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How do you plan for your fall offseason to ensure you recover, recharge, and still maintain your fitness level?

Proper offseason planning is key to avoiding mental or physical burnout while laying the foundation for an even stronger winter training phase. If you’ve struggled in the past with a fall training plan, we’re here to help! Here’s a guide to planning your offseason, avoiding burnout, and building solid groundwork for winter training:

1. Focus on Upcoming Goals & Active Recovery

Before diving into any structured...

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In the spirit of “choosing to suffer for those who don’t have the choice” – a phrase he and the team came up with during his adventure last year - Greg will be riding an astounding 1100 miles over 10 days, climbing over 40,000 feet to raise awareness and funds for Open Door Sports. The route is shown below and is from the RBC office in DC to the office in Montreal – via Toronto!

Last year, Greg battled incredible challenges such as incessant rain, killer bees and, yes, a heart condition (which we did not know about) for which he had surgery a month later! He...

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I went into the race weekend knowing it was going to take a lot out of me. Unbound is a huge event, arguably the paramount gravel race in the world. I knew being my best self as a coach, full of positive energy and calm reassurance meant I would need more energy and time for my athletes so I chose to race the 50 miler. It was really fun lining up with such an enormous field and I experienced a lot of those nervous start line feelings. I’ve raced Unbound 200 and I’ve coached the Unbound Gravel training camp. I know how unforgiving the terrain can be and how extreme the conditions can get. I...

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Coach Brad Stahlman and Coach Scott Jordan have dialed in practical strategies to increase their performance under intense heat conditions. This summer, Coach Scott finished 1st in his AG at the Keys 50 and 3rd in his AG at Western States Endurance Run. Coach Brad crushed the South Florida weather and completed the Keys 100.

Here’s some of their best advice that has recently helped them when temperature...

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Dear Leadville,

As I sit in my patio chair in the deck after a long day of riding bikes, working, running kids to hockey and picking up dog poop in the yard, I begin to reflect on my life and how it aligns to the Spirit of Leadville.

Oh my sweet Leadville, we have danced 12 successful times together. Each dance was a different song, but the heart and soul that we have put out there leaves us both yearning for more!

This year marks my 13th Leadville 100 MTB race. It’s going to be awesome! This one is different. Very different!...

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I am not a lifelong athlete. I don’t have athletic DNA. I’m 55 years old, live at sea level in a state whose biggest climbs are the overpasses and I’m 6’2/ 190 pounds. I realize this is not the ideal scenario for racing mountain bikes in the Rockies. I’m just a guy off the couch who believes you can achieve remarkable things if you truly believe in yourself, surround yourself with the right people and commit to the goal.

Sounds really inspiring, right? Well on February 18, 2023, while pre-running an XC course, I misjudged a feature on the course and found myself on the ground in...

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I am writing my story to inspire the heck out of every athlete who is trying to overcome an injury because injuries do happen, and we all fear it can destroy our hard work and dreams.

Seven years ago, on a different continent and hemisphere an armed robber pushed a gun to my leg and pulled the trigger. I had just returned home from competing in my third Ironman, feeling strong and probably in the best shape of my life. As good endings go, my fitness and strength saved my life. The bullet severed my femoral artery, shattered my femur, and disintegrated a section of my quadricep,...

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I have always been a runner. Running is existential for me; it is where I feel most alive. By the same token, I have always enjoyed spending long days in nature. Growing up in Hawaii, I spent long days hiking and surfing. Since in Colorado, I have relished spending long days hiking in the mountains, especially at altitude above the tree line.

For most of my adult life, I have been a road runner. In my late 40s and early 50s, still primarily a road runner, I would jump in the Leadville Heavy Half for the pure joy of doing a 13er with aid stations. I had a blast – running it in road...

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You'll learn a range of topics, from mindset training and mental toughness, to the importance of learning both Persist and Resist mental strategies. If you're looking to perform at your peak this season, this webinar series is a tremendous value add.

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This is a question I frequently get: With a large family, a full-time job, and countless other commitments, how do I find time to train for ultras and coach other athletes? The first answer is simply, "That's who I am," but clearly, there's more to unpack.

At the highest level, you must understand your life priorities, guiding principles, or simply your "why." My personal priorities are Faith, Family, Fitness, and Fellowship. These priorities ensure that at every decision, I'm reminded of what is important to me and strive to make those decisions in a way that supports that version...

