"Coach Jay's knowledge of the body and how it performs best leads to his incredible ability to turn a runner into a finely-tuned machine.

His track and strength workouts lead me to a national title at the US Cross Country Championships."

- Brent Vaughn, former Nike and University of Colorado Runner

A bit about me 

I’ve coached high school, collegiate, and professional runners for more than two decades, including three USATF champions in cross country, indoor track, and road racing. I studied kinesiology and applied physiology at the University of Colorado, where I was a member of the varsity cross country team featured in Chris Lear's cult-classic Running with the Buffaloes. I earned my M.S. in Kinesiology and Applied Physiology from CU in 2000.  

Consistency Is Key: 15 Ways to Unlock Your Potential as a High School Runner was published in June 2020 and has sold over 13,000 copies.  

I‘ve written for brands such as Nike, sites like PodiumRunner.com, and magazines including the much beloved but defunct Running Times. I’ve been quoted in several publications, including Wired, Outside, and Runner's World.  

I post videos frequently on my YouTube channel, which has over 2.9 million views. I post on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and LinkedIn. 

You can email me at info@coachjayjohnson.com if you think I can be helpful. 

I ran modest PRs of 3:49.5 (1500m) 8:20 (3k) 14:20 (5k) and 30:15 (10k) as a collegiate athlete. In cross country I was the slowest guy on some very good teams 😀. I ran 2:00, 4:25 and 9:45 in high school.