Trail Runner Nation

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 wants? Can we over sleep? Can we bank sleep? Can we catch up on sleep? Depression and sleep Check out this past episode about Matthew Walker's book, "Why We Sleep" Take a look at a couple of Alexey's articles on sleep: Thesis on Sleep Alexey's take on Matthew Walker's book, "Why We Sleep" You can learn more about Alexey at Guzey.com, follow him on twitter or learn more about New Science  

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 translate into your trail adventures and races. HERE is a link to a course map and elevation profile. Link to Joe Uhan's iRunFar articles: - The Western States Killing Machine - Part 1 - The Western States Killing Machine - Part 2 Sharman Ultra Coaching

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! or check out his weekly Tap Room at iRunFar

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 Victor Ballesteros Pacing and Crewing with Dominic and Katie Check out SoCal Coyotes Check out Meghan's coaching site Hire Andy as a coach! or check out his weekly Tap Room at iRunFar

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 podcast that is devoted to endurance fueling: 33Fuel Podcast

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 Science and Policy.  She offers nutrition counseling in her private practice and a full-time teacher of nutrition and dietetics courses at the University of California, Berkeley.  She is also the lead nutritional scientist at Inside Tracker.

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 & Rally: It's Not About the Setback, It's About the Comeback - listen to our episode on the book HERE - No One Gets There Alone Check out  - Dr. Rob's web site - Puke & Rally web site - His podcast, "15 minutes of Mental Toughness" Find him at Twitter Facebook Instagram YouTube Rob is running the Dances With Dirt 50K this weekend! He will be the one smiling!

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 Krissy Moehl's web site Phil Maffetone's music site

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. Previous Podcasts where we discuss the specific chapters of Endure: Podcast #1:   The Unforgiving Minute, The Conscience Quitter, Heat, Belief Podcast #2: The Central Governor Theory, Pain and Training the Brain Podcast #3 : Oxygen, Fuel, and Zapping the Brain Check out Alex’s other books: Which Comes First, Cardio or Weights?: Fitness Myths, Training Truths, and Other Surprising Discoveries from the Science of Exercise Big Ideas: 100 Modern Inventions That Have Transformed Our World What Defines our Limits - with Alex Hutchinson Follow Alex on Twitter Check out Sweat Science

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 Two Rivers Treads running store either in person or call them and ask them some questions!

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 (you don’t have to have a gym membership) Stretching Taking it easy on easy days BONUS – Pacing You can learn more in the book he co-authored with Matt Fitzgerald, In their new book, Run Like a Pro (Even If You’re Slow): Elite Tools and Tips for Runners at Every Level,  they help us understand that we can reach our potential if we include some of these training techniques and strategies.

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 Stanley, and Tim Tollefson on how to be successful with poles. Check out Max King's runnning camp Sabrina's coaching Check our Leki, if you want the best poles on the trail.

Runner, coach, certified nutritionist and author Matt Fitzgerald teams up with the coach of the Hoka Northern Arizona Elite team, Ben Rosario, to help us understand how the pros run.  In their new book, they help us understand that we can reach our potential if we include some of these training techniques and strategies. Matt has been on TRN ten previous times including the episode we referenced, How Bad Do you Want It? Find out more about Matt and coaching at 8020endurance.com 

We've all heard the saying, "Ultra running is 90% mental and the rest is in your head". Addie Bracy a sports and performance phychologist rejoins The Nation to dive deep into this oft-times neglected part of our training.  We discuss mental toughness and how it correlates to performance, mental distractions, and how to get into the "zone". Check out her book, book, Mental Training for Ultrarunning: Your Psychological Skills for Ultra Success Visit her mental performance page at Strive Mental Performance

Trails can be intimidating with varying technical challenges.  Four coaches from Sharman Ultra Coaching help us understand these challenges and give us some tips on how to feel more comfortable. Ian Sharman, Liza Howard, Hillary Allen and Addie Bracy  are all excellent technical trail runners and share their knowledge with us. Learn more about mental training at Addie's web site: strivementalperformance.com or her new book, Mental Training for Ultrarunning: Your Psychological Skills for Ultra Success FInd out more about Hillary Allen HERE Find out more about Liza Howard HERE Check out Liza's great camp for veterans and their families HERE

Hillary Allen was on the top of her sport, Skyrunning, when she fell 150 feet off an exposed ridge, breaking two ribs, fracturing her back, ruptuing a ligament in her foot and breaking both wrists.  She joins The Nation to discuss the mindset of injury recovery, why having a support system matters, and the importance of balance in athletics. LINK to her Tedx CU talk LINK to Hillary's web site Get her Book, Out and Back: A Runner's Story of Survival Against All Odds

Sometimes we just have to have a light fun episode.  We invited Andy Jones-Wilkins to join us on a new type of episode, Spin the Bottle, a randomized vocabulary game.  Join us and play along. We referenced AJW's postmortem episode shortly after his first DNF. HERE is that episode. Hire Andy as a coach! or check out his weekly Tap Room at iRunFar

Dr. Megan Roche helps us all, men and women, understand the physiological differences that women have and how it might be an advantage. Dr. Roche is an MD and current PhD candidate at Standford University working on epidemiology, focused on population health and genetics for athletes, spedifically women.  she is also a freaking fast runner: 2016 USATF Trail Runner of the Year 5-time national champion North American Mountain Running Champion 6-time member of team USA She is the co-author of, The Happy Runner: Love the Process, Get Faster, Run Longer and co-host of the popular podcast, "Some Work, All Play" You can also hire her or their coaches at SWAPRunning. Check out this past episode with Megan and David about their book.