We kick off this Spotlight at the Western States 100, where much of the buzz centered on David Roche’s DNF. Roche, a polarizing figure who promised to “science the shit” out of the race, faced unfair criticism both before and after the race, and Ross reflects on how the scientific process often works best when the "hypothesis" fails, and why confronting failed hypotheses to explain under-performance is more beneficial than riding a wave of success . The "science the shit out of it" theme continu...
Jul 02, 2025•1 hr 35 min
Carbohydrates have always been part of the endurance equation—but how much, when, and which types remain hotly debated. In this listener-driven episode, we tackle those questions and more, exploring a new paradigm in performance fueling that’s reshaping how athletes think about energy during exercise. Dr. Jamie Whitfield, Senior Lecturer at Australian Catholic University’s Mary MacKillop Institute for Health Research, joins us to break it all down. For years, endurance athletes were trained to c...
Jun 30, 2025•1 hr 27 min•Season 7Ep. 13
Join Discourse Discourse is our VIP community where listeners share insights, opinions and perspectives on the stuff we love to talk about. You can become a member by making a small monthly pledge here Show notes In a packed edition of Spotlight , we start our Discourse Digest segment with a dive into the men’s 5000m, where non-African athletes have taken control of the rankings and victories so far in 2025. Is this an aberration, or the beginning of a trend in distance running? We discuss what ...
Jun 25, 2025•1 hr 22 min
In this episode, we’re joined by Dr Joe Warne, founder of the Sports Sciences Replication Center (SSRC) and senior author of a landmark new study that should send shockwaves through the world of sports and exercise science. Joe and his team undertook an enormous replication effort—repeating the methods of previously published research to see if the results hold up. The outcome? Just 28% of the studies could be replicated. Even more striking, the effect sizes dropped by an average of 75% when rep...
Jun 23, 2025•1 hr 20 min•Season 7Ep. 12
Join Discourse for more Discourse is the best Sports Science community on the internet, and yes we are biased. But if you want to see for yourself, membership is a monthly pledge away , and then you too can gain access to opinion, insight and analysis from The Real Science of Sport army! Show notes This week in Spotlight, we kick of with a Discourse Digest exploring the UCI's equipment rules — most notably, 40cm minimum handlebar width. It may seem like a technical tweak, but the implications ar...
Jun 18, 2025•1 hr 10 min
Most sport takes place outdoors, and with growing concerns around sun exposure, active people are at a higher risk of developing skin cancer than most. Dr Dagmar Whitaker, vice president of the World Melanoma Society and one of the leading authorities on the subject, breaks down the current trends, explains which countries present a higher risk, the most effective ways to prevent skin cancer (hint: you smear it on from a young age!) and the breakthrough treatments that are not yet available. Whi...
Jun 17, 2025•1 hr 15 min•Season 7Ep. 11
Join the Discourse A small monthly donation gets you access to Discourse, our VIP community that informs these Spotlights, and exponentially adds value to your experience! If you want to support, and learn, you can donate here Show notes This week on The Spotlight, we put big claims, bold performances, and comeback stories under the microscope. In Discourse Digest (00:00) , we discuss why Beatrice Chebet’s near-world record 5000m is not a miss, just a delay. Then we shift to the French Open, whe...
Jun 11, 2025•1 hr 1 min
The science of recovery is more complex than you may think. When do you know you have recovered? What does recovery look like? How much do you need to recover? Mike and Ross delve into the subject to discuss the physiology of recovery, the most effective researched recovery methods, what science reveals about the numerous recovery products on the market, and how to utilise the right recovery protocol to enhance performance, long-term motivation and overall ability. Links Systematic review on Rec...
Jun 09, 2025•1 hr 21 min•Season 7Ep. 10
Join Discourse The Spotlight is inspired and informed by our Discourse community. If you want to be part of that, sharing insights and inspiration with listeners, you can become a Patron of the Podcast here, make a monthly pledge , and the VIP room is yours to explore! It won't cost you even 2% of what the Enhanced Games are charging, and our advice actually works, and is safe! Show notes At 1:09. In the Discourse Digest news roundup, Gareth and Ross tackle three stories where science and policy...
Jun 04, 2025•1 hr 14 min
Join Discourse Gareth Davies, Mayor of The Real Science of Sport, is ready to welcome you as a citizen of our VIP community! To join the conversation, make a monthly pledge at Patreon.com and get access to the shared expertise and passion of fellow listeners Show notes In this week’s Spotlight, we tackle an intriguing training question from a listener in our Discourse community: do short surges during easy or moderate training days undermine the training benefit? To explore this, we look to the ...
