Race Ready

Nordic Team Solutions
  • 5.0 (50)
  • Fitness
  • Updated Weekly

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: contact@nordicteamsolutions.com

  1. 5d ago

    S2 E25: The VO₂ Max Sweet Spot: Finding Your Perfect Intensity

    Are you getting the most out of your high-intensity intervals, or are you going too hard? In this episode of Race Ready, Andy Newell and Brian Halligan dive into the science and execution of L4 training, VO₂ max development, and the fine line between productive intensity and unnecessary fatigue. They break down why harder isn't always better, how to pace intervals to maximize time at the right intensity, and why finishing a workout completely exhausted doesn't necessarily mean you've made the biggest training gains. The conversation explores different approaches to interval training, including hard-start intervals, steady pacing, recovery periods, and the challenges of translating laboratory research into real-world skiing. Andy and Brian discuss how terrain, workout duration, and intensity distribution influence the effectiveness of a session. They also examine lessons from elite athletes like Gus Schumacher, including the importance of managing training volume, maintaining technical quality, and recognizing when additional training may be doing more harm than good. Beyond interval training, the episode tackles some of the toughest decisions endurance athletes face: when to push through fatigue, when to back off, and how to approach training during and after illness. Andy and Brian also answer listener questions about recovery between intervals, training with limited time, and preparing for major events like the Birkie. Whether you're an elite skier, a masters athlete, or a coach looking to make every session count, this episode offers practical insights into training with greater purpose and getting faster without simply training harder.

  2. Oct 4

    S2 E24. Gus Schumacher on Training Smarter, Racing Faster & Olympic Silver

    Olympic silver medalist Gus Schumacher joins Race Ready to break down the training, racing, and lessons that have shaped his progression into one of the best cross-country skiers in the world. Gus takes us inside his preparation for the 2026 Olympics, including altitude training, managing the long taper into the Games, and the strategy behind his team sprint silver medal with Ben Ogden. He also explains why one of his biggest focuses is learning to ski fast with less effort and how efficiency under fatigue can be the difference when a race comes down to the final kilometer. We also dive into one of the biggest lessons of Gus’s career: more training isn’t always better. After years of chasing 1,000-hour training seasons, huge volume weeks, and the feeling that being tired meant he was getting faster, Gus began to realize he was chronically carrying too much fatigue. Cutting his training dramatically gave him more energy, higher-quality intensity, and room to actually absorb the work. We talk about the warning signs of overtraining, finding the right sustainable load, and why athletes can become “addicted to being tired.” Finally, Gus shares how his relationship with training has evolved as he’s gotten older and taken more ownership of his career. We discuss athlete-coach collaboration, understanding the “why” behind a training plan, using technique as a gauge of fatigue, building race-specific intensity, and developing confidence from years of successful training and racing. It’s a wide-ranging conversation about what high-performance training really looks like when the goal isn’t simply to do more but to arrive at the start line capable of doing more.

    S2 E24. Gus Schumacher on Training Smarter, Racing Faster & Olympic Silver

  3. Sep 27

    S2E23. The USSS Development Watershed w/ Lizzie Larkins

    What does it actually take to develop the next generation of American cross-country skiers? U.S. Ski Team Development Coach Lizzie Larkins joins Andy to break down the current development system, from junior clubs and REG camps to the National Development Group and eventually the U.S. Ski Team. Lizzie shares what she has learned traveling around the country working with developing athletes and why the pathway to the highest levels of the sport is rarely as linear as it appears. The conversation dives into the training itself, including where American juniors are improving and where there is still work to be done. Lizzie discusses the importance of technique, why young athletes need to make smart and gradual increases in training load, and why simply doing more isn't always the answer. Drawing on her background in nutrition and food science, she also explains why developing athletes likely need to eat more than they think, the importance of building a strong nutritional foundation before worrying about supplements, and her simple philosophy: “rocket ships need rocket fuel.” Finally, Lizzie challenges the idea of an athlete development “pipeline” and offers a different way to think about long-term development. From missing team selections and navigating college skiing to finding different routes through the sport, she explains why camps and teams should be viewed as opportunities rather than endpoints. It’s a conversation about training, coaching, community, and creating an environment where athletes can stay in the sport long enough to discover just how good they can become.

    S2E23. The USSS Development Watershed w/ Lizzie Larkins

  4. Sep 20

    S2 E22: Dani Aravich's Unconventional Path to Elite Endurance Sport

    Dani Aravich’s path to becoming a three-time Paralympian is anything but conventional. After walking away from Division I running, Dani built a career in professional sports before a conversation about the Paralympics completely changed her trajectory. She eventually found cross-country skiing and biathlon, learning an entirely new sport as an adult and working her way onto the international stage in both the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games. Dani joins us to talk about the realities of building an aerobic engine later in life, learning the technical demands of cross-country skiing, balancing biathlon and skiing, and figuring out how much training her body can actually absorb. We also dig into burnout, overtraining, the value of patience in endurance development, and an idea that might seem counterintuitive: being happier outside of sport may actually give you a greater capacity to suffer when racing gets hard. But this conversation goes well beyond Dani’s own athletic career. We discuss the future of para Nordic sport, why para athletes benefit from being fully integrated into clubs and national-team environments, and what Olympic and Paralympic athletes can learn from one another. Dani makes the case for seeing para sport not as a separate world, but as an integral part of the high-performance community: where athletes bring the same commitment, sacrifice, pride, and pursuit of excellence to their sport. Learn more about Culxtured at https://culxtured.com/

