RA072 | Ian Sharman: How to Become an Ultra Runner (and advice for Marathoners too)

Summary: Ian Sharman has been racing around the world since 2005 and coaching since 2010, having raced nearly 200 ultras and marathons in all. A UK native that has since called the US home, he’s won almost 50 events including multi-day races, road marathons, trail ultras and adventure races with experience of running in many mountain ranges, including the Himalayas, Andes, Rockies and European Alps. He holds the fastest time in a trail 100-mile race in the US at 12 hours 44 minutes, where he crushed a 15-year-old course record and set the new North American record for the distance by over 30 minutes. He was also the 2013 Leadville Trail 100 Champion and completed the grand slam of four 100 mile races in a 10 week period. He directs the US Sky Running series, coaches ultra runners and has a stellar coaching team at SharmanUltra comprising of elite ultra runners Ellie Greenwood (who won the Comrades Marathon herself) and Liza Howard. He also holds 9 Guinness Book of World records for running marathons in costume in the fastest time. In this episode, Ian and I talk about his career along with his best coaching advice including: The importance of progression and learning from your training and racing The mistakes he made and learned from on his journey from Everyday Runner to a top ultra marathoner Focusing on preserving the highest average pace as a way to get your best time Quantifying how much slower you will finish for going out too fast in the marathon through 100 mile events His overall diet and race nutrition advice - why you should keep it simple and avoid "diets" Going from injured to winning a race in 3 months - along with what to do if you are injured ahead of a key race A look into his training - and the metric he uses to determine what peak volume should be for you Why he doesn't set his training or racing in stone and the importance of being flexible Transitioning from marathons to ultra marathons - recommendations on long runs, events and training structure One change to some of your speed sessions that can give your legs that extra strength you need late in a marathon The emergence of a Sky Running circuit in the US and the difference compared to trail running His thoughts on if Sky Running has staying power Life as an entrepreneur working in the running industry after leaving the corporate world behind Coaching Minute Thoughts on setting goals and identifying the motivations behind them. Success Quote "We probably will not grow if we are too afraid to embarrass ourselves in the process." -Alexi Pappas Links Mentioned in the Show Podcast Awards - Please continue voting daily for Runner Academy under Health/Fitness Sharman Ultra - Ian's Website Becoming Ultra - Documentary of two everyday runners being coached to first 50K trail race