Max King is a Renaissance Man of running: whether he’s steepling on the track, mountain running, or racing trail ultras, he thrives at any distance on any terrain.
I first became aware of Max King in 2014 when he won the World Warrior Dash Championship. I realized – after winning my own Warrior Dash in 2012 – that runners are often the best OCR competitors.
Before I first interviewed Max, I studied his career and was absolutely amazed by his accomplishments in virtually every discipline there is in the sport of running:
- Trail races
- Ultramarathons
- Cross country
- 3,000m steeplechase on the track
- Road marathons
- Obstacle course races
- Mountain running
If it involves mostly running, Max King is a dominant athlete.
And he’s not just a finisher – or even a medalist. He’s often the ultimate victor, having won world Warrior Dash and mountain running championships and trail and ultramarathon national championships. He’s even dabbled in triathlon and adventure races.
That’s a major reason I asked Max to contribute to our Little Black Book of Recovery & Prevention (9 pro runners shared their favorite injury prevention advice). I wanted to know how such a versatile athlete stayed healthy and prevented injuries.
But today, we’re discussing something different: how Max King trains.
Max King on Training for Any Kind of Race
Whether he’s scrambling up boulders or flying down a gnarly mountain descent, Max seems to be able to transition seamlessly between any and all types of running.
It doesn’t matter if the race is on the roads, track, trails, mountains, or obstacle course, he’s ready to excel.
So I’m very excited to explore the training that Max does to keep him in shape for all off these adventures for the Strength Running Podcast.
In this conversation, we discuss a lot:
- His experience at the 2019 US Trail Running Conference
- Why runners should be advocates for our public lands
- How he thinks about mobility training
- His background with running as a kid that drove him to fall in love with the sport
- The elements of training that are always present + the specifics he adds depending on the event
- How Max structures his strength training and what he focuses on
Subscribe to the Strength Running Podcast in iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play.
Show Links & Resources:
- Max King’s website
- His best injury prevention advice
- Follow Max on Instagram
- SR’s injury prevention email course
- Support our sponsor Rockay Socks!
Our sponsor for this episode is Rockay Socks. I’ve been wearing Rockay Socks for awhile now and have put them through all kinds of tortuous testing in a big snow storm that we had here in Denver recently. And they are performing great!
They have seamless toes to prevent blisters and I love that their Ecowhite collection is 100% recycled, including getting a lot of their raw materials from ocean waste. At a time when we’re dumping more than 12 million tons of plastic into the ocean every year, Rockay is reclaiming some of that to help runners with their training. Talk about a win-win.
Each pair has anti-odor technology, a lifetime guarantee, and we even have a discount code. Use code SGTEN to save 10% on their socks on their website.
