Today, we chat with Northgate cross country coach, Ruth Seabrook. She has been at the helm of the Northgate cross country team after being encouraged to join the Broncos coach staff by the previous coach, Peter Brewer. Last season, the Northgate varsity girls' team won its first-ever section title, defeating Division III and league rival powerhouse Campolindo. This past weekend, the varsity girls made their season debut at the Ed Sias Invitational. They won the small school varsity race and in the merge of both small and large school races, easily outdistanced the field as the strongest team in the entire meet.
1) Where were you originally from, and how did you end up in Walnut Creek?
I come from England originally, I have moved back and forth across the Atlantic a couple of times. I lived in Miami for two years in my twenties, then moved permanently to the US 24 years ago, settling just north of Philadelphia for ten years, where I coached adults in distance running and worked in a really cool running store, before moving to Walnut Creek 14 years ago. My husband was at Johnson and Johnson and they offered him a job in Boston, but I thought it was too cold, so on a whim, I asked if they had anything in San Francisco as it sounded nicer and they said yes, so we moved to Walnut Creek where we had some friends and I loved the open space and network of great running paths.
2) What was your own sporting experience, and how did you end up running? What is something you are really proud of when it comes to your own running experience?
My high school experience was sadly devoid of all running. I went to an old fashioned State run Grammar School where athletics were not permitted, as it was considered unlady-like. I fell in love with distance running shortly after giving up corporate life in my late 30’s and met some new friends in Philadelphia who also wanted to get back into running. Within a year we had all qualified for our first Boston marathon and I carried on racing until my early 50’s and did some in person experimentation in training and running. I think I was attracted to the psychological aspects of the sport more than anything else, and found it intellectually stimulating as well as a lot of fun.
3) When and how did you end up coaching at Northgate HS? What was your role initially? How did your role change over the years?
I had just moved to Walnut Creek and my son was entering 9th grade and didn’t know anyone but he had run cross country for all three years of middle school in his old school. I stayed out of his way that summer and let him forge his own friends, but then Coach Brewer saw me running at one of the meets, the Viking Invite and said would I come run with his varsity girls and be an Assistant Coach as he was coaching solo then. He had nicknames for everyone and called me Madam Marathon in those days. Within 5 months he appointed me as Distance Coach in Track, which was hard for him to give up as he truly loved coaching distance runners but he was Head Coach and needed to help in sprints and other areas. A few years later we became co-Head Coaches when there was a push for gender equity, but despite its origins he was gracious enough to make it a genuine partnership where we could both contribute to programming, strategy etc. His intention was to pass on the mantle of cross country to me slowly and he was still working on my hesitation to take on the Head Track Coach role. Sadly Coach Brewer had a dramatic departure from the team and I by default became Head Coach for both Cross Country and Track Coach for years, then retired two years ago from track so I could focus on cross country and was lucky enough to be able to convince the wonderful Rebecca Carcamo to take over distance coaching and we are able to work closely to ensure a seamless transition for the distance runners and good year round opportunities.
4) You coached with Coach Peter Brewer. What was that experience like for you and what are some humorous moments with Coach Brewer that you can share with us? Aside from Coach Brewer, who are the other coaches that have been mentors for you? Coaching with Peter Brewer was a masterclass in learning the importance of ‘being all in’. One of his greatest attributes was he was always there, 100% consistent in his own attendance and took the time to study the sport in all its aspects. We butted heads lots of times. He revered talent. I was more inclined to push team culture beyond the wins, but we had a lot of fun together and the mutual respect was great and we both felt we made each other better. We are both English majors and love to talk and write, and I still issue a weekly blurb that he established, that is about ten pages long each week with race reviews and coaching reflections. There are so many funny moments from coaching with him and traveling to LA, Hawaii or Portland for races, but I do recall him standing at the top of the switchbacks on the MonteVista Invite hill screaming at one of our freshman boys with that incredible booming projection ‘ISAAC WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR, A MARRIAGE PROPOSAL??? PASS HIM!’ to the hilarity of all the Mothers standing nearby…He loved the nuance of a workout and we could spend hours debating it and he was a born entertainer so the runners wanted to listen to him. I have learned a great deal from all the coaches I have worked with and those in our very close DAL league. Peter Ceresa has been with our program for even longer than I, was a head coach before me, and is one of the very rare on campus teachers so very helpful and knowledgeable and balances my more intense presence by always being calm. Cody Davis is on campus at the MIddle School and is a great recruiter for the team as well as bringing a ton of fun and energy. Steve Pierce who also coaches jumps and vault in Track has decades of experience and is wise and much loved by the newer runners. We also just recruited two impressive female coaches, Julia Vasquez who worked with us this summer, who is a 3 time Bay to Breaker Champion and Jen Hoogesteger who is a celebrated masters runner and Group Fitness professional who runs our Strength & Conditioning program. I also learn a lot from Steve Magness, love his books, podcasts and short form writings.
5) Your current varsity team just won the large school division at the Ed Sias Invitational. What was the plan going into the race?
