Downhill running creates a strange mismatch: it can feel relatively easy aerobically while placing enormous mechanical stress on your legs.

Coach Cliff Pittman explains what's happening inside the muscle during a descent, why technical terrain increases the cost, and how the repeated bout effect allows your body to become more resistant to downhill-induced damage.

He also covers how to train when you don't have mountains outside your door, where strength training fits, when to schedule race-specific downhill work, and why he never programs downhill running faster than steady-state effort.

HOST

Cliff Pittman is the Coaching Development Director at CTS, leading the Ultrarunning and Cycling Coaching staff with a specialty in guiding athletes from first-time ultrarunners to elite competitors at races like Western States 100, Leadville 100, and the Triple Crown of 200s. A competitive trail and ultra athlete himself, Cliff brings firsthand experience and a rare ability to turn complex training science into simple, actionable coaching.

​​CTS Ultrarunning Camps: https://trainright.com/camps/

​​Free Ultrarunning Training Assessment: https://trainright.com/ultrarunning-training-assessment-welcome/

Interested in working with a coach? Schedule a free consult: https://trainright.com/coaching/ultrarunning/

Self-coached athlete? Check out our TrainRight Membership: https://trainright.com/membership/

Find more free resources here: https://trainright.com/blog/

There are two fears Cliff Pittman sees repeatedly: athletes hold onto speed work because they don't feel fit without it, or they avoid increasing volume because they're afraid more running will eventually break them down.

In this episode, Cliff explains why both miss the point. He breaks down what aerobic volume actually changes physiologically, why those adaptations take time, how intensity should shift as race day approaches, and how training architecture allows athletes to increase volume without simply piling on fatigue.

HOST

Cliff Pittman is the Coaching Development Director at CTS, leading the Ultrarunning and Cycling Coaching staff with a specialty in guiding athletes from first-time ultrarunners to elite competitors at races like Western States 100, Leadville 100, and the Triple Crown of 200s. A competitive trail and ultra athlete himself, Cliff brings firsthand experience and a rare ability to turn complex training science into simple, actionable coaching.

CTS Ultrarunning Camps: https://trainright.com/camps/

​​Free Ultrarunning Training Assessment: https://trainright.com/ultrarunning-training-assessment-welcome/

Interested in working with a coach? Schedule a free consult: https://trainright.com/coaching/ultrarunning/

Self-coached athlete? Check out our TrainRight Membership: https://trainright.com/membership/

Find more free resources here: https://trainright.com/blog/

Resources:

• https://www.academia.edu/14353632/Energy_system_contribution_during_200_to_1500_m_running_in_highly_trained_athletes

Elite athletes don't just pick a carbohydrate target and hope for the best.

Their fueling strategies are built, tested, practiced, and adjusted around three key levers: carbohydrates, fluid, and sodium.

Precision Fuel & Hydration Sports Scientist Emily Arrell joins Cliff Pittman to explain how those plans come together—from sweat testing and gut training to making real-time decisions when things go wrong on race day.

HOST

Cliff Pittman is the Coaching Development Director at CTS, leading the Ultrarunning and Cycling Coaching staff with a specialty in guiding athletes from first-time ultrarunners to elite competitors at races like Western States 100, Leadville 100, and the Triple Crown of 200s. A competitive trail and ultra athlete himself, Cliff brings firsthand experience and a rare ability to turn complex training science into simple, actionable coaching.

​​Free Ultrarunning Training Assessment: https://trainright.com/ultrarunning-training-assessment-welcome/

Interested in working with a coach? Schedule a free consult: https://trainright.com/coaching/ultrarunning/

Self-coached athlete? Check out our TrainRight Membership: https://trainright.com/membership/

Find more free resources here: https://trainright.com/blog/

Racing at altitude can feel intimidating, especially if you live at sea level.

Should you buy an altitude tent? Sleep in a hypoxic chamber? Wear an altitude mask?

In this episode, CTS Director of Coaching Cliff Pittman explains what actually improves altitude performance, how to time your arrival before race day, where heat training fits, and why your biggest advantage is still the fitness you build before you travel.

Whether you're preparing for Leadville, Pikes Peak, or any race at elevation, this video will help you focus on the strategies that matter and avoid wasting time and money on the ones that don't.

HOST

Cliff Pittman is the Coaching Development Director at CTS, leading the Ultrarunning and Cycling Coaching staff with a specialty in guiding athletes from first-time ultrarunners to elite competitors at races like Western States 100, Leadville 100, and the Triple Crown of 200s. A competitive trail and ultra athlete himself, Cliff brings firsthand experience and a rare ability to turn complex training science into simple, actionable coaching.

