Scott Johnston, co-author of “Training for the New Alpinism” and “Training for the Uphill Athlete,” shares insights on recovery strategies for ultramarathon runners in this new podcast episode.
Johnston emphasizes the critical balance between rest and performance, outlining how factors like central nervous system fatigue, motivation, and age influence post-race recovery. The conversation highlights actionable strategies, including subjective feedback tracking, active recovery, and the importance of long-term planning for peak performance while avoiding overtraining.
Standout Quotes
“The endurance sports, they’re the biggest fatigue load comes from central nervous system fatigue because of the repetitive nature, you know, just putting one foot in front of the other.”
The Real Culprit Behind Endurance Fatigue
Recovery Time After Ultra-Distance Races: “I often think two weeks is gonna be about the right amount of time for people to get back to serious training. And for a 100-mile race, it could be easily a month before they’re really ready to absorb a high level of training like they were doing leading into the race.”
Addressing the Double-Edged Sword of Ultra Athletes: “It’s easy for us to Type-A people to kind of overpower our bodies with just our brain and say, well, I can do this…because they have the strength of will that you need to be able to run 30 miles and more. So those folks have to be especially careful to listen to their bodies, I think, and not, you know, not listen to their brain so much about, you know, hey, “Let’s get back to training because there’s another race six weeks from now,” or something.
“I would caution most people people, like, if you’re performing poorly, especially if you have this acute drop in your performance, it’s not that you’re not fit enough. It’s that you’re not rested enough.”
the Key to Training & Performance
The Importance of Rest in Endurance Sports: “I just learned over the years that you had to have that break that just, to kind of recharge your batteries, and I think it’s even more important in a sport like this that is so, you know, again, [full of] that central nervous system fatigue.”
