Trail Runner Nation

Most runners don't like strength training, including many of our experts in this episode.  Our experts discuss why it is important, how we can implement it into our training program and the benefits. Michael Wardian is a great example of how strength training can help him become one of the best consistent ultra athletes with over 300 marathons and ultras.  He has many accomplishments including set...

Professional Headmaster and 2nd place finisher of the 2005 Western States 100, Andy Jones-Wilkins, join us to write the latest edition of Audio Magazine. The Authors dug deep to come up with topics that will keep you up to date and informed about trail running. Since there was so much trash talking leading up to this recording, we kindly ask our listeners to rank the magazine articles best to wors...

Runner, Coach, and Author Matt Fitzgerald has a new book out, On Pace, Discover How to Run Every Race at Your Real Limit. If you go to the link you can get the first chapter for FREE!!!! Matt helps us undersand why pacing matters, why it is difficult to do, and how to become better at it. Find out more about Matt: - Matt's primary web page - Matt's training page with coaching plans

Aid Stations are so important at a race.  They have evolved with trail running over time combining medical help, shelter, therapy, and all-you-can eat buffets. Sarah Lavender-Smith joins us to discuss how they have evolved and how to use them efficiently. Here is her article that spurred the discussion. Check out all her newsleter, Colrado Mouintain Running & Living Check out on of Sarah's fall ra...

Sports Nutrition expert, Ashley Reaver , rejoins The Nation to discuss 5 additional biomarkers that endurance athletes should be aware of.  These biomarkers can help (or hinder) functions within the body like buiding red blood cells, help in recovery, energy and other body functions. Biomarkers help us understand what is going on inside our bodies.  Ashley helped us understand the top 5 biomarkers...

We all are part of The Nation. What does that mean. How does The Nation look? What gear do we use? There have been a few surveys conducted in 2022 that help us understand. Check out the ITRA Survey ATRA also conducted a Survey We encourage you to check out all of our partners and their excellent products and services.  A new one we want to make you aware of is Wonderful Pistachios .  It might be y...

Endurance runners love to eat!  However nutrition for endurance running can be a moving target.  Experimentation is key and once you think you have it figured out, you don't.  We found four nutritional experts to help us understand more about nutrition.   Meredith Terranova , experienced ultra runner, swimmer and athlete with a degree in Human Nutrition and Consumer Science.  Check out her website...

Elite runner, Tim Tollefson , had a great spring training and racing leading up to his A-race, the Western States 100 Endurance Run .  His expectations were high and many thought he would be able to best his 2021 fifth place finish.  Tim joins us to shares what he experienced and the lessons he learned.  Be to check out and register for Tim's Mammoth Trail Fest on Sept 22-25, 2022. We encourage yo...

Do you have a hot adventure or race you are preparing for?   Corrine Malcolm helps The Nation understand what we can do to improve our chances for success. Corrine breaks down these science-based strategies for getting cool before your adventure and staying cool when you are running. We reference her article from iRunFar she wrote. Find out how Corrine can become your Coach Follow Corrine on Insta...

Do you have an adventure or race at high altitude this summer?  You will want to listen to Coach Ian Sharman teach us about the ins and outs of how to adapt most effectively. Ian has experience at altitude.  He is a four-time winner of the high-altitude Leadville 100 (lowest point is over 9000' and climbing up to 12,532'). We talk about when do you need to consider acclimatization where to train h...

What are the biggest misconceptions that endurance athletes have about nutrition?   Dr. Patrick Davitt , Assistant Professor of Kinesiology and Program Director for Exercise Physiology at the Saint Joseph's University , joins us The Nation to help us understand some important information about nutrition as it relates to endurane sports.  Patrick has practical experience as an avid and accomplished...

One of our favorite topics at TRN is sleep. Sleep is the time our bodies adapt to the training stimulus.  Alexey Guzey, a researcher, writer and co-founder and executive director of New Science joins us to shed more light on this important part of our training.  We cover many topics like: What are the myths of sleep? Why do we sleep? Is it OK to feel sleepy? Should we get as much sleep as our body...

Western States 100 is this weekend.  International runners represent nearly 1/3 of the entrants.  We recorded this episode live with these international runners at a local running store in Auburn California, The Aid Station.  Course experts, Tim Twietmeyer and Ian Sharman join us to help these runners understand the course and how to develop a strategy for success.  Many of these strategies can tr...

