Benita Willis, the 2004 world cross country champion and four-time Olympian, worked closely with Rich and his teammates Jack Redden and Zac O'Brien during their off-season.
Rich was put in touch with Willis through a mutual friend – former Australian 1500m champion Alastair Stevenson – and the pair worked together three times a week over the players' break.
The Lions' vice-captain ruptured his ACL in April, but was back into full running training months after the reconstruction.
Not wanting to stagnate during the off-season just as he was progressing, Rich gave Willis a buzz.
"I wanted to take my fitness up another notch and Benita was fantastic," Rich told AFL.com.au.
"It was about being able to run with quality runners and being able to do it at different locations with different people to keep the mind stimulated.
"I've definitely felt like my running's got a little bit better."
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Rich is a mid-packer among the Lions midfielders during the pre-season and hopes the running sessions can lift him a cog.
After travelling the world with her running career the past 15 years, Willis has begun her own coaching business after settling in Brisbane earlier this year.
She has previously taken St Kilda's pre-season altitude camps in 2012 and 2013, along with Essendon's in 2012 – all in Colorado.
Willis said although it was difficult to make big changes in a short space of time, Rich had definitely improved.
"Sometimes in these team sports, having someone else that knows what they're doing, and having different people to train with, that helps," she said.
"In my own career I got to a stage where I found some different people having a different influence and it helped me get to another level.
"Hopefully I helped them get a bit fitter. I could definitely notice improvement week to week."
Rich confident about round one return
Willis said if the opportunity arose again, she'd be keen to help out.
"I quite like working with athletes that weren't from my sport," she said.
"There are so many overlaps and they're so motivated and eager to learn about things runners do to improve their running, even though it's only a component of their game.
"They're great guys and just willing to learn."
Rich is on track to play during the pre-season and said he expected to be available for round one against Collingwood in April.
