Articles by Ian Sharman

Running Doubles

Runners are always looking for the extra edge that will catapult their fitness forward. This could involve the latest training tactics of elite ultrarunners, Norwegian Olympians or new tech devices, just to name a few. A...

Racing on Roads vs. trails

Over the years, I’ve noticed most runners identify as either a road or trail runner with their event choices falling into one of these two categories. I’ve always loved both and have run well over 100 marathons and ultra...

How Mentality Affects Habit

Seeing improvement in running ability takes time and consistency. Gaining endurance and skill on the trails, plus increased experience in coping with the numerous obstacles that can derail an u...

Learning from Failure

The end of the season is an ideal time to review what can be learned from the previous year. Since ultrarunning is inherently tough, it means there’s usually plenty to adjust, and there’s always some degree of failure. I...

Strengthen Your Weakest Link

Many people stick to their comfort zone in training. There’s an understandable bias toward focusing on your strengths since it’s fun and satisfying. Who doesn’t want to perform with skill and expertise in their comfort z...

Patience, Discipline & Confidence

As a coach, I’ve found three words that provide a useful, practical mantra for distance running: patience, discipline and confidence. Ultra success involves putting in the work day-by-day for a payoff that could be mo...

Improve Your Next Performance

One of the most enjoyable aspects in any pursuit is the satisfaction from learning and improving. This is a core part of ultrarunning, but it’s not easy – just think of friends who’ve had a repetitive issue ruin race aft...

Choosing Active Recovery

Most athletes are familiar with the main concept behind training where once a stress is placed on the body, the body then rebuilds and improves during a recovery period. However, there’s a lot of room for interpretation...

Always an Athlete

If you run, you’re a runner. It doesn’t matter how fast or how far. Being a runner is more a state of mind than some minimum athletic threshold. This applies if you’re injured and can’t currently run, or if you’re super...

Keeping It Simple

Running is a basic activity, even when you add in technical trails and gear. However, I see a lot of runners struggling when they add more than necessary. Technology was designed to make things...

High Altitude Training

People who’ve lived at altitude for generations, like Tibetans and Andeans, show genetic adaptations to altitude to overcome the lower barometric pressure and corresponding lower oxygen density in the air. However, th...

Be an Ultrarealist

In Matt Fitzgerald’s new book, The Comeback Quotient, he delves into the psychological side of sports performance. He articulates multiple core concepts needed for success in both training and racing, and I spend much...

Growing as a Runner

After a year of severely reduced racing opportunities, 2021 is a chance for a fresh slate. Routines have been upended, kids are schooling at home, and there’s still plenty of time before we get back to normal. Yet, th...

Focusing on Speed

It’s safe to say that the 2020 running season didn’t go as expected. However, winter is the ideal time to work on consistent speed work without the interruption of races. In some cases, it makes perfect sense to back...

Why We Need Adventure

There are many reasons why athletes take on ultras, whether it’s looking for a new challenge, different terrain or reading an inspirational book. One of the key components underlying all those reasons is the need for adv...

How Long Is a Piece of String?

In recent years, the variety of ultra races has moved beyond just distance or time. For example, the Piece of String Fun Run in the UK is an event with a concept where the length is a mystery, along the lines of the age...

Power-Hiking with a Weight Vest

Odds are that for the really long distances, like 100 miles, almost everyone will need to power-hike at some point during a race. To put it in context, each time I won the Leadville Trail 100, I typically power-hiked aro...

How Stress Affects Running

Something recently happened that made me wonder how a sharp rise in stress affects running. I almost ended up in a high-speed car crash on the way to a race start, and with the pandemic causing overwhelming stress for ma...

So Much More Than Racing

As much as we love races, I’d like to suggest another option. Why not try running an epic route that inspires you? Ideally, a trail that may not be available as a race or an adventure relating to an event that’s very dif...

Becoming An Ultrarunner For Life

I first heard about ultrarunning in 2004 when I saw a documentary about the Marathon des Sables (MdS) in the Sahara Desert. I never thought the sport would dominate my life in every way, but it turns out that many runner...