Science Of Ultra

By Shawn Bearden

What's Science Of Ultra about?

Ultra marathon running physiology brought to you by the world’s leading scientists, coaches, and athletes. Science Of Ultra host, Dr. Shawn Bearden, brings you interviews and more to deliver everything you want to know about all facets of training, nutrition, hydration, environment, psychology, gear, and much more. Become your ultra best!

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LAST EPISODE

Shaping Hard Sessions

10.20.2020

Two questions answered today. Should you put intervals at the beginning or at the end of the workout? Should progression runs be done by effort or pace?

Science Of Ultra episodes:

10.20.2020 Shaping Hard Sessions Two questions answered today. Should you put intervals at the beginning or at the end of the workout? Should progression runs be done by effort or pace?
10.06.2020 Herman Pontzer, PhD Herman Pontzer, PhD is an evolutionary anthropologist at Duke University interested in how the human body evolved and how our species’ past has shaped our health and physiology today. He studies the ecology, lifestyle, diet and evolutionary history of humans ...
09.16.2020 Andrew Skurka and Joe McConaughy Andrew Skurka & Joe McConaughy join me to talk about training and psychology for ultra distance events. Show page: https://scienceofultra.com/podcasts/133
09.09.2020 Stop Failing, Learn to Succeed Let's talk about failure, success, and learning.
08.05.2020 Iñigo Mujika, PhD on Strength Iñigo is back on the show, following up on his recent appearance in episode 127. In the previous episode, we talked about tapering. In this episode, talk about strength training from every angle, and we dive into two specific examples ...
07.23.2020 Trent Stellingwerff, PhD Trent Stellingwerff has been in the trenches of nutritional support and body composition in supporting athletes of all abilities for many years. Today, we talk through critical new insights that can apply to your training. Episode page: https://scienceofultra.com/podcasts/130
07.16.2020 Dan Moore, PhD Dan Moore, PhD, brings us the current science on protein requirements for endurance athletes along with very practical advice for putting it into action for you. Episode page: https://scienceofultra.com/podcasts/129
07.09.2020 Alyssa Amos Clark Alyssa Amos Clark is an extraordinary athlete. We start this interview after she completed 66 marathons in 66 days, on her way to many more. We finish discussing her journey, including her battles with COVID-19. Episode page: https://scienceofultra.com/podcasts/128 Instagram: @theory_in_motion ...
06.25.2020 Iñigo Mujika, PhD on Tapering Iñigo Mujika (PhD) has coached numerous Olympians, national teams, and is recognized as one of the top triathlon (swimming, cycling, and running) coaches in the world. He's published over 100 peer-reviewed articles, books, and book chapters. He literally wrote the ...
06.11.2020 David Bishop, PhD David Bishop, PhD is a Professor at Victoria University in Australia and an expert on the health and performance outcomes of exercise prescription with a particular emphasis on mitochondrial adaptations. Recently, he’s been studying the impact of twice-per-day training. You’ll ...
05.28.2020 Jose Areta, PhD Jose Areta studies energy availability, training, and performance. We talk about his recent case study of an amenorrhoeic athlete who restored their menstrual cycle while training and competing at a high level, his comprehensive review of glycogen utilization, and how ...
05.14.2020 Mark Burnley, PhD My guest today is Mark Burnley, PhD from the University of Kent. He's studies endurance physiology, especially the power-duration relationship. For example, he was part of the group that first validated the 3-minute all-out test to estimate critical power. He's ...
04.30.2020 Patrick Wilson, PhD Patrick Wilson (PhD) is an Associate Professor at Old Dominion University and author of a newly published book, The Athlete's Gut. He was a guest in episode 16. Today, we update our understanding of gut physiology from when he was ...
04.16.2020 Andy Jones, PhD Andy Jones is one of the world's leading experts in human performance physiology, especially in the realm of endurance. Nike recognized this when they brought him onto the Breaking 2 project. He's most famous in many circles for his pioneering ...
04.02.2020 Father-Son World Record Marathon Dr. Julien Louis takes us through the training, pacing, and physiology of the father-son duo who set a new world record for combined time in the marathon. We discuss the father-son team and extract additional take-away messages for your training.
03.25.2020 Is Your Training Bent? Mapping your training and then seeing what events (races, or adventures) fit on your map, without bending it, keeps the focus on what’s most important…you. This method tells you which events you could run because it’s the method that fits ...
03.20.2020 Finish Low with Drs. Morton and Louis This is a deep dive into carbohydrate periodization with Drs. James Morton and Julien Louis where we explain the science behind our recommendation of FUEL FOR THE WORK REQUIRED (e.g., enough but not much more) and GLYCOGEN THRESHOLD (i.e., train ...
03.05.2020 Dr. Ron Maughan Dr. Ron Maughan is arguably the most recognized name in sports nutrition. I was fortunate to meet with him in St Andrews, Scotland for our discussion. In this interview we talk about his early days in sports, running with the ...
02.13.2020 Run With Ease Our goal is never to get good at suffering. Our goal is to suffer less under the same conditions, not to make running easier but to run with greater ease.
01.31.2020 Genes and Placebos Today’s conversation is with John Kiely and Craig Pickering. John was on episode 52; we talked the lack of evidence supporting periodized training programs. We begin with the current state of evidence in genetic testing for athletic potential and planning ...
01.24.2020 Cramping Cramping isn't well understood. But here's what we know right now.
01.16.2020 Are rest days needed? Rest days are a staple of most running programs. But are they needed. In this episode we reframe our view of exercise, rest, and recovery time to help you make clearer decisions about when you exercise.
12.25.2019 CC18 Roundtable A T/F from each of our four coaches posed to the group to wrap up 2019. Does level running speed translate to uphill abilities, is training for a 200 miler fundamentally different from training for shorter distances, should you run ...
