I’ve noticed most runners identify as either a road or trail runner with their event choices falling into one of these two categories. Throughout your career, you’re likely to have …
Ian Sharman
Ian Sharman
Ian Sharman is an ultrarunning coach with USATF and NASM certification. He is on the Altra Running Team and has represented England for ultrarunning. He only started running in 2005 but quickly got addicted to races and became a student of the sport, interested in all types of running terrain and style of event. In particular, Ian loves to explore the world through running and has raced in six continents with almost 200 marathon and ultra finishes. Some highlights include setting the record for the Grand Slam of Ultrarunning in 2013, during which he won the Leadville Trail 100. He also set the fastest North American 100-mile trail time at his Rocky Raccoon 100 course record of 12:44.
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As a coach, I spend a large proportion of my time discussing recovery to avoid over-training and maximize adaptation from harder workouts. Historically this has been a more subjective concept, …
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A high-level overview which aims to prepare runners for the specifics of dealing with high altitude races. In particular, I’ve used Leadville Trail 100-miler as an example since it’s one …
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There are many reasons why athletes take on ultras, whether it’s looking for a new challenge, different terrain or reading an inspirational book. One of the key components underlying all …
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Odds are that for the really long distances, like 100 miles, almost everyone will need to power-hike at some point during a race. To put it in context, each time …
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When life or health issues get in the way, one of the hardest choices runners must make is whether or not to run a race. Sometimes it’s for logistical reasons …
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I often get asked if there’s a secret to maintaining consistency. This question usually has the undertone of having your cake and eating it too, i.e. doing excessive training and …
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At the end of the year, most of us back off training and allow for a little downtime and reflection, plus, family commitments are especially time consuming (and fun) during …
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I’ll admit I have a bias on this topic, since when I first started running ultras in 2005, I also got hooked on road marathons. However, one thing I noticed …
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As we get into the middle of summer, many races involve running in severely hot weather. The most experienced runners use several tricks to deal with this, which are most …
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Summertime means the mountains are open for runners and hikers, and the majority of the high alpine races are during this time of year. However, many runners, especially city slickers, …
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One of the simplest improvements a runner can make to his or her training is to approach every run with a simple question: “What am I trying to achieve today?” …
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Do you find your running mojo runs low sometimes? That every run feels the same and you’re pounding familiar paths again and again? It can be easy to get stuck …
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Around the end of the year we all look forward to a little downtime from running. Then after about five minutes, we get itchy feet and want to get right …
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No matter what mileage you run per week or how many races you have in a year, it’s helpful to have an off-season, and this is the time of year …
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One thing I’m frequently asked about is how I incorporate weight vests into training, since it’s a tool I use for myself and for those I coach. It was especially …
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Races can be very useful training arenas as alternatives to solo long runs. There’s certainly a tendency for ultrarunners to race a lot more frequently than the traditional spring and …
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Through winter we all struggle to fit in any type of run with less daylight, icy roads and snowy trails. This becomes even more difficult for city dwellers in cold …
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At the end of the year most runners think about their plans for the following year, including their target races. This early planning is exacerbated by the number of lotteries …
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Ian lays out tactics for optimizing your performance for racing multiple ultras with less than a month between.