News

Ultramarathon Aid Station Tips: What Actually Works When You're Out There
Ultramarathon Aid Station Tips: What Actually Works When You're Out There TL;DR Most aid station problems come from poor planning weeks before the race, not from the stations themselves. The key is knowing the course layout beforehand, arriving with a specific written plan for what you'll grab at each station, managing your time without rushing through genuine needs, and learning your body's signals—especially the difference between normal fatigue and actual depletion that needs addressing. Kilometre 58 of a 100k, a fold-up table with warm Coke, bananas gone brown at the... Read more...
Gifts for Ultra Runners: What Actually Works Before and After the Miles
Gifts for Ultra Runners: What Actually Works Before and After the Miles TL;DR The best gifts for ultra runners are organic cotton apparel with culture-specific slogans, practical recovery items that fit into existing routines, and consumables like socks or nutrition in brands they already use. Avoid performance gear, generic fitness products, and anything that assumes they're new to running—most ultra runners have strong opinions about their kit and use what works for them. A friend of mine once got a foam roller for finishing his first 100-miler. He already owned... Read more...
Trail Running Hoodies: What Actually Works Before and After the Run
Trail Running Hoodies: What Actually Works Before and After the Run TL;DR A hoodie for trail running is built for standing around at the start and standing still at the finish, not for running effort itself. Cotton absorbs sweat and becomes a liability during movement, but before and after a race when you're stationary, organic cotton's breathability and comfort against chafed skin make it the right choice over synthetic recovery wear. Stand at the start of any 100k with a 5 a.m. gun time and you'll see the same thing:... Read more...
Sustainable Running Apparel: Why Organic Cotton Matters for Ultra and Trail Runners
TL;DR Organic cotton belongs in a runner's wardrobe for before-and-after wear—at the start line, after the finish, and on recovery days—not during hard efforts where synthetic performance fabrics do the job better. A well-made organic cotton tee lasts years with proper care, which makes it more sustainable than cheaper synthetic alternatives that pill and degrade within a season. Standing at the start line of a 100k at 4am in October, wearing a synthetic race shirt that already smells like the last three races, is a specific kind of low. So... Read more...
What to Wear Trail Running: Layers, Fabrics, and the Stuff That Actually Works
TL;DR Wear moisture-wicking synthetic or merino wool next to your skin on the trail, never cotton, and layer your outer pieces so you can adjust as temperature and effort change. Cotton holds sweat and gets heavier as it dries; synthetics and merino move moisture away from your skin and regulate temperature better across the wide swings you'll hit between valley and ridge. You stand at the trailhead at 6am, temperature reads 4 degrees, and by the time you've climbed 400 metres you're peeling off the jacket you swore you'd need... Read more...
The Ultra Running Mindset: Staying Sharp When Your Body Wants to Quit
TL;DR The ultra mindset is the willingness to keep moving when effort stops making immediate sense, built primarily through repeated long training runs rather than mental tricks or mantras. It develops from sorting genuine warning signals (sharp, localized pain) from normal discomfort, maintaining fixed routines to reduce decision-making when fatigued, and understanding that expecting physical and mental difficulty at specific race points is more protective than trying to stay positive throughout. Somewhere around kilometre 68 of a 100K, your quads stop negotiating and just refuse. Your stomach has opinions about... Read more...
Trail Running Recovery: What Actually Works After the Long One
TL;DR The most effective recovery interventions happen before you finish the race—slowing down on final descents and eating until the end determine your metabolic starting point more than anything you do afterward. After crossing the line, prioritise cold exposure, calories, and compression in the first six hours, then gentle movement, sleep, and patience across the following days; return to hard training only after a distance-specific window that ranges from three to five days for a 50K to two to three weeks for 100+ miles. Table of Contents Recovery Starts Before... Read more...
Your First 50K Training Plan: What Actually Matters
TL;DR A 50K requires a different training approach than a marathon, with back-to-back long runs, race-specific terrain practice, and a realistic weekly schedule built around your actual life rather than an ideal template. Most first-timers underestimate how much the terrain and elevation profile shape what you need to prepare, and how much accumulated fatigue from consecutive long runs matters more than any single long distance. Table of Contents Before You Pick a Plan The 16-Week Block (What's Actually in It) Nutrition and Hydration During Training When Life Breaks Your Plan... Read more...
Ultramarathon Aid Station Tips: What Actually Works When You're 60km In
TL;DR Aid stations are where ultramarathons are won or lost, and moving through them efficiently is a learnable skill separate from fitness. Know what each station offers before race day, cap your stops at 3–7 minutes past the early kilometres, fuel to a planned carb target regardless of what looks appealing, and treat crew members as your best source of information about whether something is genuinely wrong. At km 62 of a 100k, your brain will tell you that the cheese sandwich at the next station is the best decision... Read more...
Gifts for Ultra Runners: What Actually Gets Worn After 50K
TL;DR Skip the race-day gear. Shoes, vests, gels and compression are decisions an ultra runner makes over months, and a guess from outside usually ends up in a drawer. What gets worn for years is the stuff for the other 23 hours of the day: a heavy organic cotton hoodie for the cold start line and the drive home, a tee with a slogan that only makes sense to people who have stood at an aid station at 3am. Miles Under Protest makes exactly that kind of clothing, and none... Read more...