Testimonials...

Adam Boothe is the Head Coach of the Women's Cross Country team at UC Santa Cruz and owner of Central Coast Running in Santa Cruz. Boothe was a CCS Div IV Champion and two-time XC State Championships qualifier at Pioneer High School in San Jose. He went to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where he ran Cross Country and Track for five years. Boothe was back-to-back Big West Champion and Athlete of the Year in Cross Country, and in 1999, qualified for the NCAA Division I XC Championships.

Adam has been doing CrossFit for only 6 weeks and this is what he has to say about it:

"In life you’ve got to have an open mind. 
Sounds easy enough, but as runners & walkers we often get into a one track mind
(pun intended). You know what I’m talking about; the obsessive compulsive act
of practicing only our sport. Why waste energy doing another sport or workout
when you can rest and wait for your red blood cells to multiply? After all it looks
like all the Kenyans do is run all day, and they’re pretty good at running!
Unfortunately we’re not all built like a Kenyan, and most of us didn’t run 10
miles to school and back at age 5.
I’ve been guilty of close minded running for years. In High School & College I ran
a ton of miles and stayed injury free for the most part, it seemed that running
more was the only way to stay in running shape. I did a lot of ab work and lifted
a few weights, but running was about it for me. Then I took some time off and
stopped living the life of a runner (the understatement of the century!). When I
wanted to start training again, I found I couldn’t run many miles before I was
injured. I ran fast, I ran slow, I ran only on dirt, barefoot running, you name it- I
tried it.
It soon became clear that what worked before wasn’t working now. I started to
think about some triathletes I knew, they didn’t seem to get injured as much,
maybe it had to do with the varied training regimen. I realized that I needed to
get in good shape first to run like I used to, and I wasn’t going to get there just
trying to run all the time. About this time I got roped into CrossFit. For those
that don’t know about CrossFit, check out www.crossfit.com. It’s basically
super-circuit training, and it kicks your butt! After 5 weeks of CrossFit I have
seen dramatic improvements in my overall strength and conditioning. More
importantly, I am running injury & pain free for the first time in years. I credit
that to the fact that my body has gotten strong enough to handle the type of
running I want to do; running alone would not have gotten me there. I’m running
my fastest times in years and have yet to start back to everyday running. Simply
having more overall strength has allowed me to run harder and without pain. I
am now confident that I can to add more running specific training to my regimen
and not have the setbacks that plagued me for years after college.
CrossFit was what turned the page for me, and I definitely think it is one of the
more complete and challenging workouts out there. Results come quick too; it’s
great for those instant gratification folks! Of course it may not be for everyone,
and that’s ok. My point is that if you seem to be beating your head against the
wall with running injuries, try something else for a bit. Go on long hikes, take up
cycling, start swimming laps, do pilates/yoga, or try CrossFit. You’ll find
strength in your new pursuit that will let you get back to the running you love.
Make sure and get back to running too, don’t leave the best, most stress
relieving sport in the land behind. Plus I need you to keep buying running shoes
from me! 
I can’t say enough about the difference CrossFit has made in my overall strength and endurance.
Keep an open mind in life and in training. It’s about being fit and feeling strong.
Once you have that, running will take care of itself and you’ll run longer, faster,
further."
                                                                                      -Adam Boothe