Merry Statesmas! They 2022 running of the iconic Western States 100 is next weekend.  We sit down with  Andy Jones-Wilkins  to get his take on this year's race.  There will be 385 amazing stories from each of the starters this year.  We highlight some of the ones that you might want to watch unfold. Joe Uhan's iRunFar articles, "Western State Killing Machine": Part 1 & Part 2 Hire  Andy as a coach...

Pacing can be an art and a science.  In this episode we bring on four experts to help us understand what a good pacer is and isn't / does and doesn't. Scotty Mills, Coach Jimmy Dean Freeman ,  Coach Meghan Canfield , and Andy Jones-Wilkins share their wisdom as racers and pacers.  What makes a good one?   Here are some previous episodes we have done on pacing: Pacing: How to Be the Best Pacer with...

It has been a while since the last publication of the Audio Magazine.  We invited some of our favorite witty guest to make it fun. Each person comes with a title of their article. The other participants guess what the article is about and then we discuss. Hire  Andy as a coach!  or check out his weekly  Tap Room at iRunFar Warren Pole,  one of the founders of 33 Fuel . They recently started a podc...

Biomarkers help us understand what is going on inside our bodies.  There are many that are very important to endurance athletes.  In this episode Ashley Reaver helps us identify five of these biomarkers, why they are important, what is the normal range and what can we do to correct them if they are outside the normal range. Ashley Reaver is a registered sports dietician with a masters in Nutrition...

Don recently came across an article by Mariska van Sprundel, " Running and the Science of Mental Toughness ". We love talking about the mental side of our sport and thought Dr. Rob Bell would be an excellent guest for the topic. Dr. Rob Bell is a certified Mental Performance Coach with years of academic research and real-life coaching experience.   2 of the 7 books Rob has written:: -  Puke & Rall...

We've all heard that we should build a good "base".  In this episode we devine what base building is and how to make it a fundimental part of our training.   Our experts for this episode are Ian Sharman , Krissy Moehl , Dr. Phil Maffetone , and Ellie Greenwood . Links: Dr. Phil's Big Books: Big Book of Health and Fitness Big Book of Training and Racing Dr. Phil's web site Sharman Ultra Coaching Kr...

What does consistency mean to you? Returning guest, Adam Kimble joins The Nation to discuss the long-term benefits of consistency.  Could consistency be the holy grail of training success? Learn more about Adam by checking out his web site and his coaching site, Run On Dirt Coaching . Adam's social channels: Instagram , Twitter , Facebook

Alex Hutchinson is back to discuss some of his most recent articles he published at Outsideonline : Why Cyclists Can Handle Heat Better than Runners New Data on How Your Arm Swing Affects Running Do Endurance Athletes Get More Cavities? Alex Hutchinson is an avid runner and author.  We did a series of podcasts on his book,  Endure: Mind, Body and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance ....

Our good friend and running doctor, Mark Cucuzzella, joins us again to discuss common medical issues that you might experience on the trail, causes and treatments. Dr. Mark's Run for Your Life Podcast Dr. Mark's book, "Run for Your Life" Make sure you watch his 8:25 Video that show the principles of natural running. Be sure to spend some time learning at The Natural Running Center web site. Visit...

Head Coach and Executive Director of the  Hoka Northern Arizona Elite Team , aka Hoka NAZ Elite,  Ben Rosario  helps us understand how the pros train.  You might be surprised that there are many things they do that you can too!  Regardless of your ability level, age, or experience, we can learn some key principles that will help us run faster and/or further.   Sleep Nutrition Strength Training (yo...

A few weeks ago we spoke with Addie Bracy about mental training.  We loved it so much we bought her book,  Mental Training for Ultrarunning: Your Psychological Skills for Ultra Success , and asked AJW if he would join us to talk about the principles she writes about. Visit her mental performance page at  Strive Mental Performance

We often see photos of people, especially outside the USA, running with poles.  Running with poles can be more efficient - using both legs and arms to help you uphills.  Have you ever considered running with poles or not sure how to use them proplerly?  In this month's Training Principles episode, we get some sound advice from four professional runners, Max King , Courtney Dauwalter , Sabrina Stan...