By John Fitzgerald, CTS Ultrarunning Coach The Tor des Géants is an annual 330-kilometer (205 mile) footrace held in September in Italy’s Aosta Valley. This steep and technical race features more than 24,000 meters (78,000 feet) of elevation gain. In terms of distance, duration, and elevation it’s equivalent to doing two Hardrock 100s or …
By Jason Koop, Head Coach of CTS Ultrarunning Updated 2024 If you are an ultrarunner and you’re considering two-a-days or double days for your training, you’re going to want to read this first. Training twice in one day can have its place in ultramarathon training, but the practice should be used sparingly and in …
By Andy Jones-Wilkins, CTS Ultrarunning Pro Coach Every spring, as athletes ramp up their training for long summer races, I get asked questions about the best ways to prepare. Recently, an athlete asked me, “In preparing for a 100-mile race, what is the most important training thing to do, besides just running?” That last …
By Darcie Murphy, CTS Ultrarunning Pro Coach Fartlek runs are fun, challenging, and useful for ultramarathon runners. And, of course, ‘fartlek’ is just a fun word to throw into conversation. A Scandinavian term coined in the 1930s by Swedish coach Gosta Holmer, fartlek translates to ‘speed play’ in English. And ‘playing with speed’ is …
By Darcie Murphy CTS Senior Ultrarunning Coach Increasing ultramarathon training volume or intensity is often a contributing factor for injuries. Your body has adapted to a certain workload, and increasing that workload is necessary in order to improve fitness. However, if you ramp up training too quickly or too much you are at increased …
By CTS Ultrarunning Pro Coach Darcie Murphy with exercises by Sarah Scozzaro, CTS Pro Coach, NSCA-PT, NASM PES Many ultrarunning events and races are held on courses that feature lots of elevation change. However, plenty of runners live where there is little or no access to hilly terrain. Although developing superior aerobic fitness is the …
By Andy Jones-Wilkins, CTS Ultrarunning Pro Coach, host of “Crack a Brew with AJW Podcast” I recently had the opportunity to provide race support for four athletes I coach at the Rocky Raccoon 100 in Huntsville, TX. Rocky is an early season ultra with a reputation of being one of the “easier” 100-mile …
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 Sarah Scozzaro, CTS Expert Coach, NSCA-PT, NASM PES A popular song in the early 2000’s told us that the “Hips Don’t Lie”. For runners with tight or sore hips, this takes on an entirely new – and relatable – meaning. Hip mobility stretches are an essential component to a runner or ultrarunner’s routine. …
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. …