I’ve seen several cases of people racing without eating, and drinking only water. Is there a benefit? – MichaelIsran47Like alchemists in search of the Philosopher’s Stone or Sir Lancelot in his quest for the Holy Grail,...
Articles by Nick Tiller, PhD
My question is a difficult one to answer, but it centers around being able to discern when you are injured or when it’s just a niggle and your mind is playing tricks. My calf is a perfect example. – @timgavanWatch boxing...
Take a deep breath. The air you just inhaled took only a few seconds to travel from your nose to your lungs in a system of tubes so extensive that, if you lay them end to end, it would stretch from New York to Miami. The...
Should I be eating protein when racing long? What are the pros and cons? – Ferno G.Milo of Croton was an Olympic wrestler born in the 6th century BC (no prizes for guessing where). Standing nearly 7 feet tall, he was a g...
The sun had stolen below the horizon, leaving dozens of weary warriors to continue their race bathed in artificial light. I’d watched from the margins as the energy and enthusiasm they’d exhibited at the start had slowly...
How much flexibility do runners need for good body mechanics and running economy? – @fenixfeet The Olympic Summer Games are in the rearview mirror, and what a spectacle they were. Among the astonishing feats of spor...
I recently became pregnant and would like to know if I can continue training and racing. What’s the best approach? –Ana Until the early 1900s, pregnancy was a risky business. There was a basic lack of unders...
The marathon is a physiologist’s dream. Because if you put muscle cramps, toilet stops and other anomalies aside, it’s a predictable event. With just a few lab-based measures—maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), lactate thres...
What would you recommend for the female master’s athlete (55+ years), for longevity in the sport? - @carolyndavis_2 Training and recovery become harder with every revolution of the body’s mileage counter. Still, for t...
Women made up 52% of the entrants at the Baker Ultra 50-mile last year Phil Light | Rachel Carson Trails Conservancy Before the female ultrarunning superstars of today had muddied their sneakers on the...
How low is too low for resting heart rate?" -@ultrarunnertom via email Doctors plying their trade in ancient Egypt could feel the body’s pulse “speaking out of every limb.” (1) They knew that pulse rate had s...
I like to race quite often, maybe 6-8 times a year. How much is too much? - Katie Greene I have a friend David who’s been smoking since his early 20s (he’s now in his late 30s and, no, he’s not an ultrarunner). He’s a...
After returning from the inaugural UESCA Ultrarunning Coaching Conference in Colorado Springs, I felt inspired by the rolling trails and sandstone monoliths, the knowledge and experience of my co-presenters and the passi...
I had an unorthodox but interesting mix of questions this month, so I’ll start by indulging one reader’s request for speculation on the one factor most predictive of ultrarunning performance. I then will give some pointe...
If you could get runners to do one strength/conditioning routine what would it be? @moorendurance With two competing goals in ultrarunning and weightlifting, how would you optimize we...