CTS: If It (Or You, For That Matter) Ain't Broke Don't Fix It

(Uninjured) Heel-Strikers, Rejoice! Change to Forefoot Striking Not Necessary, Research Shows
Jason Koop, Head Coach of CTS Ultrarunning/December 17 2019

For far too long, heel strikers have been ridiculed, mocked and laughed at in running communities around the globe. It’s time for that to stop. We’ve heard it all before. The rationales for a forefoot strike go something like this:

“Our Paleolithic ancestors inevitably ran on their forefoot because they didn’t have shoes. They couldn’t heel strike because it’s too painful.”

They also lived to the ripe age of 40 and usually died because they were simply left behind by their hunter and gather pack. So, there’s that.

“We were ‘Born to Run’ on our forefoot, just look at the Tarahumara.”

The Tarahumara are awesome, but do you really want to run with old tires attached with leather straps on your feet...?

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Runner's World: From Sickness to Grand Slam

Once Drained by Multiple Sclerosis, She Is Now Headed for the Grand Slam of Ultras

Melissa Ossanna’s doctors told her exercise could help. So she started with a marathon—and has never looked back.

Taylor Dutch/Runner's World, Feb 17, 2019

Melissa Ossanna has a nickname among her community in Bar Harbor. To her friends on the island off the coast of Maine, the ultrarunner is affectionately known as “Smiley,” because when she logs miles around the town, she smiles from ear to ear.

Even at the finish line of a grueling 100-mile race, she can always be counted on to smile through the pain.

Ossanna has a lot to smile about...

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Outside: She's In My Rear View

Are Women Closing in on Men at the Boston Marathon?
Alex Hutchinson/Outside, Jan 28, 2019

A detailed analysis of historical Boston results wades into the long-running debate on sex differences in endurance

Back in 1992, scientists at UCLA made a surprising prediction in Nature. Since women’s marathon times were improving more quickly than men’s, they forecast that women would surpass men in 1998. While that didn’t come to pass, the idea that women might be closing the gap in endurance races persists, thanks to the feats of athletes like Jasmin Paris, the ultrarunner who shattered the overall course record in the 168-mile Montane Spine Race in Britain earlier this month, and Camille Herron, who beat the entire field while setting a women’s 24-hour running record in December.

But you can only learn so much from individual stories, no matter how remarkable. That’s where a new analysis in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research comes in...

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NYTimes - Anything You Can Do She Can Do Better

The Woman Who Outruns the Men, 200 Miles at a Time
Rebecca Byerly/NY Times, December 5, 2018

Courtney Dauwalter specializes in extremely long races. But her success in winning them has opened a debate about how men’s innate strength advantages apply to endurance sports...

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Runners World - Whoops.

Hardrock 100 Leader Disqualified for Taking Water Outside of Official Aid Station
Andrew Dawson, Runners' World//Jul 23

Less than 10 miles from the finish line, the race leader for the Hardrock 100—a 100-mile endurance race throughout steep and evolving elevation—was disqualified after receiving aid outside of an aid station.

 Xavier Thévenard, 30, of France, was leading the grueling race when he accepted water and ice from friends on the course outside of a designated aid station, according to the The Durango Herald. The race’s rule state that, there is “no stashing of supplies along the course and no accepting aid except within 400 yards of a designated aid station.”

(Link to article)

Trail Runner: 126-Mile Record Weekend For Wardian

Michael Wardian Sets New Record for Leadville-Pikes Peak Combo
The jack-of-all-distances finished 10th in the Leadville 100, and then seven hours later ran the Pikes Peak Marathon.
Ariella Gintzler/Trail Runner, August 22nd, 2017


Completing the Leadville 100-Mile in 20 hours 18 minutes is impressive, with its 17,000 feet of climbing and average elevation over 10,000 feet. But, when Michael Wardian crossed the finish line of the iconic Colorado race, at around midnight on Saturday, sleep and recovery were far from his mind...


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Outside: Five, No Four, Sir

4 Signs That You're Not Training Enough
Matt Fitzgerald/Outside, July 12 2017


All endurance athletes—from the champion ultrarunner to the first-time triathlete—have specific goals. And these goals are met by training. For most of us, training simply consists of following numbers on a page—three miles today, an hour run tomorrow, rest the next day. So how do you know if you’re training enough? How can you really ensure that you’ll be dialed come race day?


Here are general signs that it’s time to step up your workouts. While none of these alone is a definitive indicator of undertraining, if a few of them occur simultaneously, it may be time to spend more time on the trails...


