By Jason Koop, CTS Head Ultrarunning Coach, Author of “Training Essentials for Ultrarunning” For many athletes, tapering for ultrarunning can be a double-edged sword. On the one hand runners are happy about the reduced training load. On the other, they are sometimes anxious or distressed by the reduction in training volume. Athletes have two …
By Jason Koop, Head Coach of CTS Ultrarunning, Author of “Training Essentials for Ultrarunning, 2nd Ed” Part 1: Inside the High-Performance Team Now that the dust has settled after the 2024 Western States Endurance Run (WSER), I’ve been humbled by the outpouring of congratulations and gratitude from friends, family, colleagues, and of course, athletes. …
By Cliff Pittman CTS Coaching Development Director with CTS Coach Jim Rutberg We named the planning folder for our biggest ultramarathon race support operation to date “CTS Storms States”. I haven’t experienced anything like it since my Army days as Team Leader for B-1-142nd in Iraq in 2005-2006. It had hallmarks of a …
(Colorado Springs, CO – June 30, 2024) – Katie Schide (USA), Fuzhao Xiang (CHN), and Eszter Csillag (HUN) finished first, second, and third, respectively, at the 2024 Western States Endurance Run. All three athletes are coached by Jason Koop, Head Coach of CTS Ultrarunning, who integrated a network of registered dietitians, strength training …
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 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 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 “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 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 …
By Darcie Murphy, CTS Ultrarunning Pro Coach Ultrarunning continues to grow and we’re welcoming many new athletes to 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 …