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The Bad Thing 50K – Race Recap – Racing Smarter, Not Harder
I almost quit running altogether. From 2009 to 2018, I did well in school. But I struggled to be smart when it came to running. After hitting the final straw with a torn hamstring in 2018, I took four years to fall back in love with the sport. Normally love like this would be doomed…
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Merging repetition & race-practice together
There’s often a conflict between the old-school coaches who design “drills” focused on repetition, and the new-school coaches who provide actual education toward what players will encounter in a game. But in reality, the two can easily be merged together. You see, game-realistic activities around a specific session topic naturally allow for repetition toward the…
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Visualization and race-specific training
I’ve always had a wild imagination. Growing up, I’d play hockey and soccer in my basement for hours on end. Every single time, I’d visualize being the best in the world. I’d break all the records, score the wildest of goals, and mesmerize the commentators every time. When I quit hockey at age 12 and…
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The art of downhill running
Much of the advice comes down to training with someone else that is good and watching their lines of travel, doing downhill intervals, or the very true facet of confidence. But you rarely here an elite runner discuss what they do from a technical perspective to run better at downhills. I discuss how to get…
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The power of reframing negative thoughts
As the self-conscious individuals that we are, it’s impossible to go an entire day with zero negative thoughts entering the mind. Despite the difficulty of that task, I used to subscribe to a ‘no-negativity’ mindset. It’s incredibly important to always think on the bright side and come up with the positives in any situation, but…
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Sulphur Springs 50k Recap – A photo-finish at the final climb
My first ultramarathon is officially in the books, and with a third-place photo finish, I feel great about how I executed the race.
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How I watch football matches for tactical analyses
As a football analyst, I often get asked a very broad question – ‘How do you watch football matches?’. What people really want to know is what I look for, the process of watching to disseminating that information to an audience, and how they can learn more about the game to see football like a…
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Weekly Newsletter: Giving yourself an off-season
Last Sunday, I concluded my season with a historic half marathon (literally called the Historic Half Marathon). I think I’ve often looked at this year’s races as somewhere within the ‘B’ tier, with no standout results, no podium finishes and no ‘A+’ days. I’m inevitably hungry for what’s to come in 2026 and to put…
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Historic Half Marathon – Race Recap
I don’t know what it is with my body. Why it always chooses the week of a race to get sick. Racing while sick isn’t easy, but I also need to get better at being uncomfortable. Here is what I learned from Vancouver’s Historic Half Marathon.
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Dancing in the storm
It’s been over a year now in B.C., and almost two since the reason I’m really here. And it forever feels difficult feeling like most of that has been thrown behind either in pursuit and prioritization of the efforts I put into my work in Ontario at the time, or after it inevitably ended so…
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Weekly Newsletter – The Strava metrics that actually matter
Recently, I’ve noticed a wonderful trend with my fitness. My heart rate has continued to lower by the month, both on easy runs and workouts. Faster paces are more manageable than they’ve been in years. Yet Strava has continuously shown a downward trajectory in my “Fitness”. It’s easy to see that this isn’t correct. But…
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Weekly Newsletter – The best fitness stems from a variety of stimuli
My greatest transformation this year has been really loving running on flat ground again. Running on roads in particular (which, actually, aren’t flat at all where I live), and the flatter paths that I might have previously avoided. And it’s completely showed up in my fitness! Here is why you need a variety of work…
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Weekly Newsletter – Dealing with low motivation
As the 2025 racing season comes to a close and the distant goals of next year feel oh so far away, it’s important to continously check on your moitvation levels and ensure that you’re in a good place for when training starts to get serious again. Here is how you can resolve feelings of low…
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Jackass 31K @ Javelina – Race Recap – Alone in the dark 🔦
I treated this trip like an adventure. I didn’t have an exact time or place goal. I just wanted to have fun. And despite all the darkness of the race, there was a whole lot of adventure light. Here is my race recap of my 4th place finish at Javelina Jackass 31K!
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Weekly Newsletter – Constructing your 2026 Racing Calendar
As 2025 comes to a close, many of you have already given your racing plans for 2026 some significant and serious thought. After making sure you’ve taken enough time to celebrate the season that was, here is what you should keep in mind when constructing your 2026 racing calendar!
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Weekly Newsletter: My favourite workouts of 2025
As the year starts to come to a close, I reflect upon my favourite workouts of 2025.
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Weekly Newsletter – The biggest lesson I learned each year on the trails
As another year of training racing starts to approach its end, I reflect on the biggest lessons I’ve learned in each of my years in the sport of trail running so far!
Rhys Desmond
Training Theory & Coaching
Rhys Desmond 