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As I get older, I have a greater perspective on the number of commitments that make up the majority of my daily life. Like most athletes that I coach, I work hard to juggle a demanding work schedule (outside of coaching), family activities, kids schedules, home projects (I still need to make time to take down the Clark Griswold style Christmas lights from this past holiday season), planning healthy meals, spending time with friends, making time for one on one time with my wife, walking the dog, cleaning the house, putting my girls to bed, focusing on my faith, and of course squeezing in...

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Many people view the new year as a chance to set new goals and create positive changes. What is the key ingredient to creating positive changes in our lives? Consistency. How do you maintain a consistent approach to training not just in January but throughout the entire year? Three things to consider: giving yourself a period of reflection, setting realistic goals, and identifying accountability partners.

Period of Reflection

The holiday season is a time of gift giving for most of us and one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself is a period of honest reflection....

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As the chill of winter descends upon the mountains, cycling endurance athletes often find themselves transitioning into the off-season, a period often overlooked but critical for long-term success. While the temptation to lose a bit of focus, indulge at holiday gatherings, and to hibernate from training may be strong, this key downtime can be used as a golden opportunity.

At Boundless Coaching, we coach our athletes to embrace the seasonality of training and use the winter months to recharge, set new goals, and explore alternative training modalities. This proven approach helps keep...

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You work hard. You train your body. You’re disciplined and committed to improving your fitness. You follow a plan for getting stronger and faster and you push yourself towards goals that matter. In your life of being an athlete, one important element may be getting left behind, however. Your mind. Sure, we’ve all been hearing so much about sports psychology and how important things like “mental toughness” and “grit” are in reaching peak performance. But has anyone ever structured a training plan for your mind in a similar fashion for how you train your body? I’m here to change that. Here’s...

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Climbing up the first major ascent of the Wasatch Front 100, my legs were already tired. We were less than seven miles into the day, which at Wasatch meant at least 27 more hours of work. I knew my mental game was the only thing that would reliably keep me moving forward.

Nine months earlier I had gotten the incredible news that my name was drawn in the Leadville Trail 100 lottery. Leadville is my absolute favorite race and I had waited five years to toe the line again. This would be my fourth Leadville and I planned to focus my entire year on the...

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Before working with Boundless, I didn't think a strategic training plan was necessary to accomplish my running goals. I am not a pro-runner. I am just a guy who loves to test myself against mountain courses and improve on what I have done in the past. But through working with a Boundles coach, I learned that in order to maximize my potential, my training needed to be intentional.

In high school, I was taught to always push myself; to go harder, and to dig deeper. A running mentor once told me that if everyone else was giving 100%, I needed to give 110% in...

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Did you know, at 14,000 ft the air has 43% less oxygen than at sea level!?

So how do we train for Altitude?

Here’s a few tips:

1. Gradual Acclimatization: it's crucial to gradually acclimatize your body to the reduced oxygen levels. Start by training at moderate altitudes and gradually increase the elevation over time. This allows your body to adapt and build red blood cells, which carry oxygen more efficiently. Rapidly ascending to extreme altitudes increases the risk of altitude sickness.

2. You burn more energy at high altitudes. The exact increase in energy...

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11 January 2011, I had a life-changing event at age 52. I had a nearly fatal heart attack with a right coronary artery that was 100% blocked. When the doctors put in a stint and cleared the blockage, my heart stopped. The staff made me ride the lightning twice before God decided to let my heart restart. I didn’t have a cardiologist at the time, because just 6 months prior I had a physical and was given a “your good to go” diagnosis. The cardiologist that found me is a very active mountaineer (kinda weird he’s in desert of West Texas). He told me I didn’t have any sufficient heart...

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Ben Davis is a Navy SEAL Veteran and CFO of Veteran's Outdoor Advocacy Group (V.O.A.G)

Growing up in Virginia, Ben developed a passion for endurance sport and mountain sports early in life. After attending college at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Ben enlisted in the Navy serving in the SEAL teams. During his service he completed 3 deployments and an MBA from William and Mary. Ben has achieved and volunteered in numerous successful racing and mountaineering endeavors in the later years of his service. In the years since leaving the Navy, Ben has been a mentor and thought...