May 28, 2025•1 hr 20 min
The Cocodona 250-mile (402 km) trail run is one of the toughest endurance challenges in the world, as athletes battle the extreme distance, sleep deprivation, nutritional challenges, muddy trails and 12,500 m of elevation. Trail legend Ryan Sandes finished second in 2025 and talks to host Mike Finch and guest co-host Sean Robson about his motivation for competing, his training regimen and his own experience competing in this extreme challenge. NOTES: Check out more on the Cocodona 250 HERE Hoste...
May 28, 2025•1 hr 12 min•Season 7Ep. 9
Join Discourse Nutrition tips, training insight, performance debates, sports opinions — if you’re into it, we’re talking about it. Become part of the “Science of Sport” Discourse community via Patreon . Show notes This week on Spotlight, we take a tour through some of the big stories in sport and sports science right now—from race tactics and concussion protocols to doping ethics, expert credibility, and how we identify and develop talent. We start with a lively discussion on the Giro d’Italia a...
May 21, 2025•1 hr 27 min
Become a Discourse member Enjoy the pod? Support us with a small monthly donation on Patreon and unlock access to our exclusive Discourse community—deep dives, hot takes, and smarter sport talk await! In this week’s Spotlight , we dive into the science behind an eye-watering nutrition number: 200 grams of carbohydrate per hour. That’s what elite Ironman Cameron Wurf reportedly consumed during a record-breaking bike leg in Texas. But does the body actually use it all—or is there a ceiling to suga...
May 07, 2025•1 hr 19 min
Join The Discourse Community If you enjoy the podcast, you’ll love our Discourse community. Become a member of “The Science of Sport” community by joining with a small monthly pledge on Patreon — and be part of the conversation behind the conversation. Show notes In this week’s Spotlight , we open with a brisk roundup of major stories from the world of sport and policy. We look at new developments following the UK Supreme Court ruling on the Equality Act, including the first tangible policy resp...
Apr 30, 2025•1 hr 11 min
In this round-up of the two big spring marathons—Boston and London—Mike and Ross rate the performances of the top athletes while debating whether pacesetters should be used in major marathon events. The team then delve into the ultra-competitive world of shoe tech, where Mike gets to do a running economy test in a pair being touted as the world's fastest running shoes. SHOW NOTES: Results of the testing done by the University of Massachusetts Amherst on Puma's Fast-R 3 Study on how shoe mass aff...
Apr 29, 2025•1 hr 35 min•Season 7Ep. 8
Join our Discourse Community The Science of Sport is more than a podcast — it’s a growing community of curious, thoughtful people in sport and sports science. Join our Discourse by pledging on Patreon and tap into the deeper conversations. Show Notes Where do scientific papers come from? In this week’s Spotlight , our main focus is a “birds and bees” conversation of the scientific world. Ross walks Gareth through how a research paper is conceived, conducted, and eventually delivered into the wor...
Apr 24, 2025•1 hr 44 min
We’ve got a blockbuster episode of Spotlight for you today. We kick things off with an important discussion around women’s sport and transgender athlete policies, following a landmark ruling from the UK Supreme Court on the legal definition of “woman” in the Equality Act. We know this topic won’t be for everyone, so if you'd prefer to skip ahead to the sports performance and race insights, you can jump straight to that action at about 1:07:12 in the podcast. For those looking for insight on this...
Apr 17, 2025•1 hr 50 min
In this Spotlight episode, Ross and Gareth tackle a provocative question: should sports embrace fatigue to make the show better? We kick off with rugby union, where fresh legs off the bench and player welfare are fuelling debates about injury risks. But things quickly get philosophical. Some sports are basically designed to test how much fatigue you can take. Others are compromised when fatigue creeps in — skills drop, mistakes rise — yet fatigue also cranks up the drama and emotion. So, which s...
Apr 10, 2025•1 hr 12 min
Join the team as they dive into the complex world of event sports medicine with guest Dr Darren Green. The team talk about the complexity of setting up a medical facility for major sporting events while tackling the challenges of extreme weather, hydration, injuries and cardiac incidences. Dr Green explains how medical teams work with event organisers to ensure competitor safety and gives practical advice on how participants should look after themselves to ensure they don't end up in a medical t...
Apr 08, 2025•1 hr 39 min•Season 7Ep. 7
It's a heart-to-heart on Spotlight today, as Gareth and Ross kick off by discussing a Discourse question about whether running marathons is bad for your heart? Ross describes five cardiac "risks" that have been documented, giving context and a bit of reassurance in response to theory that excessive endurance training is damaging to heart tissue. We then talk about maximum heart rate, and why it's an imperfect anchor for training prescription and a poor comparison between people. We shift from he...