12.19.2019 Zones The main goals of this episode are to shed light on the origins of zone training, illustrate how the borrowing of the models by athletes is flawed especially when heart rate is used as the primary indicator, anchor a 3-zone ...
12.05.2019 CC17 Is an off-season right for you? Our four coaches present a variety of ideas and perspectives on taking time off. If you’re looking for a coach, or just have questions, you can reach David Roche at SWAPrunning.com Ian Sharman at sharmanultra.com Krissy Moehl at krissymoehl.com Shawn ...
11.28.2019 Travel A massive how and what on traveling, including cameo appearances from numerous elite ultra runners.
11.14.2019 Ditch the gels? I sat down with Spring co-founder Rafal Nazarewicz, PhD to talk about using real foods in ultras.
11.07.2019 CC16 Are you overtraining? Is overtraining common among ultra runners? Are you running too much? Can adherence to the mantra of consistency open a gateway to overtraining?
10.24.2019 CC15 Is Specificity Important? How much do your training runs need to look like the race or event to maximize your performance? That's the basic question behind the term 'specificity'. Our four coaches address these ideas in today's Coaches' Corner.
10.16.2019 The Long Run What is the 'long run'; can it be too short; can it be too long? Today we simplify and demystify this enigmatic workout.
10.10.2019 Stress...Response How valid are the most commonly held beliefs in exercise training that assume a reliable and specific adaptation to a specific workout? In this episode, I explain why we now view these ideas as too simplistic. We dig into how ...
09.25.2019 CC14 Are Tech Metrics Useful? Technology gives runners the opportunity to run according to readouts and feedback from devices. To what extent should you use them?
08.14.2019 Downhill Running In recent episodes we’ve explored how you can train your mind and body. The third area for training is craft. Everything from pacing, to hydration strategy, to gear choices, to foot care are part of your craft. Today, the part ...
08.07.2019 CC13 Tapering Is there a general formula you can apply to taper properly for an event? Find out how our coaches approach tapering with their athletes.
07.18.2019 Interval Fundamentals You can train our mind, body, and craft. In recent episodes on training your body, we skimmed the surface of training endurance and economy. If you run a lot of miles, often on race-like terrain and run all out for ...
07.03.2019 CC12 WS100 2019 This episode was recorded days after the 2019 Western States 100. My guest coaches each had some great insights and experience at the event, and we talk about their experiences and how training may differ among athletes for the same ...
06.26.2019 FOCUS Today, we take a closer look at focus, which is the first of our core features of a high performance mindset. From focus with mindfulness, you can develop the other features of a high performance mindset: calm, confidence, optimism, and ...
06.26.2019 Welcome to Training Your Mind If you’re going to do something that’s difficult, like running ultra-marathons, it’s important to have a strategy. Inside of that strategy you have to develop and refine skills through deliberate practice. Train your mind, just like you train your body. ...
06.26.2019 CC11 Are You Slow Enough? The average pace for an ultra-marathon isn't very fast. In races of 100 miles, for example, the average pace can be slower than easy training runs. How do successful ultra-marathon runners pace themselves? How do you pace yourself? Is it ...
05.30.2019 CC10 Too Old To Train Young? Do older athletes need to train differently compared to their younger selves? Coaches Ian Sharman, David Roche, Krissy Moehl, and Shawn Bearden discuss training as we age in today's Coaches' Corner. Watch the discussion on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/loH878kbRbQ Each ...
05.16.2019 Running Economy Basics Running economy is one of the three key features in performance, along with endurance and stamina. You can develop your running economy through heavy resistance training, sprints, and volume. This episode is a crash course in how do it right.
05.02.2019 CC9 Should You Try To Increase V̇O2max? V̇O2max is the maximum amount of oxygen your body can use per minute. It's a metabolic rate that can be sustained for 6-10 minutes. Why do you hear so much about it in running, when competitions are so much longer. ...
04.19.2019 Stamina = Endurance + Economy Today’s episode is meant to introduce the key concepts and functional goals of improving endurance and economy so that you can improve stamina. Today, we also explain endurance as a capacity and how to increase endurance within the context of ...
04.03.2019 CC8 Are You Recovering? Workouts stress your body. The rest of the day is when you improve. That's recovery - getting back to pre-workout capacity and getting stronger. Shawn Bearden, Ian Sharman, David Roche, and Krissy Moehl discuss recovery in today's Coaches' Corner. Watch ...
03.29.2019 Why, What, How As we begin to dissect the three domains of training - mind, body, craft - start by answering Why and What. Then we can decide How to train. Your answers are unique to you. This episode will give you definitions ...
03.08.2019 What's to come from SOUP The format of SOUP is going to shift a little. Here's what you can expect.
02.28.2019 CC7 Get Your Head Right For Your First Ultra Part 2 of our conversation into the considerations for your first ultra marathon. In today's episode we focus mostly on the mental aspects of getting it right.
02.06.2019 Ellie Greenwood Today we dive deep into the mind of ultra runner and coach, Ellie Greenwood. We discuss everything from competition vs participation to the benefits of multidirectional sports in the development of a trail runner to how she prescribes intensity in ...
02.01.2019 CC6 Straight to Ultra Should you run a marathon before signing up for an ultra-marathon? Coaches Ian Sharman, David Roche, Krissy Moehl, and Shawn Bearden discuss that question in today's Coaches' Corner. Watch the discussion on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/loH878kbRbQ Each coach can be ...
01.09.2019 Amelia Boone: Obstacles To Ultras Amelia Boone is the most accomplished obstacle course racer on the planet. Now she's running ultra marathons. What does it take to make that transition? What do success and failure look like to someone so dominant in one sport and ...

