Home > Training

A week of off-season training with Trevor Hofbauer

How the Canadian champion transitions from goal race to a new season

The fall racing season has come to a close, and now we’re entering the off-season. As runners come back from their much-needed down time, it can be confusing as to what kind of training you should be doing and how often you should be doing it.

Trevor Hofbauer wins 2019 Canadian Marathon Championships. Photo: Maxine Gravina

RELATED: Why Trevor Hofbauer races without a watch

Trevor Hofbauer was the 2019 Canadian Marathon Champion, and he says that returning to training after his season is all about keeping it relaxed. “I want the beginning of a new season to be as easy as possible. I don’t want to get carried away, I don’t want to feel too invested.”

Time off–two weeks

The first thing Hofbauer does after a marathon is take two weeks off, and when he says off, he means it. “I don’t even stretch. I like to take two weeks to get away from the sport, to totally detach and take my mind off running.”

Easing back into it–four weeks

From there, Hofbauer will ease back into running for four weeks. His first week back he’ll get into some easy mileage, which includes four days of running anywhere between 30 to 60 minutes. From there, he’ll progress to six days of running a week, and slowly increase the mileage.

He always does a month of running before getting into any workouts. And while he’s doing his four weeks of running, he’s also going to the gym twice a week. There, he does an activation circuit known to Speed River members (his former club) as “the dance.” Then he’ll move on to some core and exercises with free weights. “I get made fun of for doing my warmup routine, the dance, in the gym–it really does look a little silly. Then I get into deadlifts, squats, free weight bench press, one handed rows and bicep curls. All I’m trying to do is make my stride more efficient, so everything I do in the gym mimics running form.”

Trevor Hofbauer winning 2019 Canadian Olympic Marathon Trials. Photo: Maxine Gravina

RELATED: Trevor Hofbauer runs Olympic standard, wins Canadian Marathon Championships

Where he’s going from here

Hofbauer is on week five of his six-week return-to-workout program. This winter he’s planning a stint at altitude in Arizona with several Canadians. While in Arizona, he’s going to run a couple of half-marathons for fun. “They’ll be in the middle of high-mileage weeks, so they’ll be workouts,” he says. “I’ve put in applications at Rock n Roll Arizona and the Phoenix Half-Marathon.”

Trevor Hofbauer
Photo: Matt Stetson

When asked about taking a real run at the Canadian half-marathon record, he says it’s on his mind. “I’ve contacted Athletics Canada to see if they’d consider putting Dayna [Pidhoresky] and myself on the World Half-Marathon Championship team. If they do put us on that team, I’d take a stab at the record there. If not, I’ll do the New York Half-Marathon two weeks earlier.” The half-marathon championships run in Poland this March.

Unfortunately, the NY Half isn’t record-eligible (as it’s a point-to-point race), but Hofbauer seems alright with that. He’s looking to keep his racing season almost as relaxed as his off-season as he builds toward his first Olympic Games.

Check out the latest buyer's guide:

The best trainers in Canada under $150

We curated the best performance trainers under $150 to meet your 2024 running goals, while staying on budget