You spend lots of time in your head during an ultramarathon. Entering an aid station sometimes feels like a brief and welcome visit to civilization. Most ultras provide such comprehensive support that a runner doesn’t absolutely need a personal support crew, but it sure is nice to see a familiar face. Having crewed, paced, …
Ultrarunning is a sport built on adversity. Extreme distances, fickle weather and countless other hurdles will seemingly coordinate and conspire in the universe’s cruel attempt to throw you off of your game. Yet, we are a triumphant lot. Whether it is Killian Jornet winning the Hardrock 100 in an arm sling after dislocating his …
We’ve all been there before. You are in the last two weeks leading up to a race and just thinking about the race makes your palms sweat. Suddenly, all the weeks and months of training – countless hours on the trail – are all but forgotten. All you can see are the remaining 14 days …
My alma matter’s Code of Conduct was “Aggies do not lie, steal or cheat, nor do they tolerate those that do”. As we A&M Aggies are a cheeky lot, we would routinely add an addendum to the Code that stated: “They just exaggerate, collaborate and borrow”. Little did I know in my late teens and …
In the ultrarunning world, there are innumerable stories of athletes fitting training in around work. Run commuting, lunch runs, and standing desks seem to dominate the conversation. For many people, balancing ultramarathon training with physically demanding jobs, including construction, plumbing, and powerline work may seem infeasible. That’s not true. The sport is full of successful …
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, …
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 …