The spotlight falls on the most influential sports science research ever published. A recent paper produced a list of the 100 most influential sports science papers of the last 100 years. Gareth and Ross choose a handful of them, discussing what they found, what their authors didn't know at the time (and got wrong), and what it means today. We discover that the arc of sports science knowledge runs through all these studies, connecting people from AV Hill to Noakes, and themes including oxygen debt, lactate, altitude, pacing strategies, fatigue, and even the 2-hour marathon !

Show notes

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• Standing on the Shoulders of Giants: The paper that inspired the episode, a collection of 100 influential sports science articles
• The AV Hill Paper on muscular exertion, oxygen and 'lactic acid'. The OG of sports science
• George Brooks proposes the Lactate Shuttle
• Noakes, St Clair Gibson and Lambert explain the concept of complex regulation. This is the summary and conclusion paper. The more detailed papers are:
• Why the "catastrophic model for fatigue" fails to explain real-world performance physiology
• Evidence for complex systems integration and regulation of muscle activity
• How fatigue and performance help control homeostasis during exercise
• de Koning and Foster explain how pacing is regulated during exercise, using the RPE and duration remaining
• Michael Joyner applies his physiological determinants of the marathon to the sub-2 hour question
• Lundby's review questioning the performance benefits of altitude training
• A more recent review on altitude training that covers how periodization, managing training, repeat visits and smarter nutrition may help create and increase the effect
• A more detailed paper on the role of nutrition when at altitude

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Mark Coogan has been there, done that and got the t-shirt. As a former track athlete, sub-4 minute miler, Olympic marathoner and author of the book 'Personal Best Running', Coogan is passing on his wealth of talent to some of America's top track and field stars with much success. In this discussion, Coogan talks candidly about the process of developing Olympic-level elite athletes, how to spot elite-level talent, what makes a champion athlete, how to train athletes for events as important as the controversial American Trials and the Olympic Games and whether the sport is in a good place globally. Coogan works in the engine room of top-class athletics and his insights will inspire all levels of sports people.

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Instagram & X @mark_coogan

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In this Spotlight, the team discuss exercise in the heat, using the challenging conditions and travails of Mark Cavendish and others in the Tour de France's first two stages as the catalyst. We explore why athletes 'fail' in the heat, and how the brain pulls a physiological ripcord to protect us when we either don't pace ourselves appropriately, or can't lose the heat we need to in order to avoid critical hyperthermia. We also briefly assess the state of the Tour's yellow jersey battle, where the first shots were landed by Pogacar on the Galibier in yesterday's Stage 4. But will they be decisive, and how likely is Vingegaard to bounce back and improve as the race progresses?

Show notes

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Some papers on heat stroke and limiting hyperthermia

• A position statement on heatstroke, including details on risk factors and pathology. Find out about "leaky guts" here!
• One of the Danish studies that shows how the hot brain just stops activating muscle and causes us to fail at exercise
• Another paper showing that perceived exertion is altered by hyperthermia during exercise in the heat

Tour de France insights

• This is the best podcast you'll listen to on the Tour, in my opinion. That is, if you really like a deep technical dive into the tactics of the race
• The analysis of Pogacar's record climb of the Galibier yesterday. Note that it was a hard stage, and so a real test of durability
• The record was also broken on San Luca on Stage 2. Here's that analysis and power estimate

The Olympic Sport bracket that Gareth mentioned on the show - will road cycling bounce back and beat the marathon in the popularity stakes?

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