---
title: "[Patrick Wales-Dinan](https://patrickwalesdinancoach.weebly.com/?utm_source=know — by patrickwalesdinan  on Knowasiak"
description: "[Patrick Wales-Dinan](https://patrickwalesdinancoach.weebly.com/?utm_source=knowasiak): Twenty Years of Coaching Runners Taught Me This About Resilience  I've coached cross country and track for clo"
url: "https://knowasiak.com/thread/28640"
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author: "patrickwalesdinan "
author_url: "https://knowasiak.com/patrickwalesdinan"
username: "patrickwalesdinan"
published: "2026-08-06T02:12:50-07:00"
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last_updated: "2026-08-06T02:12:50-07:00"
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---
# Post by patrickwalesdinan  (@patrickwalesdinan)

[Patrick Wales-Dinan](https://patrickwalesdinancoach.weebly.com/?utm_source=knowasiak): Twenty Years of Coaching Runners Taught Me This About Resilience

I've coached cross country and track for close to two decades, working at Bates College, Traip Academy, the University of Southern Maine, Williams College, Duke, Long Beach State, and now Harvard. After all those years on the track, in the rain, and at 6 a.m. practices that nobody was particularly excited to attend, I keep coming back to the same idea: talent can get a runner to the starting line, but something else is needed to get them across the finish line at their best.

People ask me about this all the time. What's the difference between a season that goes reasonably well and one that's genuinely great? I used to think the answer might be a breakthrough workout or one exceptional race. Over time, I've realized it's usually much less exciting than that.

It's the basics.

Getting enough sleep. Showing up on the days when you don't feel like it. Staying patient when progress isn't immediately obvious. Trusting the training plan even when you're not yet seeing the results you hoped for. Those things aren't particularly glamorous, but over the course of a season, they tend to matter more than any single workout or race.

![Attached Image](https://knowasiak.com/upload/images/2026/08/FCeilCY1AXyXC5n4Fdik_06_5cd135e8c887d5f0b8e2f1e48343dccc_image_original.jpg)

## Metadata

- **Author**: patrickwalesdinan  (@patrickwalesdinan)
- **Published**: 2026-08-06T02:12:50-07:00
- **Likes**: 0
- **Replies**: 0
- **Reposts**: 0
- **Views**: 238
- **Canonical URL**: https://knowasiak.com/thread/28640

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**Author**: patrickwalesdinan  (@patrickwalesdinan) on Knowasiak

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