CTS Ultrarunning Podcast

How Fast Do You Lose Fitness? The Science of Detraining

Five Decisions For A Strong Ultra

How To Train For Ultrarunning After Dark

The Science of Stress, Recovery & Adaptation

The principle of stress and recovery, or overload and adaptation, serves as the fundamental physiological mechanism behind all effective athletic training. By applying controlled stress, the body undergoes a disruption that, when followed by adequate recovery, triggers supercompensation—a state where the body adapts to...

Running vs. Hiking: The Science of Pacing Steep Climbs

The decision to transition from running to hiking in ultrarunning relies on a complex interplay of physiology and mechanics rather than a universal grade percentage. While common advice suggests a fixed cutoff—often around 10%—research confirms that no such number applies to every athlete or course. Instead, the optima...

Evidence-Based Training, Pseudoscience & the Search for an Edge

The 10% Rule Reframed

The "10% rule" for increasing weekly running volume lacks scientific validation, as research shows no correlation between weekly percentage increases and injury rates. Instead, the primary injury predictor is a single session exceeding the previous month’s longest run by more than 10%. Physiological systems adapt at va...

How to Actually Use HRV to Guide Your Training

Heart Rate Variability (HRV) serves as a nuanced tool for monitoring physiological adaptation rather than a simple indicator of daily readiness. Relying on a "high is good, low is bad" framework leads to poor training decisions, as HRV naturally declines during intense training blocks as the body accumulates fatigue. E...

The 50K Training Hierarchy

Training for a first 50K requires prioritizing essential elements over secondary optimizations and marketing-driven trends. Success hinges on a hierarchy where the "basics"—training availability, consistent volume, event-specific preparation, load management, and fueling execution—determine race-day outcomes. While ref...

Why Downhills Wreck Ultrarunners And How To Train For It

Downhill running represents a mechanical durability challenge rather than an aerobic one, as it relies on eccentric muscle contractions that differ fundamentally from the concentric work used in flat or uphill running. Gravity-driven acceleration forces quadriceps to act as brakes, causing cellular microtrauma that oft...

Optimize Volume For Ultra Success

Ultrarunning performance relies on maximizing aerobic durability, which makes high-volume training the most specific and effective preparation for long-distance events. Many athletes mistakenly prioritize speed work to feel "sharp," but this chases a 5k-style fitness that fails to meet the physiological demands of a 10...

Carbs, Fluid & Sodium: Building Your Ultrarunning Fueling Plan

Elite endurance performance relies on individualized fueling strategies that evolve through data-driven testing and real-time adjustments. Sports scientist Emily Arrell emphasizes that athletes should prioritize measuring sweat sodium concentration and sweat rates to create precise hydration plans rather than blindly m...

Race High When You Live Low

The Gym Should Build What Running Cannot

Strength training for ultrarunners serves as a vital, complementary tool to build maximum strength and power—qualities that running itself cannot develop. Rather than mimicking running through high-repetition fatigue circuits, which often function as ineffective cardio, runners should follow a structured progression: s...

Why Heart Rate And Pace Fail On Trails

How to Build the Perfect Taper

Effective tapering for ultramarathons requires a strategic reduction in training volume while maintaining intensity and frequency to ensure peak performance on race day. A three-week taper is recommended for 100-mile races, while a two-week period suffices for 50k or 50-mile distances, utilizing a fast-decay exponentia...

How Science-Based Tapering Unlocks Race-Day Performance

Tapering serves as a vital strategy to dissipate accumulated fatigue while preserving hard-earned fitness before a race. Contrary to common fears, reducing training load does not cause detraining, provided intensity types and frequency remain consistent. Research supports a "fast decay" exponential model, where volume ...

Elite Coaching Without The Secret Sauce

The Minimum Maximum Training Plan For Your First 100-Miler

Ultrarunning training does not require a linear increase in volume relative to race distance, debunking the myth that a 100-miler necessitates double the commitment of a 50-miler. Success hinges on the "Minimum-Maximum" framework, which establishes a necessary training floor during peak weeks: six hours weekly for thre...

Most Recovery Methods Are a Waste of Money

Recovery methods in endurance sports are often driven by marketing rather than scientific evidence, leading athletes to prioritize expensive, ineffective interventions over fundamental performance drivers. Sleep, nutrition, hydration, and training load management constitute the "S-tier" of recovery, serving as non-nego...