Dec 2024 / Jan 2025

Why Elite Runners Are Getting Faster

Ian Sharman
Dec 2024

Over the last four years, we have seen a noticeable increase of fast times in elite ultrarunning. This year, the Leadville Trail 100 saw the fastest men's podium in the race's history – including a new men's course record – and the first-place female set the second-fastest women's time. The 2024 Western States included 11 of the top 28 men’s times and six of the top nine fastest finishes ever by women. There was also a new women’s record set at UTMB this summer. On the road side, there were new records at Comrades this year (women) and last year (men and women), as well as recent records and more depth at championship races for the 100-mile distance and beyond.

There’s been a step shift in what’s possible in the sport of ultrarunning, and this benefits everyone.

What’s behind these improvements? Are there key factors that could help all runners run faster and longer, or finish races that were previously out of their grasp? After reviewing these latest statistics with my coaching team as well as other ultrarunning coaches, here’s what we found.

Improved Nutrition

Running nutrition has benefited from advancements in elite cycling where riders are sustaining higher power for longer – and not just the leaders, but the entire peloton. Riders report eating upwards of 120 g of carbs (480 calories) per hour when not much more than half of that used to be considered the upper limit. In particular, cyclists found that by mixing the types of sugars (maltodextrin, fructose, glucose and sucrose) they ingest, they can actually take more.

Part of this change is that modern gels and other nutrition options seem to be more palatable than the first generation of gels. Our experience at the front of the field suggests they’re easier to digest, too. There are two major benefits here: runners can eat more and there’s less propensity to stomach issues. More energy means less slowing down and less muscle damage (because more carbs are available and the muscles don’t need to be broken down for fuel), leading to a higher capacity later into the race. Also, being less queasy means the chances of a death march are lower, even when the legs feel okay.

It’s not easy to eat a lot throughout a long race, but elite runners have managed to consume over 120 g of carbs per hour. Hayden Hawkes, David Roche and others have shared that they ate similar amounts in their 2024 events. This does require practice to prep the gut when adding more calories.

Runners could have been under-fueling throughout training, especially during long runs. By eating more, athletes can have higher quality sessions and a faster recovery. We’ve all scraped by through our long runs with a single gel or bar, then felt the lack of fuel near the end, but this might be more harmful than we realize given the caloric deficiency.

One last change that pro cyclists have made over the past few years is using newer types of nutrition like ketone drinks and sodium bicarbonate fuel. Although these aren’t seeping into the sport of ultrarunning yet, as the sports science evolves and the prices come down, these findings could push our sport even further.

Super Shoes

Super shoes have existed in road running since the 2016 Olympics, and now we’re seeing them on the trails. There are two major components that work together to improve running economy: new foams, which rebound to save more energy, and carbon plates. Without getting bogged down with how these work, independent lab tests have shown benefits of up to 4% in running economy, which translates to a smaller gain in speed, with variations between individuals and shoes.

When I discussed this with Dr. Geoff Burns, who has undertaken much of the research into the benefits of these shoes (and is a very accomplished runner himself), we discussed a couple of nuances for ultras. First, due to the irregular surface of trails which don’t have the same rebound capacity as a hard road surface, the speed benefits may be reduced and could be thrown out altogether if the shoe feels unstable on technical terrain. Second, the bigger benefit for ultras may be that the shoes seem to reduce reported muscle soreness which makes a huge difference in a sport where everyone will have decreased muscle capacity after hours of running, whether on a road or trail.

More Professionalism

More elite runners are going all-in on ultras these days, leaving behind day jobs to live in ideal locations for training in towns like Flagstaff, Arizona. They’re hiring coaches and have access to more resources. They often travel to race courses in advance to check out the terrain, sometimes spending months on a course to prepare for race day.

Runner crews are larger, and often include experienced runners and sponsors who help dial in every detail. For example, Courtney Dauwalter mainly relied on crew to quickly swap out exactly what she wanted at aid stations during her 2023 Western States record. Cooling vests are also becoming more popular at hot races like Western States, and techniques for dealing with heat or altitude are being executed better than ever.

We’re seeing more top-level collegiate track runners switching straight to trail ultras rather than aiming for Olympic medals in their usual distances. This brings more speed to the sport with years of guided training as a better starting point than most runners.

Larger Pool of Runners

As the sport continues to grow, it means we have a larger pool of runners and a better chance of finding superstars who might not come from a running background.

4-Minute Mile Effect

After Roger Bannister broke the 4-minute mile in 1954, he gave others the belief it was possible and the very next month, John Landy went even faster. It seems we’re getting a similar effect in ultras where insane course records have led more runners to push for faster times, following the pacing and other tactics of trail blazers.

Doping

With the lack of drug testing in ultras and the ease with which cyclists have evaded much more stringent controls, it’s impossible to say what effect doping might be having. But there’s no doubt that this is a potential area where unscrupulous runners could gain an edge by cheating. Note that all the tactics in the first five points above are legal and within the rules, plus they explain a large improvement in finish times.

What Can We Learn?

There’s been a step shift in what’s possible in the sport of ultrarunning, and this benefits everyone as the science and experience of the pointy end of the field trickle through to everyone else. Many of the factors identified above are useful for all runners, especially the following:

Even if you think gels aren’t for you, try some of the new options during your training.

Don’t obsess about eating 120 g of carbs per hour, but there is a good chance you’ll benefit from eating more during long runs and races.

If your budget allows, try out some trail super shoes and see which model feels best.

Don’t spread yourself thin by running too many races—really dial in your ‘A’ races with a longer build-up.

Make sure you explain exactly what you want from your race crew at aid stations, while ideally including experienced ultrarunners on the team.

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