Stories by Cory

Stories by Cory

Cory Smith is a Santa Barbara, CA based athlete, online running coach and freelance journalist specializing in running, climbing and fitness related content and gear review. He draws from over 25 years as an elite runner and rock climber for ideas, inspiration and expertise. His work has been featured in Outside Magazine, Trail Runner, Gear Patrol, Philadelphia Magazine, Gear Junkie, Gear Institute and Podium Runner. He can be reached at cory@runyourpersonalbest.com. If you're interested in getting coached by Cory visit www.runyourpersonalbest.com

Stories

GearJunkie •

Burrito-Style Hiking Pack: Patagonia Altvia Backpack Review

Patagonia quietly released a new line of four eco-friendly day and light overnight hiking packs. We hit the trails in the largest-capacity pack, the Altvia 36L, to put this lightweight pack through the wringer. If you did a quick browse of Patagonia’s technical pack selection before spring 2021, you’d be hard-pressed to find any technical hiking-specific pack over 30L. A search would have yielded only four packs over 30L capacity: the Cragsmith 32L and 45L and Ascensionist 35L and 55L, all pack
GearJunkie •

Most Famous 5K Run Workout: Prefontaine’s 30-40

In the world of elite 5K runners, very few workouts are as famous as Prefontaine’s 30-40 workout. With one adjustment, anyone can tailor this famous 5K workout to improve their running. For those who are unfamiliar, Steve Prefontaine is somewhat of a god with track nerds. Regarded as one of the best American distance runners ever, Pre (short for “Prefontaine”) set American records in every distance from 2,000 to 10,000 m before his life was cut short at the age of 24 in a car accident. Despite
Gear Patrol •

The Best Home Gym Machines of 2021

Home gym equipment used to be consigned to the dark, unused corners of basements. Spaces that required uncommon motivation simply to get there to actually attempt a workout. But in 2021, accelerated by the pandemic, home gym equipment is anything but dingy and boring. These days, it falls into two categories: traditional and connected/smart fitness machines. Traditional includes the good old-fashioned, suns-out-guns-out, iron pumping machines like dumbbells, squat racks and cable machines. Thes
PodiumRunner •

Improve My Training: Add Doubles, Don’t Go As Long, Schedule a Break –

We’re offering PodiumRunner and Active Pass members the chance for a personal coaching consultation. Submit two weeks of your training and answer a few questions about your running history and goals, and we’ll publish selected logs along with three suggestions from an expert coach for improving your training. To be eligible to submit your training, sign up for Active Pass or Podium Runner Pass. If you’re already a member and would like your training evaluated by an expert running coach you can s
PodiumRunner •

Improve My Training: Optimize Timing of Strength Work, Tune-up Races and High Load Days –

We’re offering PodiumRunner and Active Pass members the chance for a personal coaching consultation. Submit two weeks of your training and answer a few questions about your running history and goals, and we’ll publish selected logs along with three suggestions from an expert coach for improving your training. To be eligible to submit your training, sign up for Active Pass or Podium Runner Pass. If you’re already a member and would like your training evaluated by an expert running coach you can s
GearJunkie •

ASICS Challenges Nike Super Shoe With 'MetaSpeed Sky': Review

With ASICS’s latest running shoe, Nike can no longer claim dominance as the fastest shoe on the market. We put the MetaSpeed Sky to the test to see how it stacks up to the vaunted Vaporfly. I’ve tested every carbon fiber running shoe on the market. The Nike ZoomX Vaporfly NEXT% is hands down the best carbon fiber running shoe for competitive runners. It was the super shoe that helped break the 2-hour marathon barrier, and lab tests confirmed it markedly improved running efficiency. It’s the un
Gear Patrol •

The Best Pull-Up Bars of 2021

Despite its simplicity, a horizontal bar is probably the single best piece of strength equipment you can have. Dollar for dollar, you can squeeze out more exercises and hit more muscle groups than with any other piece of home fitness equipment. Want a V-shaped back? No problem – do wide and short grip pull-ups. Bulging biceps? – bust out some chin-ups. Six-pack abs? – leg raises and windshield wipers are your ticket to that coveted chiseled torso. I’ve spent my fair share of time on a pull-up
GearJunkie •

