Ultrarunning continues to grow and many new ultrarunners enter their first events each year. If that’s you, we’re glad you’re here! New ultrarunners making the transition from marathons or from sports like triathlon or cycling sometimes struggle to establish reasonable objectives for their first ultramarathon season. What are reasonable achievements to shoot for in year …
Ultrarunning is highly dynamic, but one of the best types of exercise for ultrarunners is almost entirely static. Isometric strength exercises create great tension in muscles and tendons while joint angles and muscle lengths remain unchanged. Well, almost unchanged. More on that later. Some of the reasons isometric strength training can be hugely beneficial …
There is nothing more powerful in endurance sports than accumulated training time. You can be a better trail and ultra runner next season because the season that just ended is in your training bank. Whether you are new to the sport or aiming to finish events within the time limit, win your age group, or …
Hip mobility should be a priority for all runners because tight hips rob you of performance and may increase injury risk. Developing and maintaining hip mobility is a central pillar of healthy, efficient, and sustainable running. By addressing restrictions, reinforcing mobility through strength, and consistently integrating mobility stretches and exercises into training, runners can build …
“When should I start training for an ultramarathon?” We get two versions of this question. Runners looking to tackle their first ultra ask, “How long will it take to be prepared for my first ultramarathon?” Then there are athletes who have attempted one or more ultras and struggled. Soon after a DNF or disappointing …
How much should you run each week? The appropriate run training volume is a fundamental question every athlete asks at some point. Should you run as many hours as you have available? Should you limit your running hours or miles based on the demands of your goal event? Is there a running test or data …
Jason Koop is Head Coach of CTS Ultrarunning and author of “Training Essentials for Ultrarunning“ Many runners injure themselves because they seek to increase performance by simply training more. Up to a certain point, a reasonable increase in overall workload (i.e., time on feet, elevation gain, strides, strength training or really anything) usually results in some …
Beta-alanine is a workout supplement that promises to reduce fatigue and increase exercise capacity. It is very popular with athletes who engage in short bouts of intense exercise (e.g., Crossfit, strength training, sprinting) but not as commonly used by endurance athlete, especially ultraendurance athletes. Would supplementing with beta-alanine improve trail and ultrarunning performance? The short …
Forty CTS Athletes are gathering in the Chamonix for the 2025 Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB) races, including the winner and runner up from the elite women’s Western States: Abby Hall and Fuzhao Xiang. I have attended UTMB multiple times to support athletes and it’s always a highlight of my year. As in previous years, …
Running injuries in ultramarathon training and racing are not going away. That’s a sobering fact, but the numbers don’t lie. On the training side, up to 70% of runners will become injured every year and lose at least one day of training. Racing is just as injurious. For every 1000 hours of ultramarathon racing, there …