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I started running consistently back in 2018. I completed a few marathons and half marathons but wanted a bigger challenge, so I set my sights on Ultras, specifically the Leadville 100 Trail Race Across The Sky.

Why Leadville?

Im not sure I can give a clear reason other than it's calling my name. It's turned into something I MUST do.

I must complete this race.

I finished the Leadville Heavy Half this past Saturday and completed it in 4 hours and 7 minutes. This was my first taste of running at elevation, and I did pretty damn well, being my first time running...

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An Accidental Shift?

Stage running the Appalachian Trail and dropping the lone wolf mentality!

This past winter, I was visiting my son at college in Phoenix. About a month before I went, I was mindlessly scrolling Instagram and happened to see a post by Boundless Endurance that it was the last day to sign up for their Arizona Running Camp. It happened to be the following weekend of visiting my son, so I thought, huh! Why not sign up and kick-start some spring training on the glorious desert...

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What separates successful and unsuccessful race results can almost always be attributed to a racers ability to manage variables. In long distance bike racing, managing variables begins months or sometimes years before lining up at the start line. While physical preparedness is perhaps the most important variable, what we encounter on race day, and the way we respond is perhaps just as likely to impact how we finish the race.

My approach to managing variables has been to define those which I have total control over those which I do not. What’s critical however,...

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“It’s going to be hard work, but we'll have fun.” The last words of the first phone call with my coach. It was the end of August and I was going to run the Austin Rattler 50K in November. I had my work cut out for me. Just to spice things up a bit, I had also signed up for Brazos Bend 100 in December. Yeah, you read that right. The month right after the 50K, 28 days to be exact, I was going to tackle my first hundred.

You might be thinking to yourself that I’m overly ambitious and tad insane, and you’d be right, but that little bit of...

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Chris Barnett had run one ultra on a track previous to the Leadville 100. A 40 miler to raise money for charity. He was inspired to run Leadville even though he didn’t do any research about the race, and had no idea what he was getting into. He signed up for the Boundless coaching package with guaranteed entry, and was reffered to coach Cat Bradley by a friend. In the first couple of conversations, they both realized that he was in over his head. He had never heard of a pacer, didn’t realize it was on trails, and had no expereince with the details of ultra running including nutrition,...

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Join Boundless Coaches Jay Friedman MD and Kathy Pidcock as they cover the following:

  • Pacing and Crewing basics
  • How to Pace
  • What to Expect
  • Logistics
  • Safety
  • Gear
  • Crew and Aid Stations
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Jonathan (Jon) Clinthorne is an ultra endurance athlete with a doctorate in Human Nutrition from Michigan State University. Growing up as a competitive swimmer, the idea of training for 2 hours a day when training for ultramarathons did not seem outlandish, so he jumped right in. During college he decided to pursue nutrition as a full-time career, falling in love with the biochemistry of ultra endurance athletics. He has run over 50 ultramarathons, including twelve 100 mile races. Jon has self-experimented with just about every nutrition approach and over the years found what works and...

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As a physiologist and physician, I believe in integrating the scientific aspects of training with the joy and appreciation for the sport I’ve gained over thirty years of running and racing on trails, roads, and track. My goal is to help build a varied, sensible training plan that fits into your busy lifestyle, and will help you reach the finish line happy, healthy, and enthusiastic for whatever challenges lie ahead.

- Education & Certifications

- Physician and Physiologist

- USATF 1

Background:

• Ultra Distance/Trail Runner/Road Racing/Exercise...

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We all have been dealt an injury,nag,surgery or setback in some shape or form throughout our life. I had a freak accident that cut my Achilles tendon at a young age that shaped my path to the Leadville race series. The one thing that has got me where I am today is my mindset.

Whether you are racing one of the Leadville race series races or preparing for another race. Some of the key ingredients to getting to that finish line is listening to your body throughout your training cycles. Keeping your easy days easy and your hard days hard. Addressing, strengthening, and stretching the...

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About the Event

2022 Life Time Foundation Athletes are invited to join Boundless coach Jon Clinthorne for a 30-minute presentation on nutrition for endurance athletes. Topics will include both training nutrition, i.e. what to eat over the long haul to get your body in shape, as well as performance nutrition, i.e. what do eat immediately prior to and during ultra distance events. Expect a 15-minute presentation, followed by a 15 minutes question and answer period.

