The recovery industry has convinced athletes that better recovery requires more products, more technology, and more spending. But the evidence tells a different story.

In this episode, CTS Coaching Director Cliff Pittman ranks the most popular recovery methods from S-Tier to D-Tier and explains what the research actually says about sleep, nutrition, hydration, active recovery, ice baths, massage, compression, cryotherapy, supplements, and more.

We discuss where recovery truly happens, which interventions provide meaningful benefits, and which ones are mostly marketing. The takeaway is simple: major in the basics and minor in the marginal gains.

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/

When people look at elite Western States athletes, they often assume they're doing something fundamentally different. The reality is much simpler.

In this episode, CTS Coaching Director Cliff Pittman breaks down the universal training principles that guide every successful Western States build and explains why elite athletes aren't following different rules, they're simply applying the same rules at a different scale.

We discuss specificity, progressive overload, periodization, individuality, durability, heat adaptation, fueling, terrain preparation, and night running.

Whether you're racing for the podium or chasing a silver buckle, the framework is the same.

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/

The biggest nutritional challenge facing ultrarunners is not carbohydrates, supplements, hydration, or meal timing. It's eating enough.

In this episode, CTS Coaching Director Cliff Pittman breaks down the International Society of Sports Nutrition's position on ultrarunning nutrition, one of the largest reviews of ultrarunning nutrition ever published.

We discuss caloric intake, carbohydrate recommendations, ketogenic diets, train-low strategies, gut training, hydration, and the practical takeaways athletes can apply immediately to improve performance and recovery.

The message from nearly 200 studies is surprisingly simple: get the fundamentals right before chasing advanced nutrition strategies.

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/

Heat acclimation can be a powerful tool for ultrarunners, but more isn't always better. In this episode, CTS Coach Cliff Pittman breaks down what the research actually says about heat adaptation and why many athletes are accumulating unnecessary fatigue in pursuit of marginal gains.

We cover plasma volume expansion, passive heat exposure, sauna protocols, hot water immersion, taper timing, and the minimum effective dose needed to arrive at race day prepared without compromising fitness.

Fitness remains the primary adaptation. Heat training should support it, not replace it.

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/

Running Pace and Heart Rate Training Zones Calculator: https://trainright.com/running-pace-and-heart-rate-zone-calculator/

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/

Sources:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/sms.12638

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physiology/articles/10.3389/fphys.2019.01080/full

https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/ajpregu.00315.2021

https://www.jsams.org/article/S1440-2440(06)00139-3/abstract

The transition from marathon to ultramarathon is more nuanced than simply running longer. In this episode, CTS Coach Cliff Pittman breaks down the biggest differences between marathon and ultra training, and what athletes actually need to change when making the jump.

We cover terrain, pacing, fueling, durability, gear, mental resilience, and the “Minimum Effective Change” model used while helping Olympic medalist Molly Seidel transition into trail ultrarunning.

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/

Running Pace and Heart Rate Training Zones Calculator: https://trainright.com/running-pace-and-heart-rate-zone-calculator/

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/

Fitness progress is often hard to recognize and frustrating to “track”. In this episode, CTS Coach Cliff Pittman breaks down the most reliable ways to measure endurance improvement and how those benchmarks change depending on your level of structure and available tools.

We cover easy run heart rate trends, Strava segments, interval repeatability, threshold testing, and why patterns over time matter far more than isolated data points.

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/

Running Pace and Heart Rate Training Zones Calculator: https://trainright.com/running-pace-and-heart-rate-zone-calculator/

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/

Easy running is often misunderstood, underappreciated, or done too hard. In this episode, CTS Coach Cliff Pittman breaks down what easy running actually does physiologically and why it forms the foundation of endurance performance.

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/

Training zones are often presented as precise and complex, but the underlying physiology is far simpler. In this episode, CTS Coach Cliff Pittman explains the origin of training zones, why three zones reflect the true physiological model, and how five zones are used as a practical tool for structuring training.

We also cover how to determine your own zones, why labels differ across platforms, and how to apply this framework to real-world ultrarunning. The takeaway is clear: it’s not about how many zones you use, it’s about how you distribute your effort.

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

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.

Running Pace and Heart Rate Training Zones Calculator: https://trainright.com/running-pace-and-heart-rate-zone-calculator/

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/