Last weekend’s Black Canyon Ultras was a great start to the 2026 ultramarathon season for CTS Athletes and Coaches. More than 40 CTS Athletes competed and several CTS Coaches made the trip to Arizona to provide race-weekend coaching. Overall, five CTS Athletes finished in the top 10 in the women’s 100K, led by Jennifer Lichter …
Oh, how trail runners love and loathe running uphill. Deviations from the horizontal plane elicit agony and euphoria all at the same time. Agony from the heart pumping, legs screaming feeling of increased effort; and euphoria from the accomplishment of reaching the summit. I prescribe intervals to be done uphill roughly 80% of the …
Many runners would like to lose a few pounds. Whether they need to, would benefit from, or should lose weight is another question. Generally, I prefer to focus on fitness and adequate nutritional support for training and let body weight adapt naturally. However, some athletes still want to proactively manage body weight because being lighter …
The ability to explore epic routes is one of the biggest benefits to being a trail and ultrarunner, and completing a Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim (R2R2R) route in the Grand Canyon is a bucket-list achievement for many runners and hikers. There is no organized event or race to sign up for, meaning it’s a self-supported adventure and you’re …
The holiday season is upon us! Whether that conjures panic or glee, or perhaps a combination, the holiday season will probably affect your training, too. How can you keep training through the holidays effectively while also handling the social engagements and holiday shopping? The keys are keeping expectations realistic, staying patient, maintaining a sense of …
As a CTS Ultrarunning Coach and Certified Mental Performance Consultant® (CMPC) through the Association for Applied Sport Psychology, my own races are opportunities to “walk the walk” when it comes to mental performance strategies. A few weeks ago, a mysterious problem with my calves during the Javelina Jundred challenged my desire to persevere and I …
Epic 200-mile ultramarathons are growing in popularity, even if the absolute number of competitors is still relatively low. I love really long races and I’m pretty good at them. I won the 2025 Arizona Monster, a 300-mile ultra that took me 105 hours. Before that I was the 10th Female Finisher in the 2024 Cocodona …
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 …