About Jon

Jonathan (Jon) Clinthorne is an ultraendurance athlete with a...

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“I’ve run a few half marathons and a couple of marathons, and I want to run an ultramarathon, but I’m not sure how to train for it. What do I do?”

Man, if I had a nickel for every time I’ve been asked that question…I could probably buy an energy gel. Maybe two! Truly, though, trying to build out a training plan to tackle a new race distance or format can be daunting. The good news is, there’s no right approach. There are many different ways to conceptualize training, and as long as your approach is thoughtful and specific to your own needs, you stand a good chance of success....

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Wowza! It's hard to believe that summer is just around the corner. Hope Pass may still be buried under a blanket of snow, but before we know it, the trailhead will be packed with buckle-hopefuls every weekend until the race has come and gone.

As summer quickly approaches, so does the 2022 Leadville Run Camp, where athletes cover the course over three days in thirteen, twenty-four, and twenty-mile runs. All above 10,000 feet and all with significant elevation change. For some, it is the only opportunity athletes have to see the course and to run at altitude...

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As a nutritionist, “what should I be eating?” is a question I get on a weekly basis from folks looking for nutrition advice. Ultimately, I hate trying to meal plan for people as I honestly don’t know what you want to eat. Rather, I think there are some staple foods that all endurance athletes should have in their pantry or fridge, and these should be incorporated into their diet on a daily basis. Below are 5 of my favorite foods that I think all endurance athletes should be eating on a regular basis.

1) Sources of Omega 3’s: Stock your pantry or fridge with sardines, tuna, canned...

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We’re still six months away from the rifle blast signaling the start of the Leadville 100 mile trail run, so it may seem a little too soon to be making a bunch of decisions about gear. But in reality, this is the perfect time to start thinking about what equipment you’ll need in August in Colorado. Any ultra runner worth their salt tablets will tell you that the biggest mistake you can make in a hundred—aside from starting too fast and, obviously, accidentally running the race in wooden clogs—is trying out a new piece of gear for the first time on race day. As training starts to ramp...

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We have all made Resolutions or Promises starting a New Year. Goals are good, SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-Frame for completing) goals are better and moderation in deciding what our goals will be for the new year is best.

The holidays are fun but can leave us feeling as if we ate our weight in desserts or not so good food. We may have been distracted with family gatherings and didn’t get all of our planned work outs in which may leave us feeling frumpy. The new year can give us that shiny new feeling of here I come 2022!

Start your new year with a...

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Just been reflecting a bit more on Leadville now that it's been almost 3 months since crossing that finish line... as I mentioned this morning, I just wanted to share with you how grateful I am for you guiding me through the training and then the race.

I know that everyone says that running the Leadville 100 will be a life changing experience, and before you do it you really wonder "how?" I've done a lot of cool things in my life that I am super grateful for. How will this be different? But it is. It stands alone as one of the single most life changing experiences I have...

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When training for an Ultra event the probability of getting an overuse injury is very high. Your number one priority through any training program is to show up to the start line healthy. Taking a proactive approach to your preventing overuse injuries is key. Below you will find some quick tips from Coach Jill Becker.

  • Warming up is key: Warmup drills- Moving hamstring stretch, moving quad stretch, hip circles, donkey kicks etc.
  • Base miles- Building the foundation
  • Incorporating cross training, especially if coming back from an injury to build your engine without...
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As I trundled through the beautiful autumnal landscape on my trail run today, the cool breeze reminded me that winter’s chill is right around the corner. This time of year, hiking up Hope Pass under a blazing sun seems a long way off. But Leadville and the rest of our summer goal races will be here before we know it. What can we do now to help ensure that we get the most out of those highly anticipated adventures? Here are a few suggestions on how best to approach winter/off-season training.

1. Take a break. If you’ve been training steadily for an extended...

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Limiting GI Distress - Low FODMAP diets

Low FODMAP diets

Basic Application and Thoughts on Race Circumstances

Huh? Fogmaps? Frogmats? Whaaa???

FODMAPs

Stands for: Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides and Polyols.

These are an otherwise unrelated group of carbohydrates that have a short chain length and can be fermented in the small intestine or colon and are thought to contribute to IBS in many individuals.

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