In this episode, we sit down with Pascal Rüeger, the Swiss ultra runner who ran 100km in 6:18:27 earlier this year, beating a record held since 1985 by almost 9 minutes and winning the race by over 30 minutes.
Pascal only started running competitively in 2018, in his late thirties. Today he holds the Swiss national records at 100km, 6 hours (91.6km), and 12 hours (161.2km), plus the M45 world record for 100km. He is self-coached, science-based, and trains twice a day, every day.
We talk through his race-day execution in Italy, his pacing strategy at 3:40/km, and how he uses heart rate zones to manage a sub-7-hour 100km.
Pascal also walks us through his weekly training (160-200km, with "Crazy Thursdays" of double 50K sessions), his low-carb daily diet paired with carb-targeted race fueling, and the entrepreneurial mindset that lets him fail repeatedly and come back stronger.
For anyone curious about ultra running, late-starter performance, or what consistency at the limit actually looks like, this conversation delivers.
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Follow Pascal: @swissultrarunner
Follow Bruna: @justbrunathings
Follow Fabi: @endurance_fabi
Bruna & Fabi are the co-founders of augo: www.augotraining.com
Bruna & Fabi coach runners & triathletes: www.jornadaendurance.com
More about Human Endurance: www.humanendurancepodcast.com