Older episodes

Science Of Ultra

What's Science Of Ultra about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Science Of Ultra episodes:

Shaping Hard Sessions

Herman Pontzer, PhD

Andrew Skurka and Joe McConaughy

Stop Failing, Learn to Succeed

Iñigo Mujika, PhD on Strength

Trent Stellingwerff, PhD

Dan Moore, PhD

Alyssa Amos Clark

Iñigo Mujika, PhD on Tapering

David Bishop, PhD

Jose Areta, PhD

Mark Burnley, PhD

Patrick Wilson, PhD

Andy Jones, PhD

Father-Son World Record Marathon

Is Your Training Bent?

Finish Low with Drs. Morton and Louis

Dr. Ron Maughan

Run With Ease

Genes and Placebos

Cramping

Are rest days needed?

CC18 Roundtable

Zones

CC17 Is an off-season right for you?

Travel

Ditch the gels?

CC16 Are you overtraining?

CC15 Is Specificity Important?

The Long Run

Stress...Response

CC14 Are Tech Metrics Useful?

Downhill Running

CC13 Tapering

Interval Fundamentals

CC12 WS100 2019

FOCUS

Welcome to Training Your Mind

CC11 Are You Slow Enough?

CC10 Too Old To Train Young?

Running Economy Basics

CC9 Should You Try To Increase V̇O2max?

Stamina = Endurance + Economy

CC8 Are You Recovering?

Why, What, How

What's to come from SOUP

CC7 Get Your Head Right For Your First Ultra

Ellie Greenwood

CC6 Straight to Ultra

Amelia Boone: Obstacles To Ultras

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