No Excuses Running HC Chris Egger focuses on a runner’s confidence
WILMINGTON, N.C. — Chris Egger is the Founder and Head Coach of No Excuses Running, a running program for three levels: middle school, high school, and college. Chris has been coaching for 27 years as a NCAA Division I, II, and private coach.
According to Chris, “No Excuses is not just another running group, and 100% of the kids who come into the program go on to college with 90% receiving athletic scholarships for running. These young people did not come into the program thinking about running in college, but as they progressed their dreams got bigger, and as the coach it was my job to help fulfill their dreams. I’ve called college coaches, sent letters, emails, texts etc. – anything I can do to keep their dreams moving forward.”
As a high school runner, Chris was ranked #4 in the U.S. for 10,000m and #5 for the 3200m, Penn Relays 1500m Runner-up, Empire State (NY) Games 1500m Champion, and 10,000m Runner-up, All American, All East and All State performer multiple times. As a collegiate athlete, he was All Big East Conference in (Mile, 5000m, 3000m Steeplechase, 10,000m, and Cross Country) plus a Metropolitan Conference Champion. As a collegiate coach, he has mentored the #1 4x800m relay in the U.S., Penn Relays Champions, Big East Champions, IC4A Champions, Olympic Trials Qualifiers, and NCAA All Americans. At the high school level locally, he has mentored four North Carolina 4A East Championship performances plus numerous conference and county champions and Star News Runners of the Year recipient.
We asked about the training keys to success, and Chris said, “We have incorporated what I call a secret sauce that is introduced at the very end of the season. Not to give up the ingredients, but it is a series of workouts introduced in championship season (October) designed to bring the pack together (group of runners), and let the session build to increase a runner’s confidence and teach them to stay relaxed and focused. Each week we increase the session or decrease to secure the athletes’ confidence, allowing them to perform at their best on race day. The results have been staggering, and 20-30 second drops in performance are very common.”
The most memorable success was the NC 4A East Region Cross Country Championships in January in a mud bath in Wilmington. The Hoggard Boys (top 8 were all NX Boys) won the first ever championship for a local boys’ team and defeated the powerhouses from Raleigh by a tiebreaker.
When we asked about encouraging the team after a loss, Chris shared, “The most important thing a coach can do is preserve the athlete’s confidence, and this is even more important after suffering a defeat or poor performance. Traditionally, I’ll own the performance by putting the emphasis on what I as coach could’ve done better from a workout/training perspective. The second thing we do is not dwell on it; you cannot change what has already happened, but you can change what will happen in the future. Every dream starts somewhere, and there will be bumps in the road…but a bad race does not alter our pursuit of the goal.”
Chris shared his biggest life lesson from coaching. “Whether you are a coach, teacher, parent, or mentor, the life goal should always be to pay it forward. Take what you have learned, something you are passionate about and pass that knowledge forward. We have the ability to take a small idea with a young person and help mold it into a dream. Let them know anything is possible and always preserve their confidence. I just want every kid to have that moment where they did something they never thought was possible…to know what it feels like to shine, and then I want them to remember that feeling and pass it on to the next generation.”
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