By Jason Koop Head Coach of CTS Ultrarunning If I did not despise our culture of finding the latest and greatest ‘hack’ to improve performance, the title of this article could very well be ‘8 Hacks for the Ultimate Ultramarathon Performance’. Fortunately, I have more sense than that. The fact of the matter is that …
By Jason Koop, Head Coach of CTS Ultrarunning In a recent post I talked about the unique nutritional challenges ultramarathon runners face because of the length of the event, distance between aid stations, changes in the environmental conditions, fatigue leading to poor decision making, and food or flavor fatigue. I have spent so much time …
By Jason Koop, Head Coach of CTS Ultrarunning One of the things I love about coaching ultramarathon athletes is adapting the standard recommendations and best practices from the coaching industry into an ultra-specific context. All too often, the recommendations we see aren’t geared for us. They are geared for the weekend 5k crowd, the gym …
By Jason Koop Head Coach of CTS Ultrarunning When I first met my wife, Liz, she was training for the Durango Half, her first half-marathon. Like many before her and since, she had picked up one of Jeff Galloway’s books on running. She had dutifully started her training with a single mile, then two, …
By Jason Koop, Head Coach of CTS Ultrarunning My alma matter’s Code of Conduct was “Aggies do not lie, steal or cheat, nor do they tolerate those that do”. As we A&M Aggies are a cheeky lot, we would routinely add an addendum to the Code that stated: “They just exaggerate, collaborate and borrow”. Little …
By Jason Koop CTS Coaching Director Author “Training Essentials for Ultrarunning” I hate to see athletes waste their time and energy, but it happens every day due to some fundamental misunderstandings of how interval training works. The structure of your workout matters. The amount of time you spend at a specific intensity, both in …
By Jason Koop CTS Coaching Director Author “Training Essentials for Ultrarunning” All athletes would be well served to take at least a four-year view of their training and goals. Sure, athletes will have goals and events within the coming 12, 9 or 6 months, and it is necessary to get ready for those events. …
By Jason Koop, CTS Coaching Director Author, “Training Essentials for Ultrarunning” This is an exciting time in ultramarathon running. Sports have periods of rapid change and progress, and then there are periods when performances, events, and technologies seem to plateau. With the influx of sponsor money, the professionalization of race organizations, and the continued …
By Jason Koop, CTS Coaching Director, Author “Training Essentials for Ultrarunning” Late last year, I was honored to be selected as one of the voters for Ultrarunning Magazine’s Ultrarunner of the Year. I felt as if I were invited into a special club, complete with a velvet rope (experience in the sport) and bouncer (Tropical …
By Jason Koop, CTS Coach Author of “Training Essentials for Ultrarunning” For many ultramarathon runners, the event season is done and lottery season has started. Buckles were earned and many gels consumed during the course of your endeavors. Even after a healthy amount of rest you have great fitness from months of spring and …