Bio

A product of the California community college system, Coach Lander has twenty-seven years of combined high school and collegiate cross country coaching experience, including coaching at almost every level (NCAA I, NCAA II, CCCAA, High School). Some highlights include being named a Southern California Coach of the Year in 2003, the San Gabriel Valley Coach of the Year in 2010, 2011, 2013, and 2014 and the All Inland Valley Coach of the Year in 2010 and 2014.

The 2015 cross country season marked the first time since 1993 that Chaffey College had competed in cross country and coach Lander’s first season as the school’s head coach. In that inaugural season, the women’s cross country team captured the Foothill Conference championship, earning Coach Lander the Foothill Conference Coach of the Year award, and the team went on to qualify for the CCCAA State Championships.

During the five seasons that Coach Lander has led the Chaffey College cross country program, the women’s team has qualified for the CCCAA State Championships four out of five seasons, with an individual qualifying in the one year that the team did not. On the men’s side, a team or individuals from the team have qualified for the CCCAA State Championships in three out of five years.

Before coaching at Chaffey College (2004-2015), Coach Lander served as the head cross country coach at Claremont High School where he established one of the strongest cross country programs in California earning him several coach of the year honors (see above).  In addition to serving as the head coach at Claremont High School, Coach Lander served as an assistant coach at California State University, Fullerton (2001-2003), Sonoma State University (1995-1996) and Claremont High School (1993-1994) (1997-2000).

Coach Lander holds a master’s degree in Kinesiology with a 2001 thesis (A naturalistic investigation of elite distance runners’ cognitive strategies for coping with exertion pain during performance) that is referenced in a 2010 publication of Athletic Insight Journal (Volume 2, Issue 2). Coach Lander uses a scientific approach to his training, using the latest research in exercise physiology, biomechanics, and coaching pedagogy to help guide his athletes.

He lives in a log cabin in Crestline with his wife Sam and two children. He enjoys running, chess, music, reading and rooting for the Los Angeles Lakers.