In this listener-driven episode of the Race Ready Podcast, Andy Newell and Brian Halligan open with stories from Soldier Hollow, Whitefish, and early-season training camps before diving into a stack of listener questions. The duo explores the value of lactate testing for master skiers—when it’s worth the investment, when “easy, medium, hard” is good enough, and why feel still matters more than lab data. Along the way they touch on muscular endurance, polarized training balance, and the eternal challenge of stress versus recovery.

Mid-episode, conversation turns to one of the sport’s more uncomfortable topics: doping. Drawing from the 1990s and early-2000s cross-country scene, Andy recounts the dark years of EPO, the fallout from the Finnish and Austrian scandals, and how those moments shaped the ethics of endurance sport today. Brian weighs in on biathlon’s past and the controversial idea of “enhanced games,” prompting a candid discussion about performance, fairness, and athlete health.

To close, the hosts tackle health and longevity on a more personal level—how to adjust training after illness or injury, why recovery doesn’t erase fitness, and how patience pays off when returning to snow. They connect lessons from World Cup pros like Julia Kern and Dario Cologna to everyday athletes balancing family, work, and racing goals. It’s a thoughtful, wide-ranging episode packed with real-world coaching insight, endurance wisdom, and plenty of laughs from the trail.

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