​​Free Ultrarunning Training Assessment: https://trainright.com/ultrarunning-training-assessment-welcome/

Interested in working with a coach? Schedule a free consult: https://trainright.com/coaching/ultrarunning/

Self-coached athlete? Check out our TrainRight Membership: https://trainright.com/membership/

Find more free resources here: https://trainright.com/blog/

Strength training should support your running, not compete with it.

In this episode, Cliff Pittman explains how ultrarunners should approach the weight room, why most strength programs miss the point, and how to build strength that transfers to better performance, greater durability, and fewer injuries.

HOST

Cliff Pittman is the Coaching Development Director at CTS, leading the Ultrarunning and Cycling Coaching staff with a specialty in guiding athletes from first-time ultrarunners to elite competitors at races like Western States 100, Leadville 100, and the Triple Crown of 200s. A competitive trail and ultra athlete himself, Cliff brings firsthand experience and a rare ability to turn complex training science into simple, actionable coaching.

​​Free Ultrarunning Training Assessment: https://trainright.com/ultrarunning-training-assessment-welcome/

Interested in working with a coach? Schedule a free consult: https://trainright.com/coaching/ultrarunning/

Self-coached athlete? Check out our TrainRight Membership: https://trainright.com/membership/

Find more free resources here: https://trainright.com/blog/

Resources:

• https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4532714/
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33629972/
• https://www.nasm.org/certified-personal-trainer/the-opt-model

Heart rate or pace?

For years, runners have debated which is better, but both measure different parts of the same effort.

In this episode, CTS Director of Coaching Cliff Pittman explains why RPE is the missing piece, how perceived effort integrates cardiovascular strain, metabolic demand, and mechanical loading, and why learning to trust it can improve both training and race-day pacing.

HOST

Cliff Pittman is the Coaching Development Director at CTS, leading the Ultrarunning and Cycling Coaching staff with a specialty in guiding athletes from first-time ultrarunners to elite competitors at races like Western States 100, Leadville 100, and the Triple Crown of 200s. A competitive trail and ultra athlete himself, Cliff brings firsthand experience and a rare ability to turn complex training science into simple, actionable coaching.

​​Free Ultrarunning Training Assessment: https://trainright.com/ultrarunning-training-assessment-welcome/

Interested in working with a coach? Schedule a free consult: https://trainright.com/coaching/ultrarunning/

Self-coached athlete? Check out our TrainRight Membership: https://trainright.com/membership/

Find more free resources here: https://trainright.com/blog/

Resources:

• https://drive.google.com/file/d/10eFC_tdi8c_V6_S-m28YLCfp_qmWzZ3r/view
• https://borgperception.se/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/The-Borg-CR-Scales-Folder.pdf

In the last episode, we explained why tapering works.

This week, Cliff Pittman shows you how to actually build one. Learn how much to reduce training, what to keep in your program, and why the biggest mistake athletes make isn't in training, it's reacting to the taper itself.

HOST

Cliff Pittman is the Coaching Development Director at CTS, leading the Ultrarunning and Cycling Coaching staff with a specialty in guiding athletes from first-time ultrarunners to elite competitors at races like Western States 100, Leadville 100, and the Triple Crown of 200s. A competitive trail and ultra athlete himself, Cliff brings firsthand experience and a rare ability to turn complex training science into simple, actionable coaching.

​​Free Ultrarunning Training Assessment: https://trainright.com/ultrarunning-training-assessment-welcome/

Interested in working with a coach? Schedule a free consult: https://trainright.com/coaching/ultrarunning/

Self-coached athlete? Check out our TrainRight Membership: https://trainright.com/membership/

Find more free resources here: https://trainright.com/blog/

Many athletes worry they'll lose fitness during a taper, but the research says otherwise!

In Part 1 of this two-part series, CTS Coaching Director Cliff Pittman breaks down what tapering actually does, why the final weeks before your race are about reducing fatigue, not building fitness, and the science behind the taper strategies that consistently produce the best results.

HOST

Cliff Pittman is the Coaching Development Director at CTS, leading the Ultrarunning and Cycling Coaching staff with a specialty in guiding athletes from first-time ultrarunners to elite competitors at races like Western States 100, Leadville 100, and the Triple Crown of 200s. A competitive trail and ultra athlete himself, Cliff brings firsthand experience and a rare ability to turn complex training science into simple, actionable coaching.

​​Free Ultrarunning Training Assessment: https://trainright.com/ultrarunning-training-assessment-welcome/

Interested in working with a coach? Schedule a free consult: https://trainright.com/coaching/ultrarunning/

Self-coached athlete? Check out our TrainRight Membership: https://trainright.com/membership/

Find more free resources here: https://trainright.com/blog/

Resources:

• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12840640/
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3156841/
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1559951/