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What's Good For A Hundred Might Not Hurt For Less

Seven Steps to Recovery After Running 100 Miles
Jason Koop, CTS/June 27


I just returned home from supporting athletes at the 2017 Western States Endurance Run, and I’m tired. I need a recovery week and I didn’t even run the race! Congratulations to everyone who toed the start line, fought through their individual rough patches, and persevered to the finish. It was an exciting race, full of inspirational stories and great displays of sportsmanship. Now that it’s over, or when you reach the end of your 100-mile ultramarathon, it’s time to recover.


The biggest misconception about recovery after a 100-miler is that it happens quickly, and the biggest mistake athletes make is getting back into structured training too soon. To be a healthy ultrarunner and continue racing or participating for a long time, it’s essential to give your body and mind a significant break between events. For many athletes, running is an integral part of your lifestyle, which means the recovery period following a 100-miler requires patience and an unfamiliar change to your routine. It’s worth it, and here are some tips for optimizing recovery so you can continue to run strong...


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CTS: Seven Steps Less Than AA

ADAPT: A 5-Step Plan for When Everything Goes Wrong
Jason Koop, CTS

If you do one single thing at a high enough intensity for long enough, every once in a while everything goes wrong. As much as you have trained and prepared, you will eventually get punched in the mouth, so to speak. Your legs will feel like lead, your effort will feel unreasonable, you will start tripping over roots and rocks, and your stomach will be in knots. If you are especially unlucky, these in infirmities will all happen at once. And for many miles. Maybe not in your next race, or the one after that, but if you remain in the ultramarathon game for a long enough time, lady luck’s evil doppelgänger will eventually find you...

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Slowtwitch: Skechers? Really?

Is Skechers for Real?
Dan Empfield/Slowtwitch.com Mon May 08 2017

How many times have I been asked, “Is Skechers real?” Plenty...

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CTS: Ultra Elites and You

Three Characteristics You Share with Elite Ultrarunners
Jason Koop, Carmichael Training Systems/2 May 2017

Despite their diverse backgrounds, elite ultrarunners share three common characteristics. You have them too. The differences just come down to a matter of degree, and you can enhance all three characteristics to improve your running performance...

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Outside: The Race A Book Made Famous

Running the Race That ‘Born to Run’ Made Famous 
Jay Bouchard/Outside. Apr 29 2017

The first Copper Canyon ultramarathon took place in Urique, Mexico, in 2003, and was organized by legendary ultrarunner Micah True, also known as Caballo Blanco. True—famously depicted in Christopher McDougall’s bestselling 2009 book, Born to Run—wanted the race to help preserve the local culture of the Tarahumara people, who dress in sandals, skirts, and long-sleeve tops and have an extraordinary capacity to run long distances...

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First, It's "Anyone Can Marathon." Now This?

Anyone Can Finish an Ultramarathon by Mastering These 8 Fundamentals 
Jason Koop. MS // Carmichael Training Systems

One of the greatest aspects of ultrarunning is its accessibility. You don’t need much expensive and specialized equipment, and you don’t have to be incredibly fit or talented to participate. That is not to say ultrarunning is easy, because it most definitely is not. However, by structuring training to address eight fundamental areas, I am confident anyone can reach the finish line of an ultramarathon event within the cutoff time, and have fun doing it.

(Link to Article)

I Run Far via Outside On-LineWhen Stopping After A Hundred Miles Is A Bad Day

Courtney Dauwalter breaks US 24-hour record at Riverbank One-Day
Riverbank, CA -- Race director Jon Olsen hosted the (Riverbank One-Day) event on a brand-new track with the promise of “on track for drama to unfold.”

Already assured a place on the U.S. 24-hour team that will compete at the IAU 24-Hour World Championships in Ireland in July, Courtney Dauwalter seemingly had little to gain here. Still, riding a recent hot streak, Dauwalter struck while the iron was hot and scored a new American record for 24 hours. Dauwalter ringed the track over and over to collect an even 250 kilometers, or 155.343 miles. The total haul was more than three miles better than Sabrina Little‘s previous American record, and only five kilometers back of Mami Kudo’s world best. With Katalin Nagy, Traci Falbo, Jenny Hoffman, and Pam Smith also on the U.S. 24-Hour Team, the Americans will be heavy heavy favorites in Ireland.

Second overall, Rich Riopel finished with 151.86 miles to run his way on to the U.S. men’s team. His qualifying mark currently ranks fourth. The qualifying window is set to close April 1. Already on the U.S. team, Bob Hearn was third overall with 144.41 miles.

The star of December’s Desert Solstice race, Gina Slaby totaled 132.72 miles. Pam Smith stopped after 100 miles.