The Best Fitness Watches of 2021

A good fitness watch assures your workout is tracked and logged in addition to providing data to get you in better shape. We tested the leading fitness trackers and GPS watches to find the best. Fitness encompasses a host of activities from walking to running to golfing, all with different metrics to track. The best fitness watch or fitness tracker is one that fits your workout regime, tracks the data, and fits with your lifestyle. Beyond my own testing, I reached out to the clients I coach an
GearJunkie •

'Float' Workouts: How to Become a Mentally Stronger Runner

If you want to improve your running, you must add a healthy dose of interval training. This is an undisputed fact. However, as a running coach, there’s one thing I don’t like about interval training: the rest. I’m not saying you shouldn’t include rests, and I don’t discount the value of traditional interval training. But I suggest including a different form of speed work, one where the recovery is not so much an actual rest, but rather a continuation of the speed interval. Most interval workou
GearJunkie •

Spice Up the Your Run Workout: Tempo With a Twist

Of all running workouts, perhaps the most popular is the tempo run. It also happens to be one of the most boring workouts. We can fix that. Holding a steady pace that is often described as “comfortably uncomfortable” for 20 to 60 minutes can feel like a monotonous chore. However, there’s no denying that if done properly, tempo runs can help you run faster. They make you better because you maintain a pace where your lactic acid levels remain steady, so your body’s ability to deal with lactic aci
GearJunkie •

No Vert, No Prob: Try This Hill Repeat Workout for Faster Mountain Runs

Adding a tempo run before these ascending hill repeats turns any run-of-the-mill incline into a true mountain workout. Unless you’re fortunate enough to live in a mountain town, it can be hard finding consistent elevation gain to properly train for mountain races. If you don’t have easy access to tons of vert, this workout is for you. The workout has two parts: a short tempo run, followed by hill repeats that get longer with each rep. Most of the mountain races like the Cirque Series or Skyrun
GearJunkie •

How to Boost V02 Max: Billat 30-30 Interval Workout

Increase your V02 max — the maximum amount of oxygen your body is capable of utilizing — with this short, fun fartlek workout. I’ll be perfectly blunt: As a running coach, I’m not a fan of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) for most runners. I don’t dispute its effectiveness in improving fitness. It’s just that short workouts at maximum effort, followed by short recovery, can be a recipe for injury or over-training if not properly structured and monitored. Mindlessly throwing yourself int
Muscle & Fitness •

The Evolution of Modern Running Shoes

Steve Jobs once said, “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward.” So, in 2009 when Christopher McDougall published his New York Times best-selling book, Born to Run, in which he told the story of an ancient running tribe called the Tarahumara and suggested that running shoes were the root cause of many running-related injuries, it was impossible to foresee the ripple effect he would have on redefining modern footwear. In the book, McDougall referenc
PodiumRunner •

Workout of the Week: Yo-Yo Fartlek –

One of the first things I teach my runners is the importance of learning to manage their energy throughout a run or speed workout. The ability to accurately pace yourself to avoid slowing or hitting the wall during the later miles in a workout or during a race is an invaluable skill for runners of all abilities. The biggest culprit of mismanagement of energy throughout a race or workout is delayed fatigue. The first few reps or miles feel the easiest because you’re fresh, and the inevitable fat
Gear Patrol •

These 9 Technical Shoes Are Secretly Perfect for Day Hikes

Most people fall into one of two camps when it comes to hiking footwear. You either prefer the support and protection of a full-on hiking boot or the comfort and flexibility of a trail runner. However, somewhere in the middle sits a class of technical mountain shoes only a few people outside the climbing world appreciate – the approach shoe. Perhaps the most versatile class of mountain footwear, the approach shoe is a tough-as-nails, below-the-ankle blend of hiking boot, trail runner and climbi
Gear Patrol •

Like the Adidas Ultraboost? Here Are 3 Other Sneakers to Try

First introduced in 2013, the Adidas’s Boost foam marked a groundbreaking shift in how running shoe midsoles were made. Prior to Boost, ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) was the industry standard foam. Adidas broke the mold when its innovation team collaborated with chemists at German chemical company BASF to explore how they could give running shoes a softer, more comfortable underfoot feeling while maintaining a high level of responsiveness. The result? A material called expanded thermoplastic pol
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