I have a question I'm sure someone in this thread could answer. From chapter 17 of Born to Run: "Carpenter began spending hundreds of hours on a treadmill to measure the variations in body oscillations when, for instance, he took a sip of water (the most biomechanically efficient way to hold a water bottle was tucked into his armpit, not held in his hand)."
Is this suggesting that even in the early 2000s no one was using a camelbak-type system or fuel belt in ultras? Or would that tech have been considered cheating (or just unsporting) in those days?
They existed, but were far from the svelte running packs of today. Any camelbak-style hydration at that time was focused for hikers or mountain bikers, so were either large and unwieldy to run in, or were not designed to be tightly cinched and would bounce all over the place. Belts were available but suffered from the same unwieldy/bouncy problem. Salomon and others really didn't start making running-specific packs until the 2010s, and really didn't get "good" by today's standards until the second half of that decade. Even in 2013-2014 hard bottles in the chest pockets were the standard, rather than soft flasks.
Even with the good technology of today, some people prefer to carry bottles. Whether for easier refills, or less weight, or better cooling (packs can really stifle breathability of your torso).
^^^Accurate. And I'd add the latest/greatest are waistband systems (re: Naked Running Band and similar, including some brands building the band directly into the shorts) that can completely obviate the need for vests depending on distance, aid station intervals and the like.
Post race David Roche, the winner - Training thoughts (copied from his Strava)
Back in January when @drmeganroche and I charted out the year, the dream of the Leadville 100 course record was overwhelming. But big dreams should be overwhelming. It was time to get to work.
Our plan started from 3 principles: 1. I’d need to be capable of running a 13:xx 5k at altitude, or around sub-4 min mile fitness. 6-minute mile pace would need to be a jog on race day, and that all came from improving my running economy. 2. I had to get stronger to handle the unknown distance, both in terms of threshold climbing and actual muscular strength. 3. I’d have to run every step of the race, including Hope Pass.
Most interestingly, none of those goals required lots of training volume. I did 8-12 hours of aerobic training most weeks with very few doubles given life constraints, usually around 60-75 miles of running and 1-2 bike rides (pulsing up and down for adaptations, with some bigger weeks and a longer down period for my accident). You don’t need to do consistent 100+ mile weeks to be good at this sport. I have been building endurance bricks for 18 years, and every brick counts.
With that time, we applied 6 ideas:
1. Most weeks had a speed workout (often pacing @allie_ostrander 🔥), culminating in 12 x 400 on short rest in 63 seconds at altitude in June 2. I’d do threshold sessions approximately every other week, often on the uphill treadmill at 8% or 15% grade, culminating in a massive 12 x 5 minute session a few weeks before race day 3. I did uphill treadmill runs in Z2 at 20% grade all year, including for 10 min after as many aerobic runs as I could 4. I did 3-4 days of strides every single week. My strength is my speed. 5. I biked once per week in place of a run, often using Zwift races for hard sessions (A+ racing category in Zwift!) 6. Every week, I did Ultra Legs strength + squats and took a rest day, plus did heat training
Big takeaway: you don’t need to do wild volume to have success in ultras. Get fast, stay fast year round, spend time in Z2, and stack some fun bricks in the context of your life.
The record may have shocked the ultra world. But as Megan said, it only shocked people who haven’t been following my Strava for the last decade 🧡
It's almost Leadville time! A year ago everyone thought David Roche was amazing and cheered on his accomplishment. Probably a lot of the same people bashing him now.
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