The plan going into the small school varsity race was to be curious about what we could do after a strong summer and solid training block, to try out the streakfly super shoe for the first time on a fairly technical course, to be brave off the line, and to continue to work on maintaining a close connection with each runner. We wanted to see if the boys could work closer with each other rather than trying to compete and they impressed us too. We have our first league meet in ten days so it was a way to rehearse a little and feel out the competition before DAL 1.
6) Last year, your girls won their first-ever section team championship, defeating 20-time section champion Campolindo. After finishing 2nd to them at the league championship, what changed at the section meet that enabled your team to win? What was your own reaction, as well as that of your team members, when the results were announced? I think the shift from Leagues to NCS was situational. The conditions were appalling but we have always focused on process over outcome so there was no terror over running a slow time as we pointed out the mud is a factor for everyone. We were hoping to make it to State but never really considered focusing on a win at NCS. Sometimes that can be helpful. We had fun the night prior and everyone practiced slides and speed work in oozing mud. On the day of the race, we didn't protect anyone from the elements but sent them out extra early for a long warm up in the cold and rain. By the time they got to the start line they were calm and at one with the conditions. We probably crumbled less emotionally than others due to lower expectations We have a very fluid line up with no front runners so to speak which gives everyone space and grace to have a good or a bad day with all the girls helping out when needed. Workouts often see them like a school of fish, seamlessly switching positions and that makes racing much less stressful and no one is protecting that number 1, number 2 status on the team or thinking hierarchically, they are grateful if another girl moves up to help instead of feeling threatened.
7) What are your expectations for your team during the summer? How often do you meet? How do you track how much running they are doing? What do you use as motivation to get them to run?
For summer we have continued to expand the program. We used to meet at the side of the road with a dozen runners each night, and slice up water melons. Now we have a 2 ½ hour daily program at the track with twice weekly weight room sessions, yoga and postural alignment work with Dr Abel Romero and invite back our incredible alumni who are running in college to run with the athletes. It's also very social. Is there any point unless you're having fun? The Captains help plan a weekly Weds social and a Scenic Saturday long run and a 3 day camp at Point Reyes to celebrate summer. We use a local 4th of July 5k and our end of summer Alumni race to pinpoint progress. We hope our varsity boys will run 300 - 400 miles, the girls 200-300 and we issue mileage incentive shirts with catchy quotes such as ‘No Snivelling’ one of Brewer’s favorites.
8) What does a typical training week look like for your team? How many workouts? Any morning runs? How often does your team do a long run? How often are they doing strength work? What else does your team do that you feel is equally helpful?A typical week features a strong lift on Monday followed by hills on tired legs. A speed workout on Tuesday, often a long loop based tempo run in Arbolado with Carondelet sharing the path, or a flux workout on the track. Wednesdays are optional as we have a fairly low mileage program. Thursday is fartlek or mild speed, like a timed chase run where we release based on ability, more weight room. Friday we do some pure speed and acceleration wickets, then usually bulk mileage. If there is no meet Saturday is a long run day. We do regular wickets almost every day for form purposes. We don’t do any morning practices in addition to afternoons. I tried it briefly years ago but most of them just need to sleep more and it was diminishing returns to go up in mileage unless you could secure 9 hours sleep. High School kids are so overly scheduled already.
9) From your first year coaching, what do you feel have been the changes that you have made that have helped your runners the most?
Since I started coaching, injury prevention has dramatically improved. The culture of early identification has taken root, we have a great sports med department, and good ART docs we refer to. We have many runners on limited workouts but they cross train on their own. For older runners there is a lot more autonomy and we try not to micro manage, and that helps with buy in. We also do much more work on mental strength training in workouts as much as in races. Peer to peer support is also strong, we establish sleep captains later in the season who message their group early in the evening to remind them to stay on task with homework, then to start winding down so they get a good night’s sleep.
10) What have been some of your proudest moments as a coach, as well as some of your team's achievements in both cross country and track and field?My proudest moments are hard to define, I feel like every season there is something that brings me a lot of joy. It might be seeing an athlete turn around their academic and life trajectory through the sport. Many years ago in my corporate life I was in charge of charitable giving for GSK and had millions to invest; but I feel coaching gives me more ability to improve the world than $14m in donations was ever able to. I know I was surprised that I was as emotional the year we just missed qualifying for state as the year after when we did qualify, as the performances were so good and I really enjoyed working with that team. On reflection my proudest moment was probably creating a strong program during the pandemic with Peter Ceresa. It was hard to do, with a lot of suspicion from the community at the time, and the fear of keeping everyone safe and healthy. At one of my coaching low points I was marking out another race course for what would be a series of solo efforts in the rain while a parent was on the phone yelling that I was about to ruin his son’s life by putting him in JV, for a race where no other team would even be present. But with hindsight I believe it helped a lot of young people navigate a very hard time and for us it turned into a golden era on the team, with us qualifying both teams to State after the pandemic as we had trained with no excitement of racing for a long period and the kids just loved running and being part of a strong community.
11) What advice would you give a young coach taking over a program with aspirations of taking that program to a more successful level?
My advice for a young coach would be to invest in the culture of your group, bring the parents with you as well as the students. It might take a few years but creating the right environment then yields results. We also live in an era where attention is capital, and getting the attention of young people is a full time job, so coaches now need to be communications specialists and stay alert to how the students communicate so you can reach them in their own space.
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