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...
Tag: Training
Several years ago, the Coconino Cowboys took the ultrarunning world by storm. The training group, named for the county where the runners resided and trained, consisted of Jim Walmsley, Jared Hazen, Eric Senseman, Tim Fre...
Imagine you’re on the couch watching snow flurries out the window or maybe a very cold, uninviting rain. Every fiber of your being is telling you to skip your training run and wait for bett...
If a summer ultra is in your future, it’s time to start thinking about race-specific training. While it might be ideal to already have a plan and a base built, there’s still adequate time to prepare and reach your raci...
Many of you are likely deep in the throes of finding various ways to improve your ultramarathon performance. Certainly, the pages of this magazine (including the one you are currently on) are filled with all ma...
This past June, professor Guillaume Millet gathered some of his most trusted international colleagues and held an online trail running webinar divided in two parts: uphill trail running...
While summer is gone and the days are getting shorter, it’s never a bad time to think about your next ultra adventure run. After all, you are an endurance athlete. And I bet more than a few nickels tha...
I’ve worked as an online ultrarunning coach for the last eight years, and when I tell people what I do, they often make the assumption that most of my runners are in their 20s and finishing at the top of the field. Bu...
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...
Where are you going, and how are you preparing to get there? It’s a question that we ask ourselves when we throw a goal race on the calendar and establish a training plan. That’s typically how it goes, right? But what if...
We’ve all been there. You are in the last two weeks leading up to a race and just thinking about it makes your palms sweat. Suddenly, all the weeks and months of training – countless hours on the trail – are all but forg...
It’s no mystery that ultramarathons in North America are heavily skewed towards the trails. After all, there is something powerful about being out in nature, away from asphalt and concrete. However, that doesn’t mean tha...
What is heart rate variability (HRV) and does science support it as a practical measure of training adaptation?1 HRV is controlled by the autonomic branch of our nervous system (responsible for breathing, digestion, etc....
Ultrarunners inherently understand there’s a difference between the mechanics of running uphill and running downhill. When you look deeper into the biomechanics of ultrarunning, it is apparent there are really four disti...
If you’re like me, you’ll probably head out on your long run this weekend thinking something like, “Alright, I’m going to use this run to practice for my next ultra. I’ll imitate key aspects of my next event like hydrati...
If you spend any amount of time talking about ultrarunning nutrition, you are almost certain to hear the term “fat adapted.” The general idea is that a “fat adapted” athlete will be very efficient at burning fat and thus...
The stress of any given training is due to the intensity and duration of the types of running that occurs. The idea of periodization of training is that during some periods you may train at a low intensity for a long dur...
Many runners casually throw around the word “cross-training” in conversation – we talk about speed intervals, special diets, the latest gear and… cross-training – it’s like it can almost be a bragging point that someone...
As a coach I spend a large proportion of my time discussing recovery to avoid over-training and maximize adaptation from harder workouts. Historically this has been a more subjective concept, since any individual’s idea...
When you first signed up to be an ultrarunner, you know, at your local ultrarunning recruitment center at the mall, I hope you paid attention to the fine print on the contract. It said in no uncertain terms, “You are now...