The Real Science of Sport Podcast

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Show notes

This week, Andreas Almgren wins the New York City Marathon on debut, Peter Attia changes his mind on zone 2 training, and we ask what makes an expert credible:

(00:00:19) Andreas Almgren wins New York in 2:06:01 on a perfect marathon debut, ending a run of 54 straight Major wins by African-born men. His second half, under 1:02, is perhaps the fastest ever run in NYC. Ross reckons that makes him a 2:02 marathoner, and we debate whether he should try the 10,000m and the marathon at the 2028 Olympics in LA
(00:17:51) Chepkirui wins the women’s race, Jess McClain runs the tangents (and maybe the hills) better than anyone, and we grumble about TV coverage that missed Almgren’s decisive move
(00:26:11) Ellis Genge calls rugby’s constant law changes “berserk”. Ross explains why the game has to react to trends like the hip drop tackle, and a lively debate ensues about whether Rugby needs more ball in play to attract and retain fans
(00:41:39) Peter Attia admits zone 2 isn’t needed for people training a couple of hours a week. We revisit what drives mitochondrial adaptation, then ask how to tell a credible expert from a confident one, and why a simple message, lacking nuance, is always the biggest red flag
(00:54:57) The ATP considers halving doubles, tennis tightens whereabouts at tournaments, and the 2027 WADA Code redefines contamination. Is this the “Sinner rule”?
(01:05:42) Follow-ups on the human-powered Channel crossing and our listener Anna’s ride around Australia, then, sadly, a runner’s death in New York, a footballer killed on the field in Spain, and Jack Campbell’s injury in the NFL
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Dr Joel Mason, PhD, is an international award-winning sport scientist with a PhD in neuromuscular physiology, a decade of experience guiding Australian track and field athletes to international representation, and five years as a high-performance manager for top-flight European football teams, in addition to his roles as an educator and researcher. His research profile spans running performance and biomechanics, neural correlates of performance and health, and injury risk factors, and he recently worked with podcast co-host Prof. Ross Tucker on research into the effects of supershoes on women versus men (see show notes below). Mason also details the challenges facing sports scientists, what job prospects look like, and the satisfaction he gets from applying scientific knowledge to his day-to-day coaching role.

SHOW NOTES:

Mason's Trackademic website
Follow Mason on Instagram
The most recent shoe paper showing that women get more benefit from super shoes than men. Mason collaborated with co-host, Prof. Ross Tucker, on this paper
A previous supershoe paper by Mason, which paved the way for the recent analysis in men and women
Mason's Google Scholar page, with links to other studies he has published
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Show notes

This week, Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir is provisionally suspended for EPO, and we ask what Kenya’s doping problem means for trust in marathon running, before previewing Andreas Almgren’s New York debut:

(00:00:56) Peres Jepchirchir, perhaps the most decorated marathon athlete ever caught doping, tested positive for EPO out of competition in July, a month before winning Sydney. We discuss EPO and the biological passport, why Kenyan doping looks so rudimentary, and her agent's reaction
(00:09:47) Should Kenya lose the 2029 World Championships, or be banned outright? Ross explains why punishing the federation flips the incentive and will just cause the problem to be ignored and hidden. Gareth finds that India and Italy have more violations in WADA’s figures, and we look at a 2027 WADA Code rule that triggers automatic investigation of support personnel
(00:33:49) The 2027 Tour de France route, with two time trials and the mountains pushed late, is being called “anti-Pogačar”. Ross does the per-kilometer arithmetic on Remco Evenepoel's TT gains, and reckons it only delays the inevitable
(00:45:07) Andreas Almgren makes his marathon debut in New York. Why pace calculators can’t account for a course with only 22 times under the top 1000 threshold, why heat training may suit him better than altitude, and whether he can end a run of 54 straight Major wins by African-born runners
(00:59:32) And finally, the most extraordinary marathon career in history, Yuki Kawauchi’s 118 marathons (with a PB in his 97th). Plus, a drone stops an Arsenal match, and can anybody really pedal across the English Channel at 400 watts?
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Show notes

This week, lactate gels go on sale with Tadej Pogačar’s name in the promotions, and we test the claim that lactate is a “third fuel source”, before revisiting carbs and the Kona collapses:

(00:00:19) The lactate gel UAE Team Emirates used at the Tour de France is now on sale. We look at the marketing, ask whether 10 grams of lactate can beat 10 more grams of carbs, and go through the studies, which so far suggest stomach problems, unchanged blood lactate levels, and dubious performance benefits. Ross is skeptical, though open to a brain/signalling role, or a buffering effect
(00:27:06) What Taylor Knibb got right at Kona (patient pacing, and a walk through an aid station), what Kristian Blummenfelt would change, and why Lucy Charles-Barclay “still doesn’t know what happened”
(00:35:41) Tim Noakes now has a “novel” brain mechanism for why 120 grams of carbs an hour works. Is it a U-turn? And is it novel?
(00:43:19) Road sprinter Jonathan Milan becomes the first man under 3:59 in the individual pursuit at the Track World Championships
(00:51:13) A survey calls British Cycling’s culture “toxic”, and the judge in the Larry Nassar trial says sport has barely changed. Why is safeguarding so hard to implement in elite sports environments?
(01:03:45) World Rugby cracks down on hip drop and knee drop tackles, and Ross explains the evidence that informed the decision, from 13,000 coded tackles
(01:13:31) Canada beat England, ending their unbeaten run in women’s rugby
(01:16:55) And finally, a boxing referee ignores the towel (twice), and Lamine Yamal has played 8,200 minutes of football by the age of 18.
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SHOW NOTES
From the evidence on early specialisation to the formula most likely to produce a champion sportsperson, talent specialist Stuart Armstrong breaks down the science and data on identifying and developing young talent. For parents everywhere with a child showing sporting promise, Armstrong offers practical advice on how to sustain motivation and decide whether to pursue a pro sporting career or foster a lifelong love of sport. Armstrong also breaks down the path most likely to produce a champion, and it's not what you think. Armstrong is the managing director at Future Coach, a Learning Innovation Architect, Skill Acquisition Specialist and host of the Talent Equation Podcast and has spent most of his career working in the talent ID field, having previously worked for Sport England.

Members are invited to submit questions for a follow-up Members podcast with Armstrong via our Discourse channel. Become a Supporter here for ad-free shows, a members-only Applied show every week and regular discussions on our Discourse channel.

Links

Stuart's Future Coach website, his new venture.

Some of the studies related to the concept of early specialisation, as discussed on the show:
A systematic review of professional, elite and Olympic athletes. Those who delayed specialising had fewer injuries and, in most sports, performed better.
A systematic review of team sports that found early specialisation is linked to more injuries and more young players quitting. Playing a variety of sports helps them develop.
A study of 67,600 track and field athletes. Only about a quarter of the top-100 U18s made the senior top 100, and 68.5% of top-100 seniors had never been in the top 100 as juniors.
The study of nearly 6,000 Italian sprinters, hurdlers and throwers. The best reached their peak later, around 23–25, and only about 1 in 5 had been top level at 14–17.
A paper showing how inconsistently “early specialisation” is defined. Only 21% of 129 papers used the full four-part definition, which makes it hard to say what the harm actually is.
This study of Spanish sprinters found that only 3.8% of the top-20 U14s went on to reach the senior elite.
A review on junior tennis concludes that early specialisation raises injury risk and burnout without making it more likely a player reaches the elite. It recommends not specialising before age 12.
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