206. Uphill Athlete Coach Scott Johnston on the Tripod of Endurance

The Strength Running Podcast

Our guest today is Scott Johnston, an expert in endurance sports including everything from alpine skiing to mountain running. He has worked with Killian Jornet, arguably one of the best ultra endurance athletes on the planet, and numerous top cross country skiers in the US.

He's the author of Training for the Uphill Athlete and Training for the New Alpinism. Both books are manuals for athletes and coaches, filled with resources and tools to elevate endurance training.

Scott Johnston is himself a lifelong endurance athlete, having performed at high levels in swimming, skiing, and climbing. As a coach, he has practiced and refined an approach to training athletes that emphasizes the skills that can be practiced and acknowledges the genetic determinants of certain abilities.

In this episode, Scott explains the tripod of endurance, which are the foundational principles for going long in any sport.

Listen to the entire episode to better understand these three principles and what you can do to improve your own training, including:

• Running with perfect form, as David Rudisha does
• Collecting feedback by video, mirror, or other method to assess your running
• Including strides in workouts
• Strength training for endurance

Thank you Precision Hydration!

Thank you to our newest sponsor, Precision Hydration. If you've ever struggled with hydration or electrolyte issues, use code STRENGTH15 to get 15% off your first order. They offer tablets, packets, and other essentials to help you train in any environment.

Precision Hydration knows that there isn't a one-size-fits all approach to hydration, which is why I love that they help athletes refine their hydration strategy for whatever event they're training for. If you can’t get a custom sweat test done, they have a free online test that will give you your own personalized hydration strategy.

It’s heating up where I am and I’m ending my runs a lot sweatier than I was just a month ago. I know I’ll be paying a lot more attention to my hydration and electrolyte needs. This is especially important with longer runs in the mountains here at altitude.

You can learn much more about hydration in my conversation with the founder of Precision Hydration, Andy Blow.

Check out Precision Hydration and get 15% off your first order of electrolytes that match how you sweat by using the code "STRENGTH15".