Durabilityby Ultralabs
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Field notes

How I coach, written down.

What I actually do with athletes and why, in plain words. Strength, easy running, fuelling, descents, heat and race preparation: the decisions I make, what I look for in the data and the evidence behind them.

Durability is what happens after the fitness test ends.

You can have the aerobic fitness to run an ultra and still fall apart when the distance gets serious. Your heart and lungs can still be working. The pace still disappears. That's durability.

I look at what changes as a run gets longer: the heart rate required to hold pace, when efficiency begins to fall, how the legs cope with climbing and descending, whether fuelling holds up and whether the same athlete is still moving well after three, four or six hours. Then we train the thing that actually failed.

The aim isn't simply to make you fitter. It's to make the fitness you already have last longer.

An ultra runner deep into a long run on an exposed moorland ridge under heavy skies, tired but still moving

Durability · 31 August 2026 · 6 min

Your lungs are fine. So why do your legs fall apart after three hours?

Fitness and durability are not the same thing. What actually deteriorates on a long run, how I spot it in the data, and how we train the thing that failed.

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A close crop of a tired trail runner checking a plain GPS watch, mud on the forearm, wet woodland behind

Data · 31 August 2026

Why your watch says recovered when you aren't

Recovery scores see part of the picture. What HRV and readiness numbers are good for, where they fall short, and how I actually use them.

5 min read →
A masters runner at a kitchen table in early morning light with coffee, a paper training diary and a GPS watch

Training · 30 August 2026

The seven-day training week is made up

Your body doesn't know it's Thursday. Why some runners over 40 need more space between hard sessions, not easier training, and how I decide.

5 min read →
An ultra runner in desert heat squeezing a soft flask to drink, salt crust on the forearm

Heat · 29 August 2026

Heat training without a desert: hot baths, saunas and a two-week plan

Heat is trainable in a bathroom. The acclimatisation protocol, what it does to your blood, and the timing that makes it stick for race day.

5 min read →
A vast desert plateau with a single tiny runner on a long exposed trail

Racing · 20 August 2026

Your first ultra at 40+: getting from marathon to 50k without breaking

The honest gap between a marathon and a 50k, a 16-week structure that respects a masters body, and the progression rule I care about most.

6 min read →
An anatomical runner descending a steep slope with the quadriceps and shin muscles glowing under load

Durability · 9 August 2026

Downhill running wrecks quads: how to train for descents

Why the descents end more mountain races than the climbs, what eccentric load does to your legs, and how to build descent-proof quads.

5 min read →
An ultra runner's hands tearing open an energy gel mid-run on a rocky trail

Fuelling · 26 July 2026

How many carbs per hour in an ultra? Train your gut like you train your legs

The evidence-based fuelling ranges, the gut-training ladder from 40 to 90 grams per hour, and why lab numbers lose to long-run practice.

6 min read →
A masters-age runner alone on a flat gravel track at dawn, relaxed and unhurried

Training · 12 July 2026

Your easy runs are too hard: heart rate for runners over 40

The most common mistake in masters running, why it stalls progress, and how a heart-rate cap fixes it in one move.

5 min read →
A masters-age runner mid-rep in a heavy trap bar deadlift in a plain garage gym

Strength · 28 June 2026

Strength training for runners over 40: two sessions that keep you racing

Why strength work is the most defensible addition to a masters running programme, what two sessions a week look like, and what to skip.

6 min read →

Build legs that last.

Tell me your race and where things break down. I'll come back within two working days.

Start your Durability assessment