By Jim Rutberg, CTS Pro Coach, co-author of “The Time-Crunched Cyclist”, “Training Essentials for Ultrarunning” On long climbs riders can be divided into three categories: Aggressors, Followers, and Survivors. The category you fit into depends on your goals, fitness level, and how you’re feeling on a particular climb. Any rider can move from one category to …
By Andy Jones-Wilkins, CTS Ultrarunning Coach, 10-time Western States Finisher Anyone who has been running ultras for a while has, at one time or another, had to fight off the urge to quit. It is simply an inevitable fact of life that for most normal humans, after about 8 hours of running, hiking, crawling, …
by Adam Pulford, CTS Premier Coach, Host of “The Time-Crunched Cyclist Podcast” with Jim Rutberg Creating interval workouts with the appropriate amount of time-at-intensity and recovery between efforts is an essential skill for any athlete or coach designing training plans. Individual workouts are the small building blocks that build upon one another to create …
By CTS Coaches Jim Rutberg, with information from 10-time Western States Finisher and CTS Ultrarunning Coach Andy Jones-Wilkins Developing fitness is just one component of preparing athletes for the iconic Western States Endurance Run (WSER). Every ultramarathon has unique challenges, course features, weather concerns, and logistical complications. In addition to working with WSER Champions, …
By Jim Rutberg, CTS Pro Coach, co-author of “The Time-Crunched Cyclist”, “Training Essentials for Ultrarunning” Several months ago you signed up for a big summer event, with plenty of time to train for it. Now that long awaited event is only weeks away, you’ve realized you’re not ride ready and you’re hitting the panic button. Before …
By Jason Koop, Head Coach of CTS Ultrarunning With what looks to be a very hot edition of the Western States race coming up in just a few weeks, this is a good opportunity to review heat acclimation protocols. It is a little bit late in the game to start the “Repeated Exposure” protocol …
By Jim Rutberg, CTS Pro Coach, co-author of “The Time-Crunched Cyclist”, “Training Essentials for Ultrarunning” Time-Crunched Cyclists often struggle to carve enough time out of their schedules to complete individual long rides. To accumulate more overall training time, many ask whether they can ride twice in a day instead of once. This may mean they can …
By Jim Rutberg, CTS Pro Coach, Co-author “Training Essentials for Ultrarunning” With more than 20 athletes scheduled to compete in the 2024 Western States Endurance Run (WSER), CTS decided to mount our most ambitious race-support plan to date. The challenge of running 100 miles from Olympic Valley to the Placer High School track in …
By Jim Rutberg, CTS Pro Coach, co-author of “The Time-Crunched Cyclist”, “Training Essentials for Ultrarunning” Whether you’re riding for one hour on the road or 12 hours in the woods, it is important to know what to take on endurance rides and epic cycling adventures. There are a small number of essentials you should carry …
By Darcie Murphy, CTS Ultrarunning Pro Coach Ultrarunning combines a multiple skills and abilities, from knowing how to handle yourself in the elements in remote areas, to understanding how to fuel your body for many hours or days while in motion. Typically, ultrarunning includes substantial climbs and descents and a lot of cumulative elevation …