Race Ready
Race Ready
Podcast Description
Race Ready is the go-to podcast for Nordic skiing and biathlon coaches, athletes, and endurance sport enthusiasts. Hosted by Olympian Andy Newell and U.S. Biathlon coach Brian Halligan, each episode dives into technique, training, race strategy, and athlete development. Hear from top coaches, pros, and sport scientists as we explore what it takes to perform at your best—on and off the snow.
Contact us with questions or topic requests: [email protected]
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast emphasizes themes of technique, training, race strategy, and athlete development, with episodes featuring discussions on topics like training logs, intensity zones, and cross-training for injury prevention. For instance, the episode with U.S. Ski Team athlete Julia Kern explores mental preparation and training adaptations during injury setbacks.
Race Ready is the go-to podcast for Nordic skiing and biathlon coaches, athletes, and endurance sport enthusiasts. Hosted by Olympian Andy Newell and U.S. Biathlon coach Brian Halligan, each episode dives into technique, training, race strategy, and athlete development. Hear from top coaches, pros, and sport scientists as we explore what it takes to perform at your best—on and off the snow.
Contact us with questions or topic requests: [email protected]
In this episode of the Race Ready Podcast, Andy and Brian dive into some timely listener questions and share their insights from a busy summer of training, testing, and travel. Brian recaps his recent certification at the IBU Academy and offers a behind-the-scenes look at US Biathlon’s June testing camp, including motion capture biomechanics, shooting analysis, and fatigue-based vision research. Andy previews the return of the FIS Cross-Country World Cup to Lake Placid and highlights the value of domestic World Cups for athlete development.
The duo then unpacks the complexities of zone 2 training, addressing a listener question from a master’s skier struggling to keep their heart rate low during roller skiing. Andy and Brian explore how perceived effort, recovery capacity, and training volume all influence heart rate zones—offering practical advice for athletes balancing technique work, fatigue, and the realities of life outside training. They also stress the importance of easy days and emphasize that not all gains come from grinding.
The final segment dives deep into interval training strategies: How long should intervals be for marathon racers? What are the trade-offs between 3-minute reps vs. 15-minute threshold sets? The conversation covers emerging trends in high-quality, power-based interval sessions, the science of VO₂ kinetics, and why all endurance sports are trending toward speed and power as competition intensifies. Whether you’re a coach, junior athlete, or master skier, this episode offers practical tools to fine-tune your training.
Linked studies:
https://www.calibratedcoaching.com/blog/energysystems/vo2kinetics
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