Race Roundup | A Coach's Thoughts
3 Athletes, 3 Lessons, One Relentless Team
Every weekend, athletes across the Andy Potts Racing Team & Coaching roster are out there putting in work. But this past weekend was something special — three athletes, racing across three different events in three corners of the country, all delivered performances that made us stop and reflect on what this sport is really about.
Here are a few of my thoughts and lessons everyone can take with them-
Steve Johns — IRONMAN Texas Swim: 1:12 | Bike: 4:50 | Run: 3:33
Steve crossed the finish line at IMTX with a mechanical on the bike that cost him a PR on both the bike and run splits. And yet — his run was exceptional. Why? Because we've spent months doing the quiet, unglamorous work of raising his aerobic floor.
Steve is a naturally gifted runner with serious power and anaerobic capacity. But gifted runners can mask a weak aerobic engine for a long time — until they can't. We flipped the script: build the bike, build the aerobic base, and trust that the run talent will shine when there's a real engine underneath it.
It's working. And the best is still ahead.
Lesson: Sometimes your ‘weaknesses’ hide in plain sight- you gotta be diligent to recognize them and patient to train them so they become strengths.
A rising aerobic tide lifts all boats.
Raquel Sampson — Marathon PR & Boston Qualifier Finish Time: 3:45:XX
Raquel has been running marathons for a decade. She has the fitness. She has the heart. But she kept hitting a wall — literally — in the final miles. This cycle, life threw everything at her: a ski trip, a charity race she organizes, her son's wedding, a Disneyland trip, and the beautiful chaos that comes with all of it. Not exactly a textbook taper.
Eight days out from race day, we prescribed a 20-mile long run. Raquel pushed back — understandably. It felt counterintuitive. Too close. Too much. But the reasoning was clear: she'd gone weeks without a long effort, and we know the body needs a "wake-up call" before race day. One long run to get the stiffness and struggle out of her system. To harden her.
She trusted the process. She ran 3:45, qualified for Boston, and crossed the line feeling better than she ever has in a marathon.
Lesson: Sometimes the counterintuitive move is the right one. Hardening your body before a goal race — especially after a disrupted training block — can be the difference between surviving and thriving.
Matt "Blue Cadillac" Raske — Boston Marathon Finish Time: 2:53:02
Matt runs one of the biggest veterinary practices in New York City. He's a top surgeon. He has what feels like 45 kids under six. Life has been life-ing hard this past year — and training has taken a back seat.
So we did what the situation called for: we made the main thing the main thing. We built a plan around the specific demands of race day, cut the noise, and focused on what actually moves the needle. Going in, Matt's fastest long effort had him at about 7:20 pace. He crossed the line at Boston in 2:53:02.
Years of accumulated fitness are real. Purposeful, deliberate training — even in small doses — is real. And if Matt can find time to train between surgeries, a packed practice, and a houseful of tiny humans... you can find time too.
Lesson: You don't need perfect training. You need purposeful training. Show up deliberate, be willing to go deep, and the years of work will carry you.
The Big Takeaways
Three athletes. Three races. Three reminders of why this process works:
Build your aerobic engine. Speed is a gift. Endurance is built. Do the boring base work — it compounds.
Trust the process, especially when it's uncomfortable. Raquel's 20-miler felt wrong. It was exactly right.
Life doesn't stop for training — and it doesn't have to. Smart, targeted preparation beats high-volume chaos every time.
The finish line rewards the years, not just the weeks. Matt's 2:53 didn't come from one training block. It came from years of commitment from both Matt and our coaching staff.