This time it was in the 1500, with a time of 3:41.53. He went on to place second in the World University Games in the 5,000m. In addition to his 1500 and 5000 personal bests, he boasts a 28:39.54 in the 10k. PerformanceRunner.com introduces its October Featured Athlete, Reid Coolsaet.

A neighbor to the U.S., Reid resides in Guelph, Ontario, Canada, where he attended the University of Guelph. Currently running full-time for Reebok, who helps with travel and gear, Reid is also loyal to the Reebok Premier Road Lite III. He says, “It’s a great training shoe that’s on the lighter side.” Reebok now has the Road Lite IV out. In addition to running for Reebok, Reid also belongs to the National Endurance Centre in Guelph. Being part of this group means he receives some assistance in the form of a coach and living expenses from Athletics Canada. At nationals, he races with his team, Speed River Racing Team, which trains in Guelph.

Reid names Dave Scott-Thomas as his current coach, and biggest running career influence, “He [Dave] continually pushes me in training and gets the most out of my running.” Dave uses several sources and his own running and Science background to establish Reid’s program. Two workouts stand out as Reid’s favorites. The first is 6 x 1000 meters with a 2.5 – 3 minute rest. “I like this workout because it’s a good indicator of my fitness.” Reid continues, “With that being said, it has also been my most frustrating workout at times.” The other workout is 20-40 minute tempo run “in the trails around Guelph or Hamilton.”

Currently, Reid is coming off of the summer track season. After a little more time off, he’ll be rolling into the fall with some high volume and focusing on staying healthy in 2007. You can watch for his name at the Canadian 10k Championships on October 7th. After that, he has his eyes on the National Cross Country Championships in December and probably a few smaller races in between. In November, look for him at the Manchester Road Race in Connecticut, on Thanksgiving Day. He’s also looking into running a Cross Country race in the U.S. He’s currently deciding between the Mayor’s Cup in Boston or the Bad Boy 8k in New York (Van Cortlandt Park).

In assessing his goals, Reid says he would like to reach the “A” standard in the 5k and 10k within the next couple of years. He would also like to medal at the Pan-Am Games and gather some more Canadian medals along the way. Additionally, Reid says he would eventually like to move to the marathon distance and see what he can do there. “My goals in running are always to push my limits, get the most out of my talents, and have fun.”

PerformanceRunner.com is proud to feature US runners in the Athlete Profiles section. We want to see you succeed, and when you do, we want people to already know your name. If you would like to be considered as a PerformanceRunner Featured Athlete, please send an email to enders@performancerunner.com.