Apr 03, 2025•59 min
It's a bumper Spotlight in a bumper week of big sports news. To cover it comprehensively, Ross & Gareth are joined by Sean Ingle of The Guardian to discuss the election of Kirsty Coventry to lead the International Olympic Committee. We explore her path to victory, enabled by Thomas Bach's support, and how she might lead the organization through looming challenges, including the integrity of the IOC's bid/host city selection process, and women's sport. On the subject of women's sport, Sean al...
Mar 27, 2025•1 hr 55 min
In this Spotlight, Gareth and Ross kick off by looking back at teen sprint phenom Gout Gout's latest performances, which continue to project a spectacular yet unknowable future. Across the Ocean, a young South African put down a teen-sprint marker of his own with a sub-10s performance, and we use those performances to discuss the nuanced, fluid and undefinable element of super-talents in sport. What matters, what doesn't, what is required for entry into the elites, and what makes a difference on...
Mar 20, 2025•1 hr 7 min
In this week's Spotlight, we swing the light from cycling to doping, via trans news updates and some success stories from our Discourse members. We kick off with a chat about whether we've been too obsessed with power numbers, and not talking enough about speed, as pointed out by Christoph Roodhooft of Alpecin's pro-cycling team. We discuss what it means to be an "economic cyclist", which allows Gareth to propose the concept of "physiological frugality", which we are 100% sure will take over fro...
Mar 12, 2025•1 hr 22 min
On today's Spotlight, we ask why runners are racing faster than ever? The same could also be said of cyclists, and we use an intriguing article by Amby Burfoot to explore and discuss the possible contributors, ranging from super shoes to the "Bannister effect". It leads us back to ground we've covered before (shoe tech, carbs), some areas we have yet to cover in detail (bicarbonate), and down some dark alleys that may contain the future (and possibly present) of doping methods. We also talk abou...
Mar 05, 2025•1 hr 12 min
In this Spotlight, Ross and Gareth become "bros" to discuss and critique a recent paper that forecasts a sub-4 min mile in women (specifically, Faith Kipyegon) if drafting strategies were improved. Ross explains his skepticism and reaction to straw man arguments in media about the paper, and the framing of the seven second improvement required as a "mental barrier". This ushers in a new segment for the show, "Grinds my Gears!". We also learn from a Discourse member, @pauliuspeciura, about how to...
Feb 28, 2025•1 hr 6 min
Dr. Stephen Seiler is arguably the world authority on endurance training, and popularized the concept of polarized training. But a new paper has revealed some fresh insights into training polarization which suggest that the training structure may only be suitable for certain types of athletes. Enjoy this deep dive into one of the most-discussed endurance topics as we break down the theory, look at the results of this ground-breaking systematic review, discuss how the results can inform training ...
Feb 27, 2025•1 hr 52 min•Season 7Ep. 6
This week's spotlight turns to the indoor tracks and roads of the world, as we discuss the continuing recalibration of running performance. Every USA Men's Indoor distance record was broken in the course of a week, with two world records among the performances. One of those world records didn't last the week, as Jakob Ingebrigtsen broke it in France. Then on the roads, Jacob Kiplimo took the half marathon into a new galaxy with a sub-57 performance. The two-hour marathon is now clearly within re...
Feb 20, 2025•50 min
Dr Joe Warne is a former international athlete and the key instigator of the Sports Science Replication Centre at the Technological University in Dublin. Having also worked as a performance coach Warne has spent hours both testing and working with modern tech devices with a key interest in finding out how reliable and trustworthy the data is. In this interview, the team discusses the metrics you can best trust, how to interpret the data you get correctly, and what the future of wearable tech and...
Feb 19, 2025•1 hr 28 min•Season 7Ep. 5
Tennis star Janik Sinner has accepted an immediate three-month suspension for his 2024 clostebol positives. In this emergency Spotlight, Gareth and Ross discuss the agreement between Sinner and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), and explain why both parties would have been incentivized to reach a settlement rather than go to arbitration at CAS in mid-April. We offer insights and early thoughts on whether, as claimed by Nick Kyrgios, this is "a bad day for tennis", or whether a three-month ban ...
Feb 15, 2025•24 min
In this Spotlight, we address some noteworthy recent developments in the regulation and protection of women's sport. In the most significant of these, World Athletics have announced proposals, still in consultation, that would compel elite female participants to undergo a screening test that looks for the SRY gene as an eligibility requirement. Ross explains why this step, inevitable and necessary for women's sport to deliver on its purpose, may be the most important one taken by any sport in th...
Feb 12, 2025•1 hr 27 min
