As the sport of ultrarunning continues to grow, we’re welcoming quite a few new runners to ultradistance events each year. If that’s you, glad you’re here! Establishing reasonable objectives for your first ultramarathon season is a challenge we hear from many runners making the transition from marathon distance or from sports like triathlon or cycling. …
By Jason Koop Head Coach of CTS Ultrarunning Author “Training Essentials for Ultrarunning” I hate to see athletes waste their time and energy, but it happens every day due to some fundamental misunderstandings of how interval training works. The structure of your workout matters. The amount of time you spend at a specific intensity, …
Old man winter is here, meaning it’s time for colds, flu, and generic ‘bugs’ to knock athletes down. Days off come from illness, injury, or one of life’s myriad of curveballs. Regardless, at some point you will miss a meticulously thought out training day. Most missed training sessions can be chalked up in the ‘no …
By Darcie Murphy, CTS Ultrarunning Senior Coach In the early 2000s, Barb Lindquist was one of the best triathletes in the world. As a pro she won 33 of the 134 races she started (25%), was on the podium 86 times, and was the #1 ranked triathlete from 2003-2004. She finished 9th in the 2004 …
Virtually no one’s schedule magically gets less busy during the holiday season. Generally it’s the opposite and we must squeeze even more into an already demanding schedule. But we also want to reach the New Year with a training regimen and some fitness still intact. So, how do we approach this balancing act? Here are …
Although I have enjoyed a quarter century of long-distance trail and ultrarunning, I actually had my first exposure to endurance sports on a bike. In the early ‘90s my wife Shelly and I spent our summers traveling the country by bicycle. Then, between 1994 and 1996 we traveled the world by bike, covering 19,000 miles …
Back pain is a common complaint among all adults. Although active individuals (including runners) are less likely to experience lower back pain than the sedentary population, plenty of athletes and runners suffer from low back pain on a regular basis. Some of the causes relate to our activities of daily living (or lack thereof), but …
When I first met my wife she was training for her very first half marathon. Like many before her and countless since, she had picked up a book from preeminent marathoner and author Jeff Galloway and organized her training around programs in the book. Galloway’s methods center around two principles: weekly progressive overload and a …
For many runners, the season is wrapping up and athletes are starting to look forward to the next year and new adventures, challenges, and goals. As you take stock of the season and look ahead to what is next, you may wonder if strength training is for you and how to incorporate it into your …
Although ultramarathons are, by definition, very long events compared to traditional running events, athletes rarely extend their long-range training plans accordingly. Instead of considering one year for long-range planning purposes, ultrarunners are better off working from a 3-year plan. There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ long range plan. However, athletes with a multi-year vision are often more …