By Darcie Murphy, CTS Ultrarunning Senior Coach As you begin race day planning for ultrarunning events, you must consider aid station strategies. Where are the aid stations located? How can you best utilize them to manage the course and the race most effectively? CTS Coaches support athletes – from champions like Katie Schide to …
By Andy Jones-Wilkins, CTS Ultrarunning Pro Coach When I was coming of age in ultrarunning in the 1990s, I was fortunate to have very good mentors. Four, in particular – John Medinger, Tim Twietmeyer, Ann Trason, and Tommy Nielsen — all took me under their collective wings and fed me with knowledge and wisdom. …
By Sarah Scozzaro, CTS Ultrarunning Pro Coach In my nearly 20 years of coaching, including more than a decade coaching ultramarathon runners, I have evolved as a professional. There are many ways to work as a coach, and I’ve made certain decisions to align my practice with my values and my approach to athlete …
By Darcie Murphy, CTS Ultrarunning Pro Coach Here’s my unpopular response to the “New Year, New You” voices: It’s okay to not be a goal-setter. If you have been living under a boulder, then maybe you’re unaware we’re expected to have goals for the New Year. And not just for athletic objectives, but also …
This past week I completed my 45th trip around the sun. As usual, I ran my age in miles, which becomes more of an ordeal with each passing year. It also gives me a lot of time to think about what categorically has worked with athletes over 2-plus decades as a professional coach. Below are …
By CTS Coaching Staff A great physical therapist can be an important part of an athlete’s support network, not only because they can help you return to training and competition following a serious injury, but perhaps more importantly because they can help keep small issues from becoming serious injuries in the first place! We …
“How many ultras should I run?” is one of the first questions ultramarathon runners ask when planning a new season. There are several considerations, including physiology, necessary recovery time between races, lifestyle stress, and financial and travel challenges. On top of that, there’s psychology: Why are you racing, why these particular events, and what …
By Jason Koop, Head Coach of CTS Ultrarunning “Where did all my fitness go?” When athletes invariably ask that question in January, our coaches and I typically point people back to the drop off in training hours they completed between September and December. It’s really a shame to see athletes let so much of …
By Darcie Murphy, CTS Ultrarunning Pro Coach Fall is a transition season for many athletes. The hot, hurried and event-filled summer has wound down, ushering in the quiet, darker months of fall and winter. Autumn is a great time to enjoy and address many aspects of trail and ultrarunning, from testing new gear and …
As many athletes wrap up their competitive seasons, there’s a tremendous opportunity to comb through the year’s achievements and shortcomings. It’s an opportunity that shouldn’t be missed. Each fall I set aside time for comprehensive season reviews with my athletes. This guided reflection process creates an historical reference, and it’s a key tool for really …