Mental fatigue is an expected component of ultramarathon running, but there are strategies athletes and support crews can use to lessen the negative effects of a tired brain. What Mental Fatigue Looks Like in Ultramarathons We’ve all seen the scene play out. A runner’s crew enters an aid station with enough gear to supply a …
Of all the successes North American cyclists have earned at the Tour de France, only one US rider has ever won the final road stage on the Champs Elysees. Yes, Greg LeMond famously won an individual time trial that finished on the Champs to win the 1989 Tour by eight seconds over Laurent Fignon, but …
How do you follow up a 2024 season highlighted by victories at Western States Endurance Run (in the second-fastest female time on record) and Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc? For Katie Schide, it was to win the 2025 Hardrock 100 in her debut appearance and break the counterclockwise and overall female course records! Hardrock …
Fuzhao Xiang has a strong chance of becoming the first Chinese athlete to win one of ultrarunning’s most prestigious races: Western States (WSER) or Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB). Her stellar performance at the 2024 WSER was the third-fastest female finish (16:20:03) in history. Athletes endured a hotter race day in 2025, …
All athletes must persist through a series of highs and lows, great performances and serious setbacks. Abby Hall’s journey from a 28-hour first finish at the 2019 Leadville 100 to winning the 2025 Western States Endurance Run in the fourth fastest female finishing time (16:37:16) was anything but linear. Abby Hall’s Troubled Journey to …
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, …
Building upon the success CTS Athletes achieved in the 2024 Western States Endurance Run, including a podium sweep in the women’s race with Katie Schide, Fuzhao Xiang, and Eszter Csillag, CTS is once again heading to WSER to support nearly two dozen athletes in 2025. With fewer than two weeks to go before the …
A lot of the ways athletes train have little to no basis in sports science. They are traditions rather than evidence-based practices. Most are harmless, like a 7-day training cycle or Sunday long runs, but there are a few run training traditions that you should do away with. I’ve been coaching trail and ultramarathon …
Technology continues to profoundly impact training methods across the spectrum of endurance sports. However, a stubbornly low-tech assessment of effort and exercise intensity stands the test of time. Rating of perceived exertion (RPE) is about as simple as it gets: “On a scale of X to Y, where X is as easy as possible …
Trail running poles are increasingly popular in ultramarathon events. Once largely confined to European races, ultrarunning-specific trekking poles are common in nearly every mountainous ultra in the United States. Advancements in materials and construction have helped to make trail running poles lighter and easier to carry and stow. Used correctly, they can aid propulsion, …