The Science of Sport Blog

I ran across a fantastic blog titled The Science of Sport written by a couple of guys - Jonathan Dugas, Ph.D., and Ross Tucker, Ph.D. - who completed their Ph.D's at the Exercise Science and Sports Medicine Research Unit at the University of Cape Town - where Tim Noakes has been for over 25 years. You may recognize Professor Noakes name, as he is the author of The Lore of Running, a thick book on all things running. I haven't read it, but have leafed through it on many a trip to the bookstore, and covet it.

I have just started to sink my teeth into their work, and so far have found it very interesting and enlightening. Here is a snippet of what it's all about:

Our primary interests are running and cycling, and so we will focus predominantly on these two sports. We try to write articles on sports and sporting analysis that you cannot find anywhere else.

Our goal is to take sports news that you'll read in the sports pages and provide the second, third and fourth level of analysis. You saw the game or match, but we will explore the WHY? HOW? and WHAT? of performance.

I am currently reading a 5 part series on muscle cramps and electrolytes. While I haven't finished it, they don't necessarily prescribe to conventional wisdom on the subject. And I just found out they did another series on hydration/dehydration - both of these are topics I can't wait to read their opinions on, as I had major problems in my first ultramarathon due to dehydration and muscle cramps. At least that is what I think now, but who knows, they may blow a hole in my views if their research on it follows the general course of what I have read so far.

If you are interested in endurance sports, I highly recommend reading their blog. At a minimum it will give you some fodder to discuss/debate with your running friends.