    S2 E22: Dani Aravich's Unconventional Path to Elite Endurance Sport

  5. Sep 13

    S2E21: How to Actually Get Faster on Skis

    As race season gets closer, speed training needs to evolve. But going harder isn’t always the answer. In this episode, Brian and Andy break down the difference between true sprinting and training efficiency at speed. They discuss why 30–60 second efforts shouldn’t always be all-out, how staying relaxed can actually make you faster, and why maintaining good technique under speed is one of the most important skills to develop heading into winter. They also dive into the physiology behind short efforts, including how the aerobic and anaerobic systems contribute at 10, 30, 60, and 90 seconds. The conversation explores why even elite sprint skiers need massive aerobic engines, how speed should fit alongside endurance and strength throughout an athlete’s development, and why you shouldn’t wait until an athlete is “fit enough” before teaching them to move fast. Brian and Andy also share practical examples for incorporating short sprints, 30-second speed work, threshold intervals, and pace-project sessions into fall training. Finally, they answer a listener question about scheduling intensity for junior ski clubs, including whether Tuesday/Thursday intensity sessions are too close together, how recovery needs change with age, and how coaches can make the most of limited team training days. Whether you’re a skier trying to sharpen up for winter or a coach building your fall training plan, this episode offers a practical framework for developing speed without simply adding more intensity. Energy System Usage: 10 seconds: 91% anaerobic, 9% aerobic (phosphagen system dominates) 20 seconds: 82% anaerobic, 18% aerobic 30 seconds: 75% anaerobic, 25% aerobic 60 seconds: 58% anaerobic, 42% aerobic (glycolysis peaks then dips) 78.6 seconds: 50% anaerobic, 50% aerobic (the equal-split tipping point) Over 90 seconds: Aerobic oxidation takes over as the primary energy source Anaerobic and Aerobic Energy System Contribution During Maximal Exercise: A Systematic Review

  6. Sep 6

    S2E20. Why Fall Training Is Where Athletes Get Into Trouble

    As summer training gives way to fall, the focus begins to shift from building volume to adding more race-specific intensity. Getting that transition right can be tricky. In this episode, Brian and Andy break down how to introduce more L4 work without sacrificing the aerobic fitness built all summer. They discuss why adding intensity doesn’t necessarily mean dramatically cutting volume, which parts of the training week may need to change, and why the fall can be one of the easiest times of year for athletes to overreach. They also dig into the bigger picture of managing training stress. Hard intervals aren’t the only thing your body has to recover from: school, work, travel, poor sleep, and everyday life all contribute to the total load. Brian and Andy discuss fueling harder training blocks, keeping easy sessions truly easy, monitoring fatigue, and why experienced athletes are often the ones most willing to modify a workout when their body is telling them something different than the training plan. Finally, they tackle listener questions covering rucking for endurance athletes, structuring training for high school cross-country ski teams, balancing technique, intensity, distance, and strength, and how strength training should count toward total annual training hours. It’s a wide-ranging conversation about making smarter training decisions as race season gets closer. The goal isn’t simply to complete the plan, but to absorb the training and get faster.

  7. Aug 30

    S2 E19. From Skiing to Ultra Running w/ David Norris

    David Norris has spent more than two decades figuring out what it takes to go fast. A former World Championship skier, two-time American Birkebeiner champion, seven-time Mount Marathon winner, and now elite trail and ultrarunner, David joins us to talk about how his approach to endurance training has evolved across skiing and running. We dig into the durability that comes from years of high-volume ski training, the challenge of pacing long races, and what he has learned while transitioning from World Cup skiing to racing some of the biggest mountain ultras in the world. David also breaks down some of the biggest training lessons he has learned along the way. We discuss why the workouts that make you the most tired aren't necessarily the workouts that make you faster, the differences between threshold training for skiing and running, and why improving running economy forced him to move away from some of his favorite ski-style workouts. We also get into his approach to preparing for a 50K ski race, balancing L3 and L4 intensity, training at altitude, strength and plyometrics, and how skiers should approach the transition back onto snow. Beyond the workouts, David shares a valuable perspective on longevity in endurance sport. We talk about coming painfully close to the Olympics, learning that a single result doesn't define you as an athlete, balancing full-time work with high-level training, and why he no longer stresses about cutting a workout short or missing a few miles. It's a wide-ranging conversation about training smarter, developing durability, finding the adaptations that actually matter, and building a relationship with endurance sport that can last for decades.

    S2 E19. From Skiing to Ultra Running w/ David Norris

  8. Aug 23

    S2E18. What happens to your body at 8,000 ft (2,500m)?

    This week on Race Ready, Andy checks in from one of the most unique training environments in North America: the Haig Glacier in Alberta. With athletes hiking nearly an hour just to reach the snow and training above 8,000 feet, the conversation dives into how to structure a productive volume camp without turning it into a survival contest. Andy and Brian break down how much to increase training volume, why consistency matters more than one massive week, and how to keep easy training truly easy. From there, the episode becomes a deep dive into altitude training. They discuss what happens to the body during the first 24–48 hours at altitude, why the first two days should usually be kept easy, how long it takes to create meaningful altitude adaptations, and how athletes should approach racing at elevation when they can't arrive weeks in advance. The conversation also covers how intensity should change at altitude and why the goal is often to let the physiological adaptation do the work rather than forcing hard sessions. Andy and Brian also take on the Zone 2 training debate, using Johannes Klæbo's training philosophy as a jumping-off point to discuss why more moderate-intensity work is not always better for high-volume endurance athletes. They finish with practical lessons on technique, fueling, hydration, recovery, and why getting hungry during a long training session may already mean you've waited too long to fuel. It's an episode packed with useful takeaways for any endurance athlete trying to train more, recover better, and make big training blocks actually count.

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5
out of 5
50 Ratings

About

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: contact@nordicteamsolutions.com

Information

  • Creator
    Nordic Team Solutions
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    71
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Nordic Team Solutions
  • Show Website
    Race Ready

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