Running can be hard on an athlete’s feet and blisters can happen to novice and experienced runners. Many runners rightfully focus on their footwear and making sure they have the right traction and support. However, it is also important to consider how your feet move in the shoes, the surface you’ll be running on, and …
For years I have wanted a fantasy football-style league for trail and ultrarunning (come on, you know you want one too). It would be fun, good for the sport, akin to the annual iRunFar Western States prediction contest that draws international acclaim and fun banter all at the same time. Along these lines I’ve used …
By Jason Koop, Head Coach of CTS Ultrarunning The scene at the Twin Lakes aid station during the Leadville Trail 100 is interesting. The small town serves as the aid station at Mile 40 (outbound) and again at Mile 60 (inbound). It’s equal parts haven for tired athletes and late night rager for the crews. …
By Jason Koop, Head Coach of CTS Ultrarunning The scourge of ultramarathon injuries in training and racing is not one we are going to solve any time soon. 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 …
By Jason Koop, Head Coach of CTS Ultrarunning When I originally wrote the first edition of ‘Training Essentials for Ultrarunning’ in 2015, I wanted to create a work that could bridge a gap I perceived in the ultrarunning space. At the time, there was a gap between using anecdotal accounts to drive training and …
By Jason Koop, Head Coach of CTS Ultrarunning Every few years, a narrative emerges that some particular level of exercise is bad for long term health. Sometimes the stories focus on the amount total volume, or the peak of intensity, or some combination thereof. And when those narratives come around, the collective athletic community takes …
By Jason Koop, Head Coach of CTS Ultrarunning It seems like for the last several years, female athletes have been told to tailor their training, nutrition and even the way they recover towards their menstrual cycle. Apps like Wild AI and books like ROAR have done quite well in the commercial space, leading to specialty …
By Jason Koop, Head Coach of CTS Ultrarunning For what seems like an eternity now, we’ve been warned about the potential for age to detrimentally affect muscle mass retention. Recommendations aimed at older athletes have become so ubiquitous you could go across any of the major endurance media outlets, from Runner’s World to Ultrarunning Magazine …
By Jason Koop, Head Coach of CTS Ultrarunning Every year come January and February, I see a lot of new ultrarunners start up with CTS coaches. They come from all walks of life and experience levels, from beginners to seasoned veterans. Some come in levelheaded, ready to tackle the season and their upcoming goals. Most, …
By Jason Koop, Head Coach of CTS Ultrarunning I know what you are thinking. It seems strange to be posting a heat adaptation article in September. Many hot weather races like the Badwater 135 and Western States 100 have come and gone. And, outside of anomalies like January’s HURT 100, there are few hot …