Category: Training Theory
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Pre-race checklist #2 – Race-Day Specifics
This is one of the most important facets to training, especially in the three to six weeks before an event. Making it more race-specific is usually best, especially in a couple of key training sessions per week. This goes with practicing your nutrition at race pace/effort, getting on terrain that is similar enough (or maybe…
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Pre-race checklist #1 – Fuelling & Nutrition
A – Have you figured out what fuelling options work best for you in training? Have you tested your carb and sodium levels to see what works best for your body? And at similar enough lengths to your event? I ask every question you need to consider about fuelling and nutrition prior to your next…
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Weekly Newsletter – The benefits of strides
I don’t think strides are anyone’s favourite thing when it comes to running, there are few things that can give you more bang for your buck from a training and physiology perspective, especially in helping you reach that echelon you have for yourself faster. Here is why strides are so important to long-term development.
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The secrets to feeling like a 10
Anyone who runs knows that running your best requires more skillsets than just being able to run fast. At times, it’s as much a psychological game as a physical one, and you can make, break, or completely sabotage yourself through your mind alone, regardless of your fitness level going into any single day. I’ve been…
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My top tricks for getting rid of plantar fasciitis
Plantar fasciitis is one of the most common running injuries. Having had the lengthy spell on the sidelines where I tried everything to rid myself of the injury, I knew exactly how to manage it my second time around, and stopped it from becoming a serous issue. And while plantar fasciitis can be an injury…
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Constructing your racing calendar
With so many options at the touch of a registration button, it can be difficult for athletes to not overdo it when selecting their races. For many of us, myself included, racing is like nothing else in the sport. It is the #1 thing that can keep us motivated, curious, excited, and just feeling our…
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Weekly Newsletter – How much vert do you actually need for mountain races?
This weekend marked the anniversary of one of my favourite races – Sulphur Springs. It’s the fastest and most competitive trail race in Ontario, and with its runnable terrain and modest elevation, provides the opportunity for trail and road runners to intertwine. In Ontario, you don’t get that much high-quality, runnable trails, as they’re either…
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Weekly Newsletter – My fuelling secrets in 2025
Fuelling is one of the three most essential facets to getting better as an athlete (alongside proper training and recovery). And it’s equally essential to aiding the training and recovery process both in the prehab and rehab in between runs. Not to mention all the fuelling that needs to happen during the thing itself. With…
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Weekly Newsletter – The secrets to my recovery in 2025
As someone who is forever injury prone and forever punished by simple recovery mistakes, I’m always scrutinizing over recovery. Recovery is the single most important facet of training. Way more important than the training itself. It’s not only where those key adaptations take place. But it’s your body’s chance to allow you to continue to…
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How I’ve become a better trail runner by running less on trails
I knew I needed to prioritize my “speed” in 2025 to get faster. But I didn’t realize how quickly we could make cosmic changes just from more of an emphasis on one thing: Road running (i.e. running economy and efficiency).
Rhys Desmond 