By Mara Abbott, Olympian and CTS Contributing Editor I waited two years for an interval workout. To be fair, those years were full: retiring from one sport, attempting to start a new one, injuring myself, and most of all, working on the perennial challenge of developing a mindset in which it didn’t matter if I …
A good ultramarathon pacer can be a real asset, but a bad pacer can be a pain in the… So, after asking all of our coaches for their feedback, here are the top-8 things good pacers do (and don’t do). Do: Take care of yourself If you are an ultramarathon pacer at a big event …
By Jason Koop CTS Ultrarunning Coach Author, “Training Essentials for Ultrarunning” I have a long history with Leadville. I actually rode the Leadville Trail 100 mountain bike race before I ever considered doing the run. I first ran the Leadville Trail 100 in 2008, finishing 13th overall in 22:37:08. I carried an engagement ring for …
By Adam St. Pierre CTS Ultrarunning Coach I don’t run with headphones… ever. No music, no podcasts, no audiobooks. I like to have all of my senses “tuned in”, especially my hearing. Listening to the sound of your own running can help you to remain injury free, and here’s how! When you run, you can …
By Jason Koop CTS Coaching Director Author “Training Essentials for Ultrarunning” The use of poles in ultramarathons has become increasingly popular. Once largely confined to European races, ultrarunning-specific trekking poles can now be seen in nearly every mountainous ultra in the United States. Advancements in materials and construction have helped to make poles lighter and …
At some point during the process of coaching an ultramarathon runner, the subject of weight vests invariably comes up. More generally, the question is whether adding external resistance is beneficial for improving ultramarathon performance. Natural Resistance Running up and down hills is the most common and sport-specific way runners add resistance and build leg …
By Jason Koop, CTS Coaching Director Author “Training Essentials for Ultrarunning” During an interview at Wimbledon, tennis champion Serena Williams was asked what it was like to have athletes up their game in order to play her. Her answer is not only an insight into what has made her the dominant player of her …
By Darcie Murphy, CTS Ultrarunning Coach We’re told that the statistical chance of being struck by lightning is low. According to National Geographic in any one year your chance of being struck is about 1 in 700,000, and over a lifetime it’s 1 in 3,000. Still, if you’ve been caught unexpectedly by this powerful force …
By Adam St. Pierre CTS Ultrarunning Coach “Make sure you stretch before you run.” “Never stretch before you run, but always stretch after.” “Do some dynamic stretching before you run, and static stretch after you run, but never ballistic stretching.” There are a lot of ideas about stretching floating around the endurance running ether… let’s …
By Adam St. Pierre, CTS Ultrarunning Coach Ultrarunning is often thought of as an older athlete’s game. Often, there are considerably more athletes in the 40+ age groups than the younger age groups, primarily because that’s the population more interested in running ultramarathons. But as parents run longer